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Wedfrugal.com Articles - History of Engagement Rings by Rachel Sanfordlyn Shreckengast
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History of Engagement Rings, Page Four

copyright Rachel Sanfordlyn Shreckengast of WedFrugal.com

Throughout history, diamond engagement rings did enjoy popularity among those who were wealthy and those who were royalty. Many sources mention that Archduke Maximillian of Hamburg and Mary of Burgandy made the wearing of diamond engagement rings popular in 1477. It is highly doubtful that Maximillian and Mary started the trend of diamond engagement rings, though it is possible they started the trend among the wealthy or those who were royalty. After all, they were rather expensive and could not become common if the "common-folk" could not afford them. A true trend involves more than just a small section of the society and this is why I find the possibility highly doubtful. As a matter of fact, diamond engagement rings were not to become "traditional" until hundreds of years later.

The De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. was created in 1888 in order to protect the investment of diamond mine investors. A new mine was discovered in South Africa in 1870. Since only a small amount of diamonds had been found prior to this, the discovery flooded the market and cut into the profits of investors. The De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. was created in order to regain control of the supply of diamonds. After they gained control of the supply, they then needed to control the demand for diamonds.

This attempt began when Harry Oppenheimer (son of the De Beers founder) visited New York in order to meet with Gerold M. Lauck. Gerold was the president of N.W. Ayer, which was a leading advertising agency at the time. You see, diamond sales had declined since 1919 by 50%, and something had to be done to increase the demand for them.

The year of the advertising campaign was 1939. That's right, the tradition of diamonds as THE engagement ring...as the only correct option, started slightly over 60 years ago and was the main result of an advertising campaign. While the diamond did enjoy periods of popularity in times prior to this (Victorian era for example), this was the factor that made the diamond engagement ring the ONLY choice that was acceptable. You don't have to take my word for it though. Feel free to research on your own.

The reason that I decided to delve into the history of engagment rings is quite simple. I have a collection of old engagement and wedding photographs that range in age from the Victorian era to the 1940's. The majority of the photographs show no ring or a ring that is obviously not a diamond. In most cases, all that you see is a simple gold band with no stones on it. That's what actually inspired this article. I found it a bit odd that there were so few diamonds, so delved into researching the subject. This article shows the results, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it!

Engagement Ring History Links

Page One | Page Two | Page Three | Page Four | Engagement Ring History Links

Best Wishes,
Rachel Sanfordlyn Shreckengast

*NOTE 1: Wedding traditions are often speculative. This is why you see a lot of "it is suggested", "may have" and similar statements in my articles on them. While there is usually a basis in fact, the traditions often get embellished. Many wedding traditions are not very old, and are still stated as traditions. I do my best in researching them, and prefer finding the information in antique books. Where this is not possible, I attempt to find at least three sources for the information.

*NOTE 2: Due to the sheer amount of research and time involved, I no longer do interviews based on wedding traditions. I have a full schedule, and wedding traditions are too speculative in nature. This basically means that very few people are experts on wedding traditions, including me. Thank you for your understanding.

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Best Wishes,
Rachel Sanfordlyn Shreckengast

WedFrugal.com
Personal Pages

Owner, WedFrugal.com (February 18, 2001 to present)
The Wedding Frugality Page (now at wedfrugal.com - December 1995 to May 2001)
-former About.com Weddings Guide (October 26, 1997 to April 5, 2001)
-former Wed Net columnist (October 1996 to December 1997)
-Dollar Stretcher contributor (Various Dates)

Copyright, Rachel Sanfordlyn Shreckengast 12/95 to present