Here's one woman that hates diamonds. I told my husband never to buy me one. Waste of money and full of vanity.

No, that would be the Holocaust.

Think of it as a wedding tax levied and collected by De Beers.

A super expensive ring and the 2 months salary rule are really dumb traditions. Most newly engaged couples would be much better off using the engagement ring money as part of a house down payment or something.

But I don't mind good marketing for a product so much. If a diamond company manages to convince people that they should buy diamonds, well, it sucks for most people but good for them. A cruise line tries to convince people they need to go on cruises and a pizza shop tries to convince people that they need more pizza in their life. That's all normal business.

I think the big problems surrounding diamonds is the artificial price manipulation and monopoly. They are alleged to do some really nasty and dirty stuff to keep the price artificially high that you never hear a cruise line or pizza shop engaging in.

Why yes, yes it is/was:

In 1888 Cecil Rhodes established De Beers, and by 1900, controlled an estimated 90% of the world's diamond production. To sell these basically worthless stones, De Beers ad agency, N.W. Ayer & Son launched the famous "A Diamond is Forever" campaign and encouraged men to spend 2 months salary on the stone. By the 1940s, engagement rings became the leading line of jewelry in department stores. All of this financed by none other than N.H. Rothchild & Sons.

TL:DR - Don't buy diamonds

I think Cecil Rhodes was involved with the idea.