An engagement ring signifies a couple’s promise to build a future together, but the idea of engagement rings has quite a history all on its own.
Mary of Burgundy received a diamond ring from Archduke Maximilian of Austria in the year 1477. 24 hours later, the first engagement ring, was on the hand of a married woman and so begins the tradition of proposing marriage with a ring.
As we probe the more distant past, we find that the engagement ring and its meaning dates even farther back than the 1400s. In ancient Rome men gave betrothal (truth) rings and in time also used to engrave their lover’s name in the ring.
This tradition was not established without thought to just the symbolic meaning. The Egyptians believed that the vein in the ring finger leads straight to the heart, so by attaching the beloved’s name or symbolic gesture to it, he or she was forever connected to the heart.
With the Middle Ages brought about the tradition of using a diamond as a symbol for the blessed union. The diamond is the hardest and strongest mineral on earth, with the ability to resist fire and steel. These facts made it the perfect material to symbolize an unbreakable bond between a married man and woman. Yet, at this time, only the wealthy Europeans and those in a position of royalty could afford to profess their love with such an extravagant gesture.
Jumping ahead to the 19th century, diamonds become more readily available to common folk. The markets become flooded with diamonds after the discovery of the Kimberley diamond region in South Africa. Instead of a rush of people buying diamond engagement rings, the trend switched to rings with birth stones which seemed to be more of a rarity and, thus, more desirable. The wealthy swapped their diamond engagement rings for rings of sapphire, emerald, and ruby with diamond accents, leaving diamonds for the general public to grab.
Hollywood’s glamour influenced the 20th Century public into a renewed desire for diamonds. Marilyn Monroe’s song “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” partly contributed to this comeback.
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The past shows that diamonds are not the driving factor behind the engagement ring. The popularity of the diamond rises and falls, but there is a single quality of the engagement ring that constantly remains popular. All girls dream of a prince sweeping them off their feet. A diamond on her finger given to her by her true love turns her into a true princess. While diamonds remind one of status and richness, the continuity of the ring is an indication of lasting and complete relationship.
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