Quote ="Ferocious Aardvark"Don't you think that, giving credit where it's due though, the marketing of diamond rings is as good an example of marketing as there has ever been? I mean, a engagement ring is the basic vehicle, but the overwhelming majority of women would probably be convinced that only a DIAMOND ring counts as a "proper" engagement ring and that the bigger and more expensive the stone, the better. The belief that if it's an engagement ring, it HAS to be diamond has become so de rigueur it's now pretty much engrained in the psyche of Western civilisation, such that purchasing an alternative would usually be viewed as a mixture of cheapskate, inappropriate and even grounds for a divorce!
With the sole exception of religion, I can't readily think of any other marketing ploy remotely near this achievement. What an astonishing piece of brainwashing. Respect, de Beers.'"
Absolutely.
The only proviso that I'd add is that a jeweller who will move along with current trends will always be a successful jeweller - see the marketing by the company "Hot Diamonds" for an example.
My father knew two jewellers who were from the old school, they had a small shop on a local high street for forty years but would never sell costume jewellery, it was almost beneath them to sell 9ct, ultimately this led to their demise and one of them ended up working for me as a mechanical service engineer before his retirement and his lasting regret is that he let his partner try and maintain their "standards" for far too long, costume and "party" jewellery was where the money was, not so big a mark-up but a huge turnover, they were looking to retail 14 and 18ct ear-rings for £100 plus whereas 90% of the walk-in trade was looking for a £10 pair.
