Where Do Engagement Rings Come From?

Since the beginning of early civilisation, man has used rings as a way to indicate betrothal and as a sign of commitment between partners. Over time the ring has evolved to create the modern engagement rings we recognise today, but still the underlying sentiment of fidelity, honour and love have remained a constant.

During the Roman era when this custom started to become more common practice, there was no separate engagement and wedding ring. The one band would be used to represent the engagement period and would then be moved to a different finger once the union had taken place.

Originally the band was made of iron because the metal was more readily available and represented strength and fortitude but by the 2nd century A.D. this had become gold. The first acknowledged occasion of a diamond engagement ring being used is in 1477 by Archduke Maximilian of Hamburg presented to his lady love, Mary of Burgundy. While similar examples appeared after this date, becoming increasingly more lavish and ornate from the 1700s, it was really the preserve of the wealthy as diamonds were incredibly rare at the time and therefore hugely expensive.

This began to change when in the late 1800s a huge deposit of diamonds was found in South Africa. The company that owned the mines, De Beers, set about making the diamond engagement ring accessible to all and with a massive promotional campaign began to extol their virtues to the general public. With the engagement ring price range now starting at a much more reasonable level, thousands upon thousands flocked to buy an engagement ring. Sale of the diamond solitaire as the only true representative of this union was compounded by actresses and stars such as Grace Kelly, who was given her very own emerald cut diamond engagement ring from Prince Rainer.

Intertwined with this development was that of the change in "Breach of Promise to Marry" statute. Previously men could be sued for compensation if they had proposed marriage to a woman and then renege on the deal because of the perceived damage to her reputation. Women were still expected to be pure on their wedding day, but during the engagement period many would lose their virginity. It helped to ensure men were not getting engaged for the "wrong" reasons. However from the 1930s the rule started to be phased out and so brides-to-be needed something to take its place to give them reassurance of their beau's fidelity.

Today, engagement ring designers create more than just the traditional solitaire and with the growth of online jewellery stores the choice is literally limitless for modern couples. So when it comes to doing your own engagement ring search, it pays to scan the Internet to find not only the widest selection of rings but prices up to 60 percent less then the high street.

Gary Ingram is Managing Director of The Diamond Store.co.uk, one of the UK's largest online jewellers that specializes in offering a wide range of classic and modern engagement rings with engagement ring prices at up to 60 percent below those on the high street.

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