• Diamonds
  • Gemstones
  • Jewellery
  • Famous Jewels
  • Latest
Diamond Buzz Logo
The Surprising History Of Diamond Engagement Rings
Jewellery

The Surprising History of Diamond Engagement Rings

Last updated on December 27, 2022

The tradition of giving a ring as a sign of engagement is not practically new. But if your loved one proposed to you with a diamond ring, you can thank De Beers. The reason diamond rings are so popular nowadays is a massively successful advertising campaign from one of the biggest diamond companies in the history of the world.

History of Diamond Engagement Rings

History Of Diamond Engagement Rings | Diamond Buzz
Ancient bronze ring, 13th-17th century AD. Image: vikingaxerazor / Shutterstock

Anthropologists believe that the tradition of giving an engagement ring originates from Ancient Rome. According to Roman custom, women wore rings made of ivory, flint, bone, copper, and iron to signify mutual love and obedience. Later, gold rings were found in the ruins of Pompeii, a preserved ancient Roman city, which proves the precious metal became a popular choice in the common era.

The Roman wives were also known to own two rings – one made of iron worn at home and one in gold worn in public to impress people. The choice of metals was not accidental. Iron was meant to symbolize strength and permanence, while gold was used as a symbol of wealth.

The official meaning of an engagement ring was given in 850 when Pope Nicholas I declared that an engagement ring represented a man’s intent to marry a woman with gold, the most popular metal at the time. According to records, the first proposal with a diamond engagement ring was made to Mary of Burgundy by Archduke Maximillian of Austria in 1477. The ring featured elongated cut diamonds mounted in the shape of an “M”. This spread the trend for diamond rings among European nobility and aristocracy.

During the Victorian era (June 20, 1837 – January 22, 1901), it was popular to ornate engagement rings with a mix of diamonds and other gemstones, precious metals and enamels. Often these rings were crafted in the shape of flowers and were called “posy rings”. In the Edwardian era (1901 – 1910), brides still preferred engagement rings with a mix of diamonds and other jewels, but in filigree settings.

In fact, diamond engagement rings did not become that popular until 1947 when De Beers, the biggest diamond company in the history of the world, launched an advertising campaign. The slogan “A Diamond is Forever” has changed the world of the jewellery industry and made people dream of a diamond engagement ring.

Since When a Diamond Is Forever?

Kimberley Diamond Mines, 19Th Century | Diamond Buzz
Kimberley diamond mines, 19th century. Image: ilbusca / Canva

In the 1870s, miners began discovering huge veins of diamonds in South Africa, and the diamond market ice was finally broken. As diamonds had quickly become a pretty common commodity, mine owners realized they should make a new plan if they wanted to keep the high price of the gem. In 1888 several major South African mines merged to form De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. The merge gave chance to effectively control the flow of diamonds from South Africa onto world markets. As a result, diamonds became rare and more valuable, so their popularity as a gem on engagement rings began to rise.

In the late 1930s, De Beers rolled out another brilliant marketing plan. They turned to the New York advertising company N.W. Ayer for help in convincing Americans that they desperately need diamonds. The agency got Hollywood’s biggest stars to wear diamonds and encouraged leading designers to talk up diamond rings as an emerging trend. The plan worked beautifully. In the first three years of the campaign, American diamond sales increased by 50%. It was one of the most effective campaigns of all time.

In 1947 De Beers launched another campaign for diamond engagement rings with the slogan “A Diamond is Forever”. The campaign was meant to make diamonds, with their brilliance and unbreakable chemistry, emblematic of the eternal commitment of marriage. Between 1939 and 1979, De Beers’s advertising budget soared from $200,000 to $10 million per year. And it was worth it, as wholesale diamond sales in the United States grew from $23 million to $2.1 billion.

Featured image: Aleona / Shutterstock
FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedIn

Post navigation

Yellow Diamonds Buying Guide
Expert Guide to Buying an Eternity Band
  • Reasons To Choose Private Jewellers | Diamond BuzzReasons to Choose Private Jewellers
    Jewellery

Advertise on Diamond Buzz

We help our clients with the best and most effective advertising solutions by creating engagement for jewellery brands across the Diamond Buzz audience.

Newsletter

By entering your email address, you consent to receive our latest news and exclusive offers. You may withdraw your consent at any time. Please read our Privacy Policy for more details.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

  • Contact
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Cookie Settings
  • Instagram
Copyright © 2018 - 2023 Diamond Buzz. All Rights Reserved.
Cressida Pro by LyraThemes.com

We use cookies on our website to personalise your user experience and analyse our website traffic. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to the use of all the cookies.

Privacy Policy    Settings    Accept All

Cookie Settings

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are essential for the website to function properly. This category includes cookies that ensure the basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyse the key performance indexes of the website, which help in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_ga_SGEW9HERE92 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analysed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo