ÒDiamonds Are a GirlÕs Best FriendÓ
Emilie Broughton

This 2-page ad, which appears in the October, 2003, VOGUE has a late twenties/early thirties woman minimally clad in a goldenrod dress alone in a dimly lit modern room (as if a hotel or studio apartment.) Her right hand, resting on the arm of the couch, is blinding. The radiation of light steams from the right ring finger, but no source is visible. The right page text reads:

(In larger type): Your left hand is the sensible one. Your right hand is the crazy one. Your left hand does what it should. Your right hand does what it pleases. Your left hand will support you. Your right hand will surprise you. Women of the world, raise your right hand.

(In smaller type the logo): "A diamond is forever". The new diamond right hand ring. Romantic, modern vintage, floral and contemporary styles at adiamondisforever.com

There follow four life-size shots of diamond rings in a variety of styles.

This ad appears to contain three layers of interlocking social constructions, the wedding ring, the diamond as commodity and an advertisers view of womenÕs empowerment through commodity purchase. The ring as it is used in the western marriage ceremony, is worn on the Òring fingerÓ of the left hand signifies a rite of passage in the cycle of a womenÕs life, they have committed to a new social role. Associated with maturing for single women to wife and mother the ring reclassifies women in relation to other women and how others socially perceive them. Making then appropriate adults and sexual beings. Historically diamond sellers tie the use of the ring in marriage back to the Romans. Online histories and diamond sellers such as sparklingsparklers and diamondsonweb (all though other exist) have tied constructed rings as intrinsic to love solidification and the inclusion of the diamond as a sign of purity and strength. The importance of the third finger is that it is seen as the most direct route to the heart.

The appearance of the diamond on wedding rings is a separate construction in itself. The use of a diamond in a wedding band does not appear until the often cited 1477 marriage of Hasburg Emperor Maximillan I to the Duchess of Burgundy. To evoke this marriage is the regal romantic construction of the diamond industry to align itself with opulence, courtly love and the timeless Greeks. However the western social construction of the diamond wedding ring has more to do with consumption of a regulated (imposed scarcity) luxury good.

The diamond ring has become a constructed necessity in western betrothal. In Victorian times the symbol of betrothal could take many forms "The bridegroom's present to the bride may take any form which his purse justifies. It may be a piece of jewelry; it may be a house and lot; it may be anything she longed for and will prize. She is giving herself, and is not supposed to supplement this extreme gift with any other." Margared E. Sangster "Good Manners for all Occasions, 1904 (Blayney 1991: p.39)

The constructed meaning (through advertising) Òdiamonds are foreverÓ (a term coined in 1947) is mapped on to the wedding ringÕs symbolic meaning, the stone like the marriage is enduring--a life long commitment. (Jhally 1995) But this is really a way to make every couple want a diamond ring to show their love, their commitment and their investment (monetarily-the standard for purchase being two monthsÕ pay).

Simultaneously Òdiamonds are a girlÕs best friendÓ the things that will stay with her and bring her pleasure. Even if a relationship doesn't last, they will endure. As that social icon Marilyn Monroe put it Òsquare-cut or pear-shaped these rocks donÕt lose their shape, diamonds are a girls best friend.Ó This brings us to the social construction layer of womenÕs empowerment. Moving the ring to the ring finger on the other (right) hand does not break the model, but reinforces the social construction by doing its opposite. In the ad, the attributions, the left hand represents stability, obedience and stability, where the right hand is an out of control, pleaser seeking, and surprising, being, defined in relationship to the other thing, not independent. This right hand construction also plays on the cultural stereotype of women as an ultra consumer and impulsive buyer. This is not the first time an ad campaign has appealed to women by the means of the independent-woman angle; women feel empowered while they are actually being targeted to consume (persuasive flattery). The Virginia Slims (cigarettes marketed to women) ads that ran during the heyday of the Women's Liberation movement with the slogan, "you've come a long way baby" are reminiscent here. It is preying on the independence and abilities of women out from the shadow of men to sell merchandise--as if that merchandise was actually supporting the women rather than being a reason to separate them from their money!

This "right-hand-ring" campaign re-targets and enlarges the audience for diamonds, creating a new niche by re-purposing the diamond ring for those who are not yet married and in their Òwild and crazy prime,Ó and those who are too Ònon conformistÓ to wait for a wedding ring. It also appeals to divorced women who would like to wear diamonds, and married women who want more flash. These women are wealthy enough to buy jewels for themselves as an Òassertion of independence" that leads right back to the manipulation of the advertiser.

Another ad, which appeared in the November 2003, VOGUE, by a different jeweler, speaks to the fact that a trend is developing; a new market may have opened up appealing to the thirty somethingÕs that have Òmade it,Ó but not married. This shows a woman in her mid-thirties dressed casually, laughing and covering her mouth with her right hand, which wears a decorative diamond ring. The caption down the right hand-side of the page reads:

(In larger type): The Right Hand Ring. Just Because.

(In smaller type): Celebrate who you are. What you have achieved. How far you have come. A constant reminder of the limitless strength and resolve you possess within. And a beautiful reminder at that.

There is a perhaps 3x life-size picture of the ring the woman is wearing and another, which has three rows of six diamonds each.

(Then the logo and): Hearts on Fire The world's most perfectly cut diamond.

Available in Indianapolis at; Hofmeister Personal Jewelers. Moyer Fine Jewelers

For the retailer nearest you please visit heartsonfire.com.

This related ad focuses particularly on women in the celebration of their own life-goals in achievement and personal strength. Unlike the previous diamond ad, this one does not draw parallels between the pre-existing cultural constructions, associations and attributes of the left hand to create the new independent realm of empowerment of the right hand. It speaks to the women as Òthis is your outletÓ your personal indulgence for being a success, not a man marking you as an acquisition (through union) of his success.

For the very reason that diamonds are practically indestructible, and the industry controls the supply to keep the price high, it must seek new markets for constant monitored growth (Jhally 1995). With competition from less expensive artificial cubic zirconias, the appeal of diamonds is in their (industry created) artificial scarcity (Epstein 1982). Because of the price of a diamond ring, the decision to purchase one is much greater than the cost of participation in a one-season fashion trend. Whether this new marketing direction by the diamond industry to put a diamond ring on every successful womanÕs right hand, only time will tell.

Book to reference: The Diamond Ring - Business, Politics, and Precious Stones in South Africa, 1867-1947 by Colin Newbury

Blayney, Molly Dolan, "Wedded Bliss: A Victorian Bride's handbook," New York, Abeville Press, c1991.

Epstein, Edward Jay, ÒHave You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? And unruly market may undo the work of a giant cartel and of an inspired, decades long campaignÓ in The Atlantic Online February 1982. www.theatlantic.com/issues/82feb/8202diamond1.htm

Jhally, Sut. "Image-Based Culture: Advertising and Popular Culture," in Gail Dines and Jean M. Humez, (eds.) Gender, Race and Class in Media. London: Sage, 1995.

www.diamondsonweb.com/aad/

www.sparklingsparklers.com/article_diamondengagmentring.htm

www.amnh.org/exhibitions/diamonds history and background of the diamond into ring, from the American museum of natural history.