Advertising has been essential to establishing the allure and mystique of diamonds. Campaigns to romanticize diamonds subtly altered the public's notion of how a man should court a woman. These magazine advertisements from the 1940s-1980s show how advertisers encouraged men and women alike to purchase and desire diamonds. Click on the ads to enlarge in new windows.

Keepsake Diamond Rings December, 1941 Photo: Adflip.com

Forstner Chain December 1944 Photo: Adflip.com Keepsake Diamond Rings December 1949 Photo: Adflip.com

De Beers July, 1949 Photo: American Advertising Museum De Beers July, 1957 Photo: American Advertising Museum Zales Diamonds November 1981 Photo: Adflip.com

Artcarved Rings December 1949 Photo: Adflip.com De Beers January 1958 Photo: Adflip.com Artcarved Diamond Rings August 1982 Photo: Adflip.com