Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but it hasn’t always been so.
The practice of giving a ring for the promise before the “I do”
dates back to prehistoric times, since cavemen and cavewomen
walked the earth. The engagement ring predates the discovery of
diamonds by eons, winding through ancient civilizations,
traversing along the spice route, and eventually gaining
popularity during the industrial revolution, fueled by guess
what—the most successful advertising campaign of the twentieth
century.
The first engagement rings were thought to belong to the
cavewomen—simple, practical, maintenance free, easy to
replace—hand-crafted from heavy grasses and reeds and later
replaced by cord. Some accounts claim that the cavewoman was
“tied” to the caveman by the cord. Oh, those lucky brides-to-be!
The history of the engagement ring is shrouded in the same
mystery that surrounds the intrigue of love; much of it
seemingly calculated after-the-fact to explain the designs and
customs that evolved over time. Accounts differ, and there are
contradicting reports on which civilization deserves credit for
any given ritual, but all accounts offer a fascinating glimpse
into society’s attempt to quantify, define and codify love.
Among the differing accounts, two consistent facts emerge—the
promise of eternity and the symbolism of the eternal loop, the
continuous, unbroken circle symbolizing eternal love, devotion
and commitment.
The ancient Roman and Greek civilizations replaced cord rings
with crude metal rings crafted of iron. Several centuries later,
iron was scrapped in favor of gold. It was the shape from which
the ring received its significance, not the material from which
it was crafted. The ancient Greeks called it a betrothal ring,
borrowed from the Anglo-Saxon “troweth,” which meant truth—in
this case, true love.
The ring first evolved from a mere circular loop to hold simple
embellishments. Some ancient Roman rings sported a key on the
ring, which allegedly symbolized the key to the heart or the key
to 50% of the riches, a less romantic notion. The Fede ring,
predecessor to the Irish Claddagh ring, appeared around the same
time, but its origin remains in question, originating in either
the ancient Greek or Roman civilization—maybe both. The Fede
ring, short for “Mani in Fede” in Italian, means the hands of
love. It held two clasped hands intertwined, almost identical to
the Claddagh ring.
The ancient Romans first placed the ring on the third finger.
The “vena amoris,” Latin for vein of love, was thought to be the
vein that led from the third finger directly to the heart, a
theory derived from the ancient Egyptians.
It wasn’t until the 15th century that diamonds first adorned the
eternal circular band. History records the first diamond
engagement ring in the 15th century when Archduke Maximillian of
Hamburg presented the ring to Mary of Burgandy. At that time,
diamonds were scarce, traveling via the spice route from India
to Europe, and diamond engagement rings were prohibitive to all
but royalty and the very wealthy. It would be centuries until
diamonds would be discovered in Brazil and Africa. DeBeers would
not open its doors until 1888, and there was no Antwerp Diamond
Exchange.
It was not until the industrial revolution that life took a
quantum leap. Advances in transportation brought goods and
services that were once the province of the rich and famous to
the masses. Diamond mines opened in South Africa, and while
diamonds were still precious, they were at least accessible.
It was in 1939 that a concerted effort to popularize the diamond
engagement began in earnest with an advertising campaign in New
York City. The sale of diamond engagement rings had been on the
decline since 1919, decreasing by as much as 50%, due in part to
the Great Depression. Harry Oppenheimer of De Beers Consolidated
Mines, Ltd, the famed South African diamond mine, took action
and with the help of N.W. Ayer & Son, a New York advertising
agency, launched an all-out assault with an ad campaign. It was
in 1947 that the slogan “A Diamond is Forever,” was born and
launched the most successful advertising campaign of the
twentieth century, moving the diamond engagement ring from a
luxury to THE most important element of a proper engagement. And
little has changed since then.