Diamond Engagement Rings
"A diamond is forever," or so the catchphrase goes, and for many brides-to-be, a diamond is the true test of a man's commitment. This idea has been reiterated in popular culture for decades, and the diamond engagement ring is still used as the fundamental symbol of commitment, even as other marital traditions—with much longer histories—are altered, updated, or abandoned, and as the percentages of successful marriages decline.
The history of the engagement ring is probably as long as the history of civilization. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all used some sort of circular jewelry—rings, bracelets, chains—to symbolize the bond between betrothed or married couples. One theory suggests that our modern practice of wearing the engagement ring on the fourth finger of the left hand comes from the classical belief that the vena amoris (vein of love) ran directly from the heart to this finger.
However, the earliest known mention of the vena amoris does not occur until Henry Swineburn's 1686 "A Treatise of Spousal or Matrimonial Contracts," and this reference seems to greatly distort classical texts. Even if there is ancient precedent for the "ring finger," its use was not widely accepted until the modern era. In the Baroque and Renaissance periods, depending where one lived, Europeans might wear their rings on the thumb or middle finger, and no there was no consensus favoring the left hand over the right.
The earliest record of a diamond engagement ring appears around this time, given from Archduke Maximillian of Hamburg to Mary of Burgundy in 1477. Diamond engagements became fashionable among the nobility and very wealthy. Being the strongest and hardest known material, resistant to fire and steel, diamonds were thus were an appropriate symbol of unbending union. They were also extremely rare and expensive, making them all the more desirable as symbols of status.
In the 1700's, diamonds were discovered in Brazil, and the increased supply only fueled their popularity among the wealthy in Europe. In 1870, however, diamonds were found in South Africa in such large quantities that their value and prestige fell considerably. Within ten years, De Beers was formed to control the diamond trade. In addition to establishing the price of diamonds—De Beers has a history of limiting the amount of diamonds available on the market to keep prices high, though this practice is not in effect today—the company has had an extraordinary effect on the cultural implications of diamonds.
"A Diamond is Forever" was coined by Frances Gerety in 1947. De Beers had hired her employer, advertising agency N. W. Ayer, to help increase diamond sales. With this phrase, De Beers launched a highly successful campaign linking diamonds to romantic love. Marketing materials coached bachelors on how to select the perfect engagement ring, notably instructing them that the appropriate price would be 2-3 months salary. The process of shopping for an engagement ring has since become a central part of most upcoming marriages, with couples often selecting a ring together, even designing their own rings, but rarely straying from diamonds as the focus. By linking diamonds to romantic love in the popular imagination—no longer a luxury of the wealthy elite—De Beers a struck an emotional chord, and a figurative goldmine. In 2000, Advertising Age magazine named Gerety's four-word phrase the best advertising slogan of the twentieth century, and it has been used to sell diamonds in at least 29 languages.