Zhang Meixi got up very early the next day, went downstairs after freshening up, Mrs. Zhang was already sitting in the dining room for breakfast, and looked up at her with pity:

"Is there anything important in your room?"

Zhang Meixi shook her head:

"Only a few books."

Mrs. Zhang nodded:

"Then let the apricots take them, and then move when you're done."

Zhang Meixi agreed, bowed her head and studied breakfast. The red carrots are neatly arranged on a flat-bottomed white porcelain plate.

Mrs. Zhang hesitated for a moment before she spoke a little hesitantly:

"Yesterday, your fifth uncle said a lot to me, and it was all about your card issuance."

Zhang Meixi looked up at her mother at this time:

"What hairpin?"

Mrs. Zhang lowered her head again, and cut the bread with her left fork and right knife.

"Your sixth sister is not sensible, she asked for your hairpin, and your fifth aunt is not sensible, so she plans not to pay it back. Your fifth uncle talked to me, and the snot and tears came down, and he also loved to cry. ”

"That's right...... What does the wife want to do? ”

Zhang Meixi furrowed her eyebrows, diamond marketing is a scam of the century. She hasn't had time to do it and hasn't found the right person.

……

What is the intrinsic meaning of the slogan "Diamonds are forever"? It is for you to store the diamonds, not sell them, otherwise the global diamond market price will not be stable.

Until the seventies of the nineteenth century, diamonds were found in only a few Indian rivers and in the jungles of Brazil, and only a few kilograms of gem-quality diamonds were produced each year. At that time, diamonds were just a type of gemstone.

However, in 1870 a huge diamond mine was discovered in the Orange River in South Africa, and the production could be measured in tons.

The British investors behind the South African mines are scared that diamonds have no use value, and the high price is entirely because of their rarity, and with the development of new mines in South Africa, diamonds will sooner or later fall into ordinary gemstones.

In response to the crisis, the major investors in these diamond mines merged their assets to create a separate entity that controlled production and maintained the public perception of diamond scarcity. This entity is DeBeers. Founded in South Africa in 1888. DeBeers has set up trading companies in various countries and controls the global diamond trade.

DeBeers' control of diamonds has been very successful. Prices of other commodities, whether gold, silver, copper, rubber, grains, or oil. All of them fluctuate greatly with the state of the economy, and only diamonds have been able to rise steadily since the 30s. Its control over prices is so strong that during the high inflation in the United States in the 70s, some people even used diamonds to preserve their value.

This is not only a monopoly control of the price. It is also a way to make carbon crystals a universal identity as a symbol of wealth, power, and love. DeBeers controls not only supply, but also demand.

The crowd was taught that diamonds were not a tradable commodity gemstone, but an integral part of courtship and married life. In order to stabilize the dìng market, DeBeers gave the stone the illusion of sacredness, which is forever and forever meant that it should not be resold.

The saga began in the Great Depression of the 30s, when European diamond prices had collapsed and it was difficult to regain public confidence. Couples in Germany, Austria, Italy, and Spain no longer use diamond rings as engagement gifts.

In England and France, diamonds were considered the exclusive preserve of the aristocracy. And Europe is on the brink of war. It is almost impossible to expand the sales of diamonds. Then the U.S. became DeBeers' only market.

Three-quarters of the diamonds in 1938 were used for engagement rings in the United States, but most of them were smaller and of inferior quality than those sold in Europe. That's why DeBeers believes that advertising planning will enable Americans to buy more high-quality diamonds.

In August 1938, Harry Oppenheimer (Jewish surname), the son of the founder of DeBeers, went to New York to meet with the Ayer advertising agency, which was arranged by Morgan, who had been providing financing to Oppenheimer, and now saw that the price of diamonds was falling all over the world, and he was also anxious. It was well said that Ayer would create a new image of the diamond among Americans, and DeBeers appointed Ayer as the exclusive advertising agency and paid for the related market research.

First, market research. From the end of World War I in 1919 to 1938, diamonds sold in the United States, both by carat and by value, fell by more than 50 percent due to the economic environment, changes in social attitudes, and competition from other luxury goods.

Although the economic environment cannot be changed. But it is possible to change social attitudes through advertising and PR campaigns, competing with other luxury goods for users and markets.

Ayer's plan is to strengthen the public's association with diamonds and romantic love, convincing men that bigger and better diamonds can express stronger love; Encourage women to consider diamonds as a necessary part of any romantic courtship.

The specific advertising campaign starts with movies and movie stars, giving the public a symbol of undying love with diamonds. News stories and photos are then published in newspapers and magazines. Reinforces the bond between diamonds and romantic love.

The British royal family is also taken into account, and since the UK has so much interest in the diamond industry, the royal family should support the diamond industry by wearing more diamonds than other jewelry.

The results were immediate, and three years later, diamond sales in the U.S. had increased by 55%. Ayer came up with a new plan to create an advertisement that would not generate direct sales, would not require the viewer to remember the brand, but would simply be a concept – around the eternal sentimental value of diamonds.

In 1947, the focus of advertising shifted to the psychological needs of the public, and it was indispensable to reinforce the tradition of diamond rings as engagement rings.

Lecturers were arranged to speak at high schools across the country, through guò student group assemblies, classes, and informal meetings, all around diamond engagement rings, reaching thousands of girls.

In 1946, he did a week-long column in 125 national newspapers describing the diamond items worn by movie stars (which had been the case for a hundred years). At the same time, the media continues to encourage the media to display diamonds as a symbol of romantic love in celebrity reports.

Also during this period, the advertising slogan "Diamonds Are Forever, One Forever" was proposed.

By 1951, Ayer argued, the middle-class American consumer-driven drive had slowly shifted from practicality to showing off and displaying status and status. The gift of a diamond is considered a symbol of personal and family success.

Diamond ring engagement becomes a matter of course, and even if you can't afford to buy a diamond ring when you get married, you have to buy it as soon as you have the money, instead of replacing it with something else.

The scam was first built in Japan as a symbol of modern Western values that can be seen and touched. The meaning is clear:

Diamonds represent a break with the East of the past and a symbol of modern life, with Japan becoming the second largest market for diamond engagement rings after the United States.

Decades later, sales in Europe, the United States and Japan were struggling, and luxury goods companies regarded China as a lifesaver, and China began to take over the heavy responsibility.

Diamond mines were discovered in Siberia at the end of the 50s in the USSR and were desperately exploited. The scam believes that neither side wants to see the collapse of the image of diamonds, so they give the Soviet Union a direct offer, take over all the Soviet diamonds, and realize the control of the world's diamond supply.

After the Soviet Union accepted it, it became one of the partners of this cartel, a co-protector of the image of the diamond.

…… (To be continued.) )

PS: The diamond scam is too long, so it's just a simplified write, all excerpted from Zhihu, if you are interested, you can search for it yourself and see the long article.

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