Diamond News
The Tradition Of Diamond Engagement Rings
Contrary to popular belief, the tradition of diamond engagement rings is actually a fairly modern one. Although records of diamond engagement rings being given go back several hundred years, it was nonetheless neither common nor traditional to do so until comparatively recently.
Although rings were a common gift to indicate betrothal and true love since even Roman times, it was Archduke Maximilian of Hamburg who first presented a unique diamond engagement ring to his intended, Mary of Burgundy, in 1477.
At the time, diamonds were one of the rarest gems, and their exceptional qualities made them not only highly desirable, but also formed the foundation of their eventual rise to prominence as the gemstone of choice for professing undying love.
However, because of that very rarity, it was a long time before the common man could hope to offer a diamond engagement ring to his intended wife, and at first, only the nobility, or very wealthy merchant class, could even consider such a thing. Less wealthy people continued to give an engagement ring in the Roman or Celtic style to announce impending weddings, often in the form of two clasping hands, still popular today.
Diamond Discoveries Impact Engagement Rings
The discovery of diamonds in Brazil, early in the 18th Century, finally began to supplement the original Indian source of the gemstones. As diamonds became marginally more accessible, it became fashionable for the wealthy to give gold engagement rings with diamond clusters.
However, the extreme cost associated with such designer rings still limited their existence to the wealthy, and it could hardly be considered a common custom.
It was not until the discovery of the diamond fields of South Africa in 1867 that diamonds became common enough to enable the average working man to afford them. As soon as diamond prices fell, due to the large supply, the previously exclusively wealthy fashion of setting a diamond engagement ring became extremely popular among the middle classes, where it soon developed into a true custom.
Marketing Diamonds – Creating A Tradition
The real catalyst for the tradition of diamond design engagement rings however, lies a little bit further on in time. With the vast supplies of diamonds coming from the diamond fields of Kimberly, the price of, and demand for, diamonds was steadily dropping, particularly through the Depression years of the 20’s and 30’s.
Even as demand picked up a little, with a sudden fashion for platinum rings set in diamonds, the second world war started, and all platinum was reserved for the war effort, once again killing demand.
Enter now the already famous De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. Since 1880, De Beers had largely controlled the diamond trade from South Africa. However, they were struggling with the surplus supply, and relatively low demand and prices in the market after WWII.
Diamonds Are Forever
In an attempt to convince people to keep their diamonds, and cherish them as family heirlooms, De Beers launched their immortal advertising campaign, Diamonds Are Forever. Through various marketing initiatives, they convinced people that diamonds were something to keep, not to sell. And as a result, the amount of second-hand diamonds on the market dropped dramatically. This created a substantially increased demand for new diamonds.
At the same time, famous movies such as Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend and Breakfast At Tiffany’s created a growing perception the diamonds were the only way to demonstrate your love.
De Beers followed up by privately suggesting that jewellers give the advice that 2 to 3 months salary was a reasonable amount to spend on an engagement ring
And that is really where the tradition of diamond engagement rings began. Today, it’s estimated that some 78% of all engagement rings are diamond rings, and we can call it a tradition in truth.