A DIAMOND IS FOREVER..The story of diamonds - Evolution and marketing over time

Diamonds have been around for millennia - they have been desired and coveted, and seen as objects of immense, indescribable value. The story of diamonds, and their mining and marketing, right from the time when they were first found in India, to the discovery of diamond mines in Africa, Australia and northern Canada, is fascinating and mesmerizing

- Kamakshi VF

Diamonds have a long history D as objects of desire they are aspirational, and they, literally, last forever. Diamonds were first recognized as stones of great value in India, where they were gathered from the country's rivers and streams. Historians say India was trading in diamonds as early as the fourth century BC. Back then, India's diamonds were limited in number, and meant for a very limited and exclusive clientele.

Gradually, Indian diamonds. found their way to Western Europe, and by the 1400s, they had become fashion accessories for Europe's elite.  By the early 1700s, India's diamond supplies began to decline, and, at the same time, Brazil emerged as an important source of supply. In fact, Brazil dominated the diamond market for more than 150 years.

Explorers then unearthed the first great South African diamond deposits in the late 1800s. In 1866, the Kimberley mine was discovered in South Africa, and in 1888, De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited was established. By 1900, De Beers was controlling an estimated 90% of the world's production of rough diamonds. Diamond mining expanded considerably with the discovery of sources in Australia in 1985, and in northern Canada in 2000. And today, Russia has a major say in the production and mining of diamonds through its largely state-held mining company, Alrosa, with the other top companies being De Beers, Rio Tinto, and Debswana Diamond.

The first known marketing campaign for diamonds was initiated by Diamond Trading Company (DTC), the sales and distribution arm of De Beers, with its ad agency, N.W. Ayer & Son, coining the famous and award-winning line -- A Diamond is Forever.

 

VINOD HAYAGRIV 

C. Krishniah Chetty & Sons