DIAMONDS: DID YOU KNOW?

In 1477, Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy to signify his promise of marriage. He placed it on the third finger of her left hand, the finger believed by ancient Egyptians to have a vein that led directly to the heart. She accepted his proposal and the diamond engagement ring was born.

In 1947, a young copywriter Frances Gerety was told to go home for the weekend and come up with a tagline for an upcoming De Beers ad campaign. On Sunday morning she woke up with "A Diamond is Forever" and it has been the De Beers tagline ever since! "A Diamond is Forever" was voted Slogan of the Century by Advertising Age Magazine in 1999, and was most famously appropriated by Ian Flemming for James Bond as "Diamonds are Forever."

It is estimated that only 2% of all women in the world will own a diamond of one carat or more. That single diamond will touch four continents and pass through hundreds of people as 250 tons of ore are mined and the diamond is cut, polished and set, More than 80% of these diamonds will pass through the Antwerp Diamond Center.