Diamond Rings - Page 2
Cutting a diamond is a delicate process, but doing it correctly will allow rays of light to enter into the diamond, giving it the sparkling effect seen in a diamond ring. Many diamonds found in diamond rings and other jewelry have tiny imperfections that are typically invisible to the human eye. However, the less imperfections in a diamond, the more expensive it will be. A perfect diamond is known as ‘flawless’ and is extremely rare.
So, what of the history of the illustrious diamond ring? Although diamond rings are a relatively recent phenomenon in the West, the tradition of giving and wearing rings as a symbol of love goes right back to the Roman times. In the second century, the Roman poet and comic Plautus commented on the giving and receiving of engagement rings.
Diamond rings may have originated in Europe, but the use of diamonds goes as far back as the 4th century BCE in India. Originally, diamonds were used as tools, with the ‘diamond drill’ a device used in the construction of jewelry in Eastern countries such as India, Egypt, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Today, archaeologists are easily able to distinguish the telltale marks of the diamond due to the concentric grooves that it leaves.
In the first century CE, the Roman writer and philosopher Pliny the Elder (who famously died when Mount Vesuvius erupted) mentions diamonds in his ‘Historia naturalis’ where he calls them ‘adamas’; this Greek word is the origin of the word ‘diamond’. Roman engravers were known to use diamonds to cut through the hardest substance in a similar way to the ‘diamond drills’ used in the East some four centuries before.
Diamond rings have always been associated with ‘regal’ jewelry, and this tradition may originate in 12th century France. During this century, King Louis IX (later to become a Saint) decreed that diamonds could only be used by the king; the scarcity and value of the gemstone meant that only those of royal blood could wear it. During the centuries that followed, diamonds increased in popularity with royal families throughout Europe. The first recorded diamond ring appeared in 1477, when Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave one as a token of engagement to Mary of Burgundy.
