Diamonds: Symbol of Love or Marketing Myth?

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Are Diamonds Really Forever? “Will you marry me?” These are the words most women dream of hearing one day: the moment when their significant other drops to one knee and pulls out a diamond ring. The engagement experience has always been about the love between two people; however, this age old tradition has not always included the diamond ring. Today, it is the common practice for a man to present a ring of any different shape, size or color to the woman he is hoping will become his fiancée and one day his wife. Most couples would agree that getting engaged is a special occasion based on their love; but with many recent ring advertisements it can be seen that the universal feeling is focused on the diamond engagement ring. Recognizable slogans …show more content…

This familiar slogan has been labeled the most iconic slogan of the 20th century (Kaplan). A simple slogan turned around the ideology of millions of Americans; it gave men the idea that in order for their relationship to be solidified a diamond ring must be exchanged from him to his betrothed. According to the American Gem Society, “The implied durability of a diamond conveyed the meaning in the American psyche that marriage is forever.” This clever slogan convinced many couples that a diamond ring was a rock on which they could build an everlasting …show more content…

To put it more simply the diamond engagement ring has been a manipulation of millions of Americans into believing that the size or the the durability of a single diamond can equal the amount of love shared. I have always known what true love looks like because I have witnessed my own parents love for eachother. In recent years my dad has told my mom he can now afford to buy her a bigger diamond ring; but my mom always refuses. She says that although the ring he gave her isn’t the biggest; it is the original ring he had put into a fortune cookie at the Hong Kong chinese restaurant; and she would not trade that moment for the world. For my parents, poor college students at the time, it was all about the moment of their shared happiness. Today my parents are my living proof that everlasting love is not about a little

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