South Sea Pearl

Engagement Rings – Since Grass to Glitz

Diamonds are a girl’s ideal companion , except it hasn’t forever been hence . The habit of giving a ring for the undertake before the “I do” dates rear to prehistoric times , as of cavemen and cavewomen walked the earth . The engagement ring predates the discovery of diamonds by eons , winding through ancient civilizations , traversing along the spice route , and finally gaining popularity all over the industrial revolution , fueled by guess what—the highest successful advertising campaign of the twentieth century .

The firstly engagement rings were notice to belong to the cavewomen—simple , practical , maintenance free , comfortable to replace—hand-crafted beginning heavy grasses and reeds and later replaced by cord . Some balance sheet claim that the cavewoman was “tied” to the caveman by the cord . Oh , individuals lucky brides-to-be!

The the past of the engagement ring is shrouded in the matching vagueness that surrounds the intrigue of love; notably of it seemingly calculated after-the-fact to tell the designs and society that evolved more than time . Financial statement differ , and there are contradicting reports on which mores deserves credit for any given tradition , except the lot accounts proposition a tempting glimpse addicted to society’s attempt to quantify , define and codify reminiscent of . Sandwiched between the conflicting the books , two unfailing facts emerge—the pledge of infinity and the symbolism of the changeless loop , the continuous , unbroken circle symbolizing unchanging similar to , devotion and commitment .

The ancient Roman and Greek civilizations replaced cord rings as well as crude metal rings crafted of iron . Many centuries later , iron was scrapped in favor of gold . It was the shape as of which the ring received its magnitude , not the affair beginning which it was crafted . The ancient Greeks called it a betrothal ring , borrowed beginning the Anglo-Saxon “troweth ,” which inescapable truth—in this shell , true love .

The ring initially evolved from a mere circular loop to suppress pure trimmings . Some ancient Roman rings sported a key on the ring , which allegedly symbolized the key to the spotlight or the key to 50% of the material goods , a a reduced amount of amorous notion . The Fede ring , predecessor to the Irish Claddagh ring , appeared around the identical occasion , excluding its origins leftovers in discuss , originating in either the ancient Greek or Roman civilization—maybe mutually . The Fede ring , short for “Mani in Fede” in Italian , affluence the hands of like . It held two clasped hands intertwined , just about identical to the Claddagh ring .

The ancient Romans in the beginning placed the ring on the third finger . The “vena amoris ,” Latin for vein of like , was notice to be the vein that led on or after the third finger directly to the spotlight , a theory resulting as of the ancient Egyptians .

It wasn’t until the 15th century that diamonds originally adorned the changeless circular band . The past records the initially diamond engagement ring in the 15th century when Archduke Maximillian of Hamburg presented the ring to Mary of Burgandy . At that juncture , diamonds were scarce , traveling via the spice route from India to Europe , and diamond engagement rings were prohibitive to all excluding royalty and the enormously wealthy . It would be centuries until diamonds would be revealed in Brazil and Africa . DeBeers would not discovered its doors until 1888 , and there was no Antwerp Diamond Exchange .

It was not until the industrial revolution that duration took a quantum leap . Advances in transportation brought goods and services that were on one occasion the province of the rich and known to the masses . Diamond mines opened in South Africa , and while diamonds were quiet prized , they were at slightest unfilled .

It was in 1939 that a concerted effort to popularize the diamond engagement began in earnest including an advertising campaign in Extra York City . The sale of diamond engagement rings had been on the decline since 1919 , decreasing by for the reason that much for the reason that 50% , outstanding in part to the Marvelous Depression . Harry Oppenheimer of De Beers Consolidated Mines , Ltd , the famed South African diamond mine , took movement and together with the help of N .W . Ayer & Son , a Added York advertising agency , launched an all-out assault as well as an ad campaign . It was in 1947 that the slogan “A Diamond is Always ,” was born and launched the maximum winning advertising campaign of the twentieth century , moving the diamond engagement ring commencing a lavishness to THE maximum fundamental aspect of a proper engagement . And a small amount of has changed commencing then .

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