From Iron to Diamonds: The Amazing Story of Engagement Rings
Can you explain, how diamond rings became the ultimate representation of romance? However, the tradition of exchanging rings determines back 3,000 years. Let’s discover it and find the surprising answers!
The biggest timeline of Engagement rings ever
From the whole history of engagement rings, we can make some milestones to create the scheme for learning.
- The ancient Romans. They managed engagement rings to represent control of the future bride. The ring meant a marriage agreement was in place, and also expressed the ownership of the daughter would soon transfer from the father to the prospective groom. In public, the young lady usually wore a gold band. Back at the home, the gold ring was exchanged out for a metal one. The groom didn’t ask for the bride’s heart in marriage; he asked for a transfer of ownership.
- The initial diamond engagement ring. It is considered the first diamond engagement ring that was given by the Archduke Maximilian of Austria to his future Queen, Mary of Burgundy in 1477. It should be noted here, however, that only the nobility was permitted to wear precious jewels such as diamonds, rubies and sapphires.
- In the mid-1700s, King Louis XV of France required his craftsman to produce a diamond cut to follow the contour of his mistresses’ lips, Madame de Pompadour. The resulting form is now known as the marquise cut.
- Another French attraction came from Baron d’Orchamps, a renowned Oracle in Paris. He said if a diamond was worn on the third finger of the left hand, it would ward off destructive ghosts and invite good luck at the same time. Because he had a high-class following, many ladies of the upper classes soon clamoured for this mysterious diamond ring. An extra popular must-have was born.
Because diamonds were so unique, expensive, and valuable, it wasn’t until the late 1800s that diamond engagement rings became more popular and extensive. Other jewels, including rubies and emeralds, were also highlighted in engagement rings.
The concept of the engagement rings
The idea of the engagement ring has been around for centuries. By 1500, artisans produced tools to create facets on diamonds, the most pioneering design being the rose cut. A fairly pure form, the stone had facets on all sides, normally six or eight and a tiny peak in the centre, relating to a small rosebud.
Engagement rings proceeded to play an important role in marriage agreements during the Renaissance, but diamonds were rare, so only those with significant wealth could present a diamond engagement ring.
Diamonds were remarkably expensive during the Middle Ages and mined only in India. Around 1700, large diamond deposits were found in South Africa, causing the gemstones more affordable and more simply available.
In the middle of the Victorian Era, diamond engagement rings were available to everyone and then just 40 years later the habit of presenting engagement rings began to pass.
Four decades after diamonds overwhelmed the jewellery market, political crisis and financial weakness began in Europe and slowly expanded to Asia, the United Kingdom and the Americas. As men moved off to fight in the World Wars, couples all around the earth began to buy only plain wedding bands, instead of engagement rings and wedding bands, to keep their hard-earned money.
So then a selling plan that would bring diamond engagement rings back into the spotlight for good was promoted.
Engagement rings today and in the future
Today, more than 80 percent of brides-to-be favour a diamond engagement ring.
An increasing course also includes engagement rings for men – “mangagement rings” – though it should be remarked that men’s engagement rings have long been common in parts of Europe and South America.
Today’s couples are frequently informed of the social novels of their engagement rings, and are regularly choosing vintage engagement rings and antique rings that are not affiliated with blood diamonds or other illegal systems.
The myth of engagement rings is growing every year, with every newly engaged couple attaching to the history of these sentimental and significant rings.
