|
| Michael Goldstein |
Are diamonds a brand? The answer is no…diamonds are a natural resource, a gemstone, which is carefully crafted into a sparkling object of desire created by smart marketing. There are many beautiful gemstones out there, but none in our society so coveted as the diamond. But diamonds are not a brand. Yes, they are gorgeous and expensive and rare and women want diamonds, because they have been marketed in a way that has made them the symbol of true, lasting love and the epitome of glamour. There are companies that develop a brand around their diamonds by creating a proprietary cut, or by using some other criteria that distinguishes that particular diamond from all others. Those are branded diamonds. The many years of advertising
and promotion that catapulted diamonds into the position of the premiere gemstone did
not create a brand; it created a desire in women to have a diamond and a desire in men
to buy, gift or in some way own a diamond as a way to please a woman and express his feelings. The diamond may be branded or not, but the symbolic meaning is the same either way. It is that overarching cultural imperative that needs to be maintained going forward if diamonds are to remain the most aspirational of all gemstones, and it is that illusion that sells diamonds.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - January 2013. To subscribe click here.