History of engagement rings

These days, many people take wedding bands and engagement rings for granted, and although they give these beautiful items of jewelry with integrity and love, they are often given with no real knowledge of the meaning behind them.
As seen by their use of the wedding ring, ancient Romans weren't the most sentimental of people and the early version of their "engagement ring" were thought to have carved keys on them. It has been debated that this could have been to symbolize the woman's right to access and own half of everything following marriage. However, the more sentimental like to think that the key may have been a key to her husband's heart.
The story goes that a smitten Austrian, Archduke Maximilian I of Habsburg, started it all on August 17th, 1477. Princess Mary of Burgundy, the Archduke's betrothed, was the first girl to receive a diamond ring to celebrate an engagement. He proposed marriage and placed the engagement ring on the fourth finger (or ring finger) of her left hand. This placement of the ring dates back to the Romans who believed that the "vein of love" or vena amorist began at the tip of the ring finger and flowed directly to the heart. And so began the tradition of not only the engagement ring, but also that it be worn on a specific finger.
In 1947, De Beers launched the familiar "Diamonds are Forever" campaign to sell diamonds. The company encouraged families to keep their diamond rings and consider them heirlooms, thus creating a demand for new diamonds as these old diamonds didn't enter the market. De Beers even instructed jewelers to tell their prospective customers that spending up to one-third of their salary on a diamond ring was a good investment. The song, "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend," as sung by Marilyn Monroe in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," helped to make the diamond seem all the more glamorous. From this point on, the engagement ring became not only an enduring symbol of love but a fashion statement.