Friday, September 25, 2009

Diamond Engagement Ring

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The history of the Engagement Diamond Ring is more about myth and fantasy than actual fact until you enter the 20th Century when a marked turn of events shapes public opinion beyond all doubt.

Today almost everyone's interpretation of the Engagement Diamond Ring is something along these lines: "A symbol of ever lasting purity, love, devotion and commitment between two people". But where did it all start?

The earliest surviving records have shown that Archduke Maximillian of Hamburg may have started the trend among the European wealthy and royalty of giving Engagement Diamond Ring in 1477 by giving Mary of Burgundy a diamond betrothal ring.

What happened before 1477? Was there such a thing as an Engagement Diamond Ring and if so were they set with diamonds?