Planning & Inspiration
B&B Spotlight: Unique, Custom-Made Engagement Rings By Independent Jewelry Designers in NYC
The tradition of the engagement ring can be traced back to ancient Rome when a bride-to-be was given two rings – a gold one to wear in public and an iron ring to wear at home while carrying out household duties. She wore it on her left hand as it was believed that what we now call the ‘ring finger’ contained a vein, the vena amoris, that led to the heart. Archduke Maximillian of Austria was the first to use a diamond ring to symbolize engagement in 1477 when he betrothed Mary of Burgundy. This started a trend within the upper class of using the diamond engagement ring to not only symbolize love, but also wealth and status. Confined mostly to the affluent for the next five hundred years, the diamond ring’s modern-day popularity didn’t begin until 1947 when De Beers launched the advertising campaign “A Diamond is Forever.”
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