Why engagement rings

Diamonds are the hardest substance in nature and once got represented as invincible in the ancient Greek times. It is no wonder that this immortal gem has become the international symbol of everlasting love and marriage. Well, these are our notions regarding the importance of a Halo Diamond Ring for Wedding! For every person, it might hold a different emotion, but the universal truth remains that it is the sweetest gesture of love.

April 3, Classic engagement rings Diamond Engagement Rings Diamond Wedding Rings engagement ring mountings Halo engagement rings infinity engagement rings. July 20, The history of engagement rings is actually quite surprising—what we think of as a symbol of love today was nothing more than a mark of ownership in ancient times. Not very romantic, right? But luckily, times have changed and with engagement season officially upon us, we think it's important to give you a crash course on your new bling.

After all, shouldn't you know exactly what your rock means before you post your first BridesRings selfie? Like so many of our customs today, engagement rings can be traced all the way back to Ancient Rome. According to the Gemological Institute of America GIA , Roman women wore rings of ivory, flint, bone, copper and iron "to signify a business contract or to affirm mutual love and obedience.

The Romans were also fans of owning two engagement rings—an iron ring worn at home and a gold ring worn in public. If you are looking for an excuse to purchase a travel ring , blame it on the Romans! It wasn't until that the engagement ring was given an official meaning. Pope Nicholas I declared that the engagement ring represented a man's intent to marry with gold as the most popular material for betrothal rings at the time.

The first time diamonds appeared on an engagement ring was in when Archduke Maximilian of Austria proposed to Mary of Burgundy. According to the GIA, the ring featured long and narrow diamonds mounted in the shape of an "M.

Even though the Archduke was the first to propose with a diamond ring, he was by no means a trendsetter. In , diamonds were found in South Africa. They were identified in , and five years later, the diamond output of mines in South Africa exceeded one million carats per year. Perhaps because of the culture of marriage in the Victorian times, with dowries a popular way of securing an engagement, simple engagement bands were the most common way to display an engagement.

They were often worn on the right hand before being transferred to the left hand during the marriage ceremony. The campaign worked, and by the early s, engagement rings were leading lines of jewellery in many department stores around the world.

The market was buoyant again. The relationship dynamic between men and women, as well as contemporary gender stereotypes, meant that the engagement ring had a similar purpose to the dowries of the previous century.

In the UK, women could sue men for breaking off a marriage until under Breach of Promise, but women could change their mind without penalty. In the majority of the 20 th century, middle and upper-class women would not have worked.

Working class women would often have to give up work in order to get married. If the engagement or marriage fell apart, a woman could be left in ruins.