🧠 Diamonds are Forever?

Today’s Edition of Captivated: The Psychology Behind ‘Diamonds are Forever’

“Diamonds are Forever” …

A diamond engagement ring seems to have become a must when proposing.

That’s no accident. The belief that "a diamond is forever" isn’t about rarity, love, or tradition, it’s one of the most successful marketing campaigns of all time.

And it’s powered by psychology.

So while a diamond will indeed last a long time, it’s a reason we associate it with forever love and engagements.

What if the "two months' salary" rule was just a made-up number designed to anchor your spending expectations?

And what if the reason diamonds feel essential has nothing to do with love, and everything to do with a decades-long marketing play and how our brains are wired to crave scarcity, status, and social proof?

(continues below).

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⏩️ Too Busy to Read the Whole Thing?

• Read the tl; dr at the bottom

• 🎧️ Listen: scroll all the way to the top and click: Listen Online

🧭 INSIDE THIS EDITION

• Forever

• Smart Tool You Can Use #1

• Did You Know?

• Hooked

• The Psychology Behind It

• Steal this Strategy for Yourself

• Smart (& Free) Tool You Can Use #2

• tl;dr

• Smart (& Free) Tool You Can Use #3

📈 DID YOU KNOW?

Over 80% of American engagement rings feature diamonds. But in the early 1900s, diamond engagement rings weren’t the norm at all.

🤔

 .. HOOKED: How They Made You Believe It ..

A diamond ring feels like the ultimate symbol of love. But less than a century ago, that idea barely existed.

In the 1930s, diamonds weren’t selling as fast as they’d liked. Diamonds were just one of many engagement ring options, and rubies, sapphires, and plain gold bands were just as common.

Prices were falling, and De Beers, the diamond mining company, had a problem: how do you convince people to want something they don’t need?

So, they hired the ad agency N.W. Ayer & Son, who came up with a brilliant marketing strategy rooted in psychology:

• Make diamonds a symbol of love, not just a luxury item

• Push the idea that bigger = better = more love

• Create a ritual: an engagement ring should be a diamond

In the 1940s, they launched the now-iconic slogan: “A Diamond Is Forever.”

This slogan was built on psychology, engineered to make diamonds feel essential.

Now, they didn’t just sell diamonds. They sold status. Romance. Commitment. Forever.

And it worked. By the 1950s, diamond engagement rings became a cultural norm.

By the 1980s, at its peak, De Beers was controlling 90% of the world’s rough diamond supply, and the diamond engagement ring was the default.

And just like that, diamonds weren’t just a rock. They became a requirement.

🧠

 .. The Psychology Behind It ..

How did De Beers convince the world that diamonds = love? A mix of scarcity, social proof, emotional anchoring, and status signaling.

1. 🧠 The Scarcity Illusion: Making the Common Seem Rare

Diamonds aren’t rare. They’re actually one of the most abundant gemstones on Earth. But De Beers carefully controlled supply, releasing limited quantities to maintain high prices.

They stockpiled diamonds, only releasing a limited number each year, making them feel exclusive:

• Artificial scarcity increases perceived value.

• People assume what’s hard to get must be worth more.

• When something feels limited, we want it more (hello, FOMO).

Ever rushed to buy something that’s “almost sold out”? That’s the same psychological trick De Beers used, but on a global scale.

2. 🧠 Social Proof: If Everyone Does It, It Must Be Right

By the 1950s, Hollywood was covered in diamonds, every leading lady, every red carpet.

• Ads showed celebrities wearing diamond rings → Making them aspirational.

• Men were told buying a diamond proved love → Making it an expectation.

• Women were told to expect a diamond → Making it non-negotiable.

When a behavior feels socially ingrained, questioning it feels unnatural. That’s why opting out of a diamond ring started to feel “wrong” or “cheap” - even though it’s just a marketing invention.

3. 🧠 Emotional Anchoring: Tying Price to Love

De Beers turned engagement rings into a formula for love and commitment.

💎 “You should spend at least two months' salary on a diamond ring.”

This wasn’t based on economics or tradition, it was an arbitrary number designed to make people spend more.

The psychology? Anchoring bias: when your brain locks onto a number as a reference point.

• Once "two months' salary" was introduced, anything less felt inadequate.

• People anchored their spending to that rule, even if it made no logical sense.

4. 🧠 Status Signaling: Bigger = Better

Owning a big diamond started to signal wealth, success, and status.

• The bigger the rock, the bigger the statement.

• The diamond itself became proof of financial stability.

• It’s not just a ring, it’s also a status symbol.

This taps into conspicuous consumption: buying things not because they’re useful, but because they send a message to others.

🥷

 .. Steal this Strategy for Yourself ..

1 - Create Perceived Scarcity:

• Limit availability: “Only 100 spots left” or “Exclusive to members.”

• Drop products in limited-time batches to drive demand.

• Make it feel like an insider’s secret: VIP access, exclusive editions.

📌 Example: Supreme’s “drop model” makes releases feel like an event, increasing hype and instant sellouts. 

2 - Use Social Proof to Make It the Default: 

• Show how top people in your industry use it.

• Feature customer testimonials and real-world adoption.

• Normalize it: “Most [target audience] already use [your product].”

📌 Example: Tesla positions their vehicles not just as electric cars, but as the car of choice for the future-thinking elite.

3 - Use Emotional Anchoring to Set Expectations:

• Tie price to an emotional outcome, not the product itself.

• Set a spending benchmark: “Smart marketers invest X% in tools that grow their business.”

• Frame purchases as future-proofing: “Investing in this now saves you thousands later.”

📌 Example: Apple positions MacBooks as an investment for high achievers, not just computers.

4 - Make It a Status Symbol: 

• Position your product as exclusive, not just high quality.

• Give early adopters special perks and make them feel ahead of the curve.

• Turn ownership into a social flex: “Only the best use [X].”

📌 Example: Amex Black Card is less about the card, and more about what it says about the person who owns it.

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 .. tl;dr & captivated wrap-up ..

Diamonds aren’t actually rare or essential, but thanks to one of the smartest marketing campaigns in history, they feel like they are and are linked to forever love and proposals, using:

• Scarcity Illusion – De Beers controlled supply, making diamonds seem rare.

• Social Proof – Hollywood, celebrities, and ads made diamonds the default.

• Emotional Anchoring – The "two months' salary" rule set an arbitrary price expectation.

• Status Signaling – The bigger the diamond, the bigger the statement.

Turns out, while they do last a long time, diamonds are just well-marketed rocks.

And you can use these same psychology-backed strategies to make your product feel like the must-have.

But times are changing. Younger buyers especially are skipping mined diamonds for lab-grown alternatives, and demand is falling. Even De Beers has had to cut prices and slow production to keep up.

Some things are timeless. Some things just feel timeless, because clever marketing psychology made them that way.

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