Headlines

How These Two Unmarried Women “Conned” America into Buying Diamonds Again

Published

7 years ago

June 13, 2016

INSTORE Staff

In the 1940s, Frances Gerety and Dorothy Dignam changed the course of the jewelry business with their brilliant marketing slogans.

In the 1930s, diamond engagement rings were declining in popularity until two unmarried women changed the public perception of diamonds and “conned” America into buying them again, The New York Post writes. The article explains how De Beers hired Philadelphia ad agency N.W. Ayer to spur sales, and in 1947 a copywriter named Frances Gerety conceived of the iconic slogan “a diamond is forever”, implying “that a diamond was more than just an object – it was the very embodiment of love and domestic harmony.”

The article adds that Dorothy Dignam, the head of the agency’s publicity department, inundated her Hollywood contacts with the “diamonds are a girl’s best friend” concept – possibly influencing the song that Marilyn Monroe sung in the 1953 film “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” As Rachelle Bergstein, author of Brilliance and Fire: A Biography of Diamonds told the outlet: “The song, along with Gerety’s successful tagline ‘Diamonds are forever,’ provided two definitive pop-culture statements about the role jewels should play in people’s lives.”

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”