The story of engagement rings that we know today and that symbolizes in the western tradition the intention and commitment of a couple to unite and get married goes back to ancient times from the first vestiges of our civilization, despite of the fact that over the centuries and times it has had multiple variations; but it still has the same meaning.
It is known that at the time of Prehistory men made ties of herbs and placed them on their wrists, waist and feet with the aim of controlling their spirits as a way to ensure that their women would be with them and that they would assume a formal commitment. This has obviously changed; however, that control of men over women is still maintained in some cultures.
But it is said that the origin of the engagement ring dates back to ancient Egypt, when women placed a ring on the ring finger as a symbol of their commitment to a man. These engagement rings of the Egyptian couples were made with wood, bone, ivory, plant fibers or leather.
The reason they wore this ring on the ring finger was because the “vena amoris” (name placed by the Romans) of that finger reaches the heart; which gave it a special meaning as proof of the couple’s love, who also believed that their love would be tied and could not escape.
The Romans also used shaped-iron hoop engagement rings that represented the commitment that both members of the couple were assuming, in addition to symbolizing the eternal life cycle of the new couple. Likewise, the groom gave an engagement ring to his father-in-law during a ceremony held to ask for his daughter’s hand, and his girlfriend gave him one in the form of a key, which opened the locks that served as custody of objects of utmost importance to the family as proof of trust.
In the eighth century of our era, the Jews began with the custom of giving a kind of engagement ring in their wedding ceremonies, which belonged to the synagogue since its dimensions were enormous and it was impossible to carry them in the fingers.
For their part, the Christians began the tradition of exchanging engagement rings in the third century; however, it was in the thirteenth century when this rite was formalized because the ancient ecclesiastical authorities did not accept them since they were considered as a “pagan tradition”, beginning to use the engagement ring made with gold.
In the England of Edward VI in 1549, it was decreed that the third finger of the left hand; that is, the ring finger, was the official finger to place the engagement ring, and also in the Book of Common Prayer the left hand was designated as the hand of marriage. Likewise, the Roman Church decreed that the left hand was the hand of marriage, being established in 1615, an estate contained in the Roman Ritual of Paul V.
Although centuries, decades and years passed and the tradition of the engagement ring remained in different cultures and religions, the tradition of the diamond ring to establish a couple engagement is much more recent since it was from the fifteenth century when it started to be designed and elaborated with precious gems embedded in metals such as gold and silver.
The first engagement ring encrusted with diamonds dates from 1477, and was presented by the Archduke Maximilian of Austria to Maria de Burgundy. Already in the mecca of cinema, it started the use of large diamond rings in films like “Gentlemen prefer blondes” starring Marilyn Monroe in 1953. This movie icon motivated by the beauty of diamonds, said in an interview that “Diamonds were a woman’s best friends”.
Currently, 78% of engagement rings sold worldwide are diamonds because due to its great physical properties, this precious stone is durable, unbreakable and symbolizes “eternity”, the reason why it has been called that way, since its name comes from the Greek adamas, which means invincible.
In this way, history is full of stories that show the importance that the human being has attached to engagement rings, so they undoubtedly symbolize respect, love, the responsibility of loving each other and sharing in good times and in the bad ones, establishing a bond capable of procreating new men and women from unconditional love; and although reality has always shaped very different realities, it is always pleasant to know that in the mind and hearts is this kind of customs based on love.
ALFA