Engagement Diamonds
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Have you ever thought why diamonds are related to engagement? Why does the classic engagement ring have a huge diamond on it?
The answer goes back thousands of years to the Roman era.
At those times, the Romans thought the diamond had magical powers including dispelling fears, warding off craziness and purifying poison. The wearing of the diamond ring protected the loved one from these fates. The diamond ring was also worn in medieval Italy where the countrymen believed that the stone ensured a friendly and amorous marriage. Only small stones were used in these rings and they did not necessarily have to be polished or that beautiful. In France it became fashionable to wear engagement diamonds after a psychic known as the Baron d’Orchamps claimed that they warded off evil influences and attracted prosperity.
The first written accounts of wearing these rings seem to appear around the fourteenth century when an Archduke in Austria married a French member of royalty in 1477. Sometimes the fashion was for the bride to wear her engagement diamonds in a bridal tiara or in a brooch.
In the Renaissance, the Victorian era and even up to the 1920s it just was not that common to see a diamond wedding ring. Stacked rings of precious gems were more common. The first rings that appeared were actually ruby and diamond rings. Rings with multiple precious stones were common as well. Engagement diamond rings are largely the result of a huge advertising campaign launched by the African/Dutch mining company called De Beers. This is where the slogan “A Diamond is Forever” comes from. Also large stores of diamonds were found in Africa at that time which made them more affordable for the every day man and woman.
Next time you see a diamond ring given as engagement, keep in mind that the real target of this ring is to protection. The rest is just show off J
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