Diamond Engagement Rings

The concept of an engagement started off as a purely religious ceremony during 1215 where it was pronounced that marriages were to be publicized in churches by the priests so that well-founded hindrances, if any, could be made known. The contemporary practice, predominantly western, of exchanging engagement rings is believed to have originated in 1477 when the then Roman Emperor, Maximilian I, gave Mary of Burgundy a diamond ring to consecrate their engagement