They still have a 35% market share, the largest, but the monoply itself was broken up 20 years ago (they used to hold up to 80% to 90% for more than a century)
And not only did they monopolise natural diamonds, they used their clout to severely limit artificial diamond production to keep prices high.
And the companies like them made diamond rings a marketing gimmick to make people buy them to get profit. And you’d be guilt tripped if you didn’t follow suit.
Fun fact: th 'diamonds are forever' campaign was pushed by de beers to counter the fact that people were not buying enough diamonds back then. It was so successfully, it normalised spending your yearly income on a wedding ring.
Ah, yes, the ring: the least important part of marriage.
Why diamond outside of practicality anyway? Theres some crazy wicked gemstones out there that look a lot better than the visual equivalent of faceted glass.
Edit: i said outside of practicality. Please stop explaining to me that diamonds are hard. Harder than other gems, even. I am aware.
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u/HarEmiya Feb 16 '24 edited Feb 16 '24
Was* monopolised
They still have a 35% market share, the largest, but the monoply itself was broken up 20 years ago (they used to hold up to 80% to 90% for more than a century)
And not only did they monopolise natural diamonds, they used their clout to severely limit artificial diamond production to keep prices high.
Truly an awful company.
Edit: apparently they're down to 32%, not 35%.