Diamond Engagement Rings

A diamond engagement ring is a ring worn by a woman indicating her engagement to be married. It represents a formal agreement to a future marriage. The inception of the engagement ring has been tied to Pope Innocent III who declared a longer waiting period between betrothal and marriage in the early thirteenth century. The first recorded diamond engagement ring was presented by the Archduke Maximilian of Austria to Mary of Burgundy as a betrothal gift in 1477.

Traditional belief established that the engagement ring was to be worn on the fourth finger of the left hand which many believed contains the vena amoris or “vein of love”. Modern convention stipulates that an engagement ring should have single or multiple diamonds as they are considered symbols of eternity and endurance. They are expected to be valuable and to reflect the prospective groom's commitment.