The Atlantic reproduced a 1982 article on the marketing of diamonds, how they came to represent "forever" essentials, how tastes were led to match the diamonds available to the trade and how the trade/cartel works behind the scenes.
Though the article in the main discusses the West and Japan, some things were familiar. For one, diamonds are seen as quintessential to a Tamilian wedding, even "traditional", for the stone has a long history in the country. But I remember my great grandmother mentioning that diamond jewellery for the bride were not the norm when she was young. It would appear they became de rigeur in South India not long after they became necessary in the West. As in the article, the resale value of diamonds is widely known to be nil amongst those in India who amass jewellery as security, this doesn't lessen the desire to own them. And the popularity of "small" diamonds over the years is visible in the jewellery young Indian women wear. In fact with increasing incomes, it is not uncommon to see brides in diamond "sets" (ostensibly less gaudy than large gems, nevertheless overwhelming in their totality). There is one difference. Diamonds symbolise romance in the West i.e. the man buys it for a woman. In India, it remains dowry - a measure of how much a woman's family can afford.
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