The History of the Engagement Ring

As I was riding the elevator this afternoon, a woman complimented me on my engagement ring. She wanted to look at it and asked all sorts of questions before sharing with me her hope that her daughter's boyfriend would soon be in the market for a similar purchase (wink wink), which started me thinking...

What exactly is the meaning & history behind an engagement ring?

According to Wikipedia:

"The modern Western form of the practice of giving or exchanging engagement rings is traditionally thought to have begun in 1477 when Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, gave Mary of Burgundy a diamond ring as an engagement present."

Okay, so that was 531 years before Steven Sheppard, Esquire, gave Nicole of West Babylon a similar gift. What happened historically, and what does an engagement ring mean today? Well, according to one source:

The ancient Romans called their engagement ring the betrothal (or "truth") ring and were the first to wear it on the fourth finger of the left hand. This finger contains the "vein of love", or vena amoris in Latin, which leads straight to the heart.

Because a diamond is the hardest and strongest mineral on Earth it came to symbolize the unbending union of a man and woman in wedlock, and in the Middle Ages it became more commonplace for the European wealthy and royalty to give a diamond as an engagement ring.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, diamonds became more readily available and therefore a more attainable choice for engagement rings. As we learned in high school, an increase in supply usually means a decrease in demand. Well, another century passed and the folks at DeBeers began their "A Diamond Is Forever" campaign which once again encouraged the purchase of diamond engagement rings as a glamorous and undying statement of love. You remember the commercials, right? Ah, they could stop the heart of any warm-blooded woman...

Advertising slogan aside diamonds really are forever and with a bit of luck, a blessing from above, lots of patience, support from family and friends, and countless memories to come... so will be our marriage.

(Photo above taken by future cousin-in-law Robert Young)