Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)
theatlantic.com
Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)
1–10 of 239 posts
Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)
#2The story is from 1982. Yet still timely.
Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)
#3So which of these "predicted" events actually happened?
Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)
#4Is it me or is the article way too long?
Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)
#5[deleted]
Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)
#6Is it me or is the article way too long?
It is just you. That article is a classic in long-form investigative journalism.
Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)
#7So which of these "predicted" events actually happened?
The diamond cartels continue to prop up a fake market fed by the product of human misery largely by convincing people that diamonds have always been a clear symbol of social status and of devotion.
Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)
#8Ha, they quickly stuck a date in the title. ;)
I was going to comment this is a "pre-internet" story.
The film Blood Diamond came to mind as I was reading this, and the "Diamond District" in New York City. Lots going on behind the scenes in the "diamond industry".
This is a superb lesson in 1. artificial scarcity and 2. how consumers can be conditioned to accept new symbols (a diamond is just a rock; but what does a diamond "mean"?).
Both are principles that, for better or worse, apply to how business is done on the web.
Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)
#9Another fantastic bit of information about the history of the diamond trade, courtesy of Frontline, circa 1994: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6186684678299366197