With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, a whole host of marriage proposals should be in the pipeline right now. The highlight? Putting the engagement ring on your partner’s left ring finger. A romantic tradition that dates back hundreds of years.
The history of the engagement ring goes back several centuries, and its custom has evolved over time. A symbol of commitment to love, this stone-set ring is traditionally given by a man to his partner when he proposes, with his knee on the ground and emotion in his voice when he says “Will you marry me?
From iron rings to richly decorated rings
According to several sources, the custom dates back to the time of the ancient Egyptians. The circle of the ring represented eternity and was placed on the ring finger of the left hand, whose vein was directly connected to the heart. This tradition can also be traced back to the Romans in the 2nd century BC. The principle was similar: give the bride a ring to seal her love. As the Baume jewellers recount, the bride’s guardian would make a solemn promise on her behalf and, in exchange, her future husband would give her a ring as a token.
In those days, there was little frills or extravagance. Rings were made of iron or gold and devoid of gems. It was not until the Middle Ages that rings were adorned with stones by the wealthy elite. It is said that in 1477, Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave Mary of Burgundy a ring set with diamonds forming an M shape. Diamonds became the symbol of fidelity, chosen for their purity and eternal duration.
From the 17th century onwards, rings were adorned with other stones such as rubies, garnets, emeralds, amethysts and even pearls, as well as inscriptions inside the ring. They are more original and ornate and follow the main artistic trends, from neoclassicism to romanticism.
The diamond ring
Still rare and very expensive, diamonds really took off when deposits were discovered in Africa in the mid-19th century. More and more social classes ordered rings set with this stone. A century later, the De Beers diamond company launched a campaign to boost its sales, which had fallen during the Great Depression. The slogan ‘A Diamond is Forever’ made the stone a must-have for marriage proposals. Other advertising campaigns encouraged men to invest in a diamond ring. Through the centuries, diamonds in the pompadour, solitaire and toi et moi (you and me) shapes have become a must-have.
Some of the world’s most famous and imposing rings include those worn by Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II, Grace Kelly, Jackie Kennedy, Marylin Monroe, Wallis Simpson (Duchess of Windsor), Elizabeth Taylor, Angelina Jolie, Kim Kardashian, Victoria Beckham, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and Amal Clooney. The most expensive? It was an anonymous buyer who acquired it in 2017 under the aegis of Sotheby’s: an engagement ring, The Pink Star, worth $71.2 million.
According to MarketResearchIntellect, the size of the engagement ring market has been estimated at $71.4 billion in 2023, with of course a strong polarisation between jewellery bought by the general public and the high jewellery adored by the wealthiest, whose pieces can fetch millions. A 2018 Opinion Way study showed, for example, that the average French budget for an engagement ring was €710 ($746). In the United States, some studies put the figure at around $3,000. By 2031, again according to MarketResearchIntellect, the sector could be worth $151.7 billion, representing annual growth of 7.1% from 2024.
Read also: The history of the aperitif
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