Prior to 1890, diamonds weren't the same type of commodity that they are now. Except for a variant stone used in laser-technologies, they were largely regarded as a largely useless, but pretty stone.
It wasn't until a few years after a dude named Cecil Rhodes decided he didn't want to go to university and went to South Africa instead to work on a farm and ended up buying some diamond mines that this changed. What Rhodes did was form a little company called De Beers and end up owning 90 per cent of the world's diamonds. What he did with them was pretty genius. He manufactured an image for this stone that integrated one of the basic human desires (in this case, love) with this stone, effectively associating this largely useless rock with this most basic of human emotions.
Hence, Rhodes made himself a ridiculous amount of money through monopolizing on this useless rock that nobody wanted and manufacturing an image, and therefore, a market, on it.
So in essence women are supposed to like diamonds because they're told to like diamonds by the television. The end.
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-22 11:32 pm (UTC)sociologically? status symbol.
evolutionary psychologically? they show that you have ample resources and make a good mate/will raise good children.
there are a million angles all working together to make them pretty to us. ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-22 11:39 pm (UTC)I'm asking because I'm just not drawn to them.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-22 11:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-23 01:50 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-23 02:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-23 04:11 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-23 04:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-24 12:43 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-24 03:55 am (UTC)Historical Trufax:
Date: 2008-11-04 11:48 pm (UTC)It wasn't until a few years after a dude named Cecil Rhodes decided he didn't want to go to university and went to South Africa instead to work on a farm and ended up buying some diamond mines that this changed. What Rhodes did was form a little company called De Beers and end up owning 90 per cent of the world's diamonds. What he did with them was pretty genius. He manufactured an image for this stone that integrated one of the basic human desires (in this case, love) with this stone, effectively associating this largely useless rock with this most basic of human emotions.
Hence, Rhodes made himself a ridiculous amount of money through monopolizing on this useless rock that nobody wanted and manufacturing an image, and therefore, a market, on it.
So in essence women are supposed to like diamonds because they're told to like diamonds by the television. The end.
Also, HI! Mind if I add you?