It’s a fascinating story filled with drama, intrigue, plot twists, and gorgeous actresses. No, this isn’t a movie review: it’s the story of how diamonds came to be seen as indispensable to romance.Hollywood is the birthplace of the wonderful idea that a diamond engagement ring should be presented as a surprise gift to a woman when her now-fiancé proposes. This fun idea has led to many a jaw-drop for women! The romantic allure of planning for the perfect proposal comes straight out of an old movie.

Hollywood took advantage of its gorgeous starlets to showcase the most beautiful diamonds in the world. Such beauties as Claudette Colbert and Merle Oberon, famous for playing opposite dashing actors Clark Gable and Charles Laughton, never went anywhere in Hollywood without their diamonds-on screen and off.

In the late 1930s, a lowly man named Cecil Rhodes hired an advertising agency to help him promote his product. The United States was in the midst of the Great Depression, and sales were down on everything, especially luxury items like jewelry and diamonds. Cecil Rhodes needed a strategy, just as modern-day businessmen still need, to promote his product to the American consumer.

Rhodes came from humble beginnings, but he hired the right help and began a marketing campaign that still impacts how the American public views diamonds and their importance in everyday life.

In the midst of a Great Depression, the American public looked to Hollywood movies to relieve the heaviness and escape to a fun and glamorous fantasy world for just a little while. Hollywood studios were at the height of their powers, and raving fans followed the beautiful actresses then just as closely as we do today.

What better way for Cecil Rhodes to advertise his diamonds than to use the up-and-coming entertainment of Hollywood movies? Hollywood was already studded with stars; diamonds only complimented their outrageous appeal. An advertising agency signed on with Rhodes, and they decided to contact major studios and ask them to do product placements in appropriate scenes. The rest, as they say, is history.

Before this major marketing push, Americans seldom looked to diamonds as preferable in their jewelry. Engagement rings weren’t common gifts, and usually married couples opted for simple wedding bands given on the day of the ceremony.

Engagement rings introduced a wonderful level of romance into the process of proposal, engagement, and marriage, and diamonds were the perfect symbols of everlasting love. Their shine and fire took to the camera nicely, too.

Dressing Hollywood starlets in the finest diamond jewelry created demand for diamonds among the regular public. These jewels were usually on loan from reputable designers, sometimes costing millions of dollars if bought outright, but the regular American moviegoer could get by much cheaper.

Hollywood stars have always been in the spotlight of glamour and luxury. Mink coats, expensive cars, mansions and red-carpet awards ceremonies are everyday occurrences in Hollywood. The American public admires these displays of wealth and would like just a little piece of it to glamorize their own lives.

Hollywood starlets of the black and white movie days were famous for wearing diamond studded tiaras nestled into their perfectly coifed hair. Diamond studded tiaras were not the usual wear for regular women, although the 1920s had its share of outrageous headgear. The tiaras simply looked fabulous, and the diamonds could be used in more practical pieces for regular women.

While it’s not possible to duplicate every sparkling detail of the Hollywood life, everyone could afford a little diamond, or a beautiful ring set with diamond chips. That’s where Cecil Rhodes aimed his marketing, at reasonably priced but still beautiful diamond rings, diamond earrings, diamond bracelets, and diamond necklaces.

Any woman who sported a sparkling diamond on her finger, in her ears, or around her neck could become a sort of celebrity, and borrow a little piece of the Hollywood fantasy world to wear every day. A newly engaged woman just loves to show off her ring to her friends. Diamond jewelry is usually worn for special occasions, after the occasion that prompts the gift. This jewelry is a solid reminder of the enduring nature of love.

Rhodes used very smart marketing techniques to show the American public that diamonds could be a part of every woman’s life, even if it wasn’t on the multi-million dollar scale. Movie producers and studios loved the idea of dressing their starlets in sparkling jewels, and the fact that those jewels were on loan most of the time was an added bonus.

Movies are rife with product placements even today, dropping images and dialog on everything from soft drinks to automobiles and everything in between. Rhodes’ strategy was as brilliant as any one of his diamonds, and a strategy marketers still use today.