It all started in ancient Egypt. As now, the ring symbolized eternity, but the space inside was seen as a gateway. Romantic, right? Rings were also given to seal betrothals in the Roman Empire, but the custom faded away, only to be revived in 13th Century Europe.
We wear it on the ring finger, which was once thought to contain a vein that went straight to the heart, the vena amoris. Lovely!
Trendsetter Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave the first well-documented diamond engagement ring to Mary of Burgundy in 1477. Diamond engagement rings immediately became popular with wealthy and titled Europeans. If you like that kind of thing, we found a fun post on Ringspotters about Royal Engagement Rings going back to 1937.
As more mines were discovered, diamonds became less expensive, and more of us were able to participate in the trend. Sometime around the 1930s, the idea that diamond engagement rings are for everyone caught on in a big way.
In the Victorian era, lovers used gemstones to spell out names or endearments, like D-E-A-R-E-S-T spelled out with diamond, emerald, amethyst, ruby, emerald, sapphire and topaz. The classic diamond engagement ring is still our favorite, but we love seeing how couples create their own statements with colored jewels and other custom engagement ring ideas.
Above, that’s the eternity ring Joe DiMaggio used to propose to Marilyn Monroe. Love Marilyn’s ring? Here’s our lookalike.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on this time-honored tradition in the comments!
