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Diamond Engagement Rings: A History

Because of their beauty, strength and durability, diamonds for centuries have symbolized the eternal love of two people that have pledged to join together in marriage. The actual tradition of giving a diamond engagement ring as a promise of marriage is thought to have started in 1477, when Archduke Maxi million of Austria presented Mary of Burgundy with a diamond ring. This practice became a trend among royalty and the wealthy, and the rest of the world's upper classes began to embrace it over the next few centuries.But giving a diamond engagement ring as a symbol of betrothal really started to become an established, widespread tradition once the gems became more accessible and affordable to the public. And that all started in 1870 with the discovery of diamond mines in South Africa. These new sources flooded the market and led to the creation of the De Beers conglomerate to control the worldwide diamond supply. During these early decades of the De Beers dynasty, diamond sales flourished in Europe, the United States and other key world markets.

The tradition of placing both the engagement ring and wedding band on the fourth finger of the left hand stems from a Greek belief that a certain vein in that finger, the vena amoris, runs directly to the heart. In the Middle Ages, men often kept a betrothal ring suspended from the band of their hats, ready to give to their chosen maid. Posy rings, which were inscribed with love poems and messages, were popular betrothal rings from the Middle Ages until Victorian times. A popular engagement ring style during the Renaissance was called the "Gimmel,"

The smallest engagement ring on record was given to two-year-old Prince Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, on the event of her betrothal to the infant Dauphin of France, son of King Francis I, in 1518. Mary's tiny gold ring was set with a diamond. A diamond cluster ring in the shape of a long pointed oval was popular as an engagement ring during the time of Louis XVI (1754-1793), and remained fashionable for 150 years afterward. Hearts were popular motifs for engagement and wedding rings during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Such rings often combined rubies (signifying love) and diamonds (signifying eternity). Despite the diamond's growing hold on the bridal market, colored stone rings were still quite popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Often, the first letter of the stones within the setting spelled out the name of the giver or a word (for example, "dearest" would be represented by diamond, emerald, amethyst, ruby, epidote, sapphire and turquoise).

Queen Victoria's (1819-1901) engagement ring was in the form of a serpent. The snake motif was believed to be a symbol of good luck. The Tiffany, or solitaire, setting was introduced in the late nineteenth century. The "princess ring," a type of English engagement ring sporting three to five large diamonds in a row across the top, was popular in the United States in the early twentieth century. The three-stone style has enjoyed a major comeback recently. In the early part of the twentieth century, platinum was the metal of choice for engagement rings because of its strength and durability in holding a diamond.