The concept of engagement rings or a betrothal ring in essence revolves around ‘confirmation’ of a wedding whereby the individual wearing the ring is ‘engaged’ to be ‘married’ in the near future. This concept was initially only prevalent in Western cultures, however over time the concept has seeped into other cultures throughout the world.
In general, a single elegant ring that is usually crowned by a diamond is presented as an engagement gift to an intended partner by a suitor to be their spouse and generally the ring is coupled with a marriage proposal.
The root or origin of this culture revolving around engagement rings can be traced back to the Egyptians who are thought to have invented the engagement ring and that the Greeks adopted the tradition later, however, as far as tracing the ‘engagement ring tradition’ reliably, it leads to Rome whereby it started to be used to indicate a formal agreement that leads to marriage at a future date.
According to archives the current widespread belief that engagement rings were originally a component of the bride’s dowry which leads to the literal purchase and subsequent ownership of the bride has however been scrutinized and called into question by modern day scholars as data do not match this belief.
It was only in the era of Protestant Reformation that the wedding ring was deemed as a replacement to the betrothal ring, in countries that held the Catholic faith this transition happened much later.
The transition of the tradition to buy diamond engagement rings took place during the Victorian era when diamonds were discovered in South Africa, circa 1866 which led to a ‘diamond flood’ in the market around 1872 when total diamond output surpassed one million carats per year resulting in the ordinary people being able to afford rings with diamonds.
Prior to this the diamond engagement ring was an exclusive domain that belonged to nobility and aristocracy. Part of this ‘diamond fever’ was also attributed the ‘Kohinoor’ diamond which was re-cut for Queen Victoria’s crown 1852. The popularity and demand for diamonds endured for another half a century since then until the end of the first World War which saw demand decline and again another decline during the Great Depression.
It was not until 1938 when De Beers initiated a string of marketing campaigns that the diamond demand and value gained momentum. This marketing campaign that kicked off in 1939 included a component of education that explained the 4Cs of diamonds to the public and later on the slogan “a diamond is forever” was invented resulting in consumers accepting that that the only stone that suits an engagement ring ‘must be a diamond’ which resulted in the sales of diamond engagement rings soar.
This triggered the diamond engagement ring concept that we see and practice today that has also maintained the value of naturally mined diamonds besides the fact that there are options for consumers to choose lab grown diamonds which are cheaper compared to natural diamonds despite possessing the same qualities and characteristics.
