One visit to London’s Victoria and Albert Museum will underscore the fact that rings have been worn for more than 5,000 years; but the question of how they came to be connected to love and marriage is difficult to answer. Tantalizing evidence from ancient Rome makes it clear that rings were being given as tokens of love before the birth of Christ; and we know that the custom was continued into the Christian era. Their intrinsic value must have appreciable enough to make them inaccessible to the very poor; and this so disturbed the Bishop of Hippo (later canonized St. Augustine) that he urged priests under his rule to refrain from requiring wedding rings. But despite the good St. Augustine’s concerns the custom of giving rings continued in the Roman Empire until both of its halves collapsed. Interestingly enough, the 7th century bishop of Seville observed that the ring was given as a symbol of the marriage vows “to join their hearts to this pledge” and was to be worn on (presumably) the finger we see as the ring finger “because a certain vein is said to flow from thence to the heart.” As the Dark Ages fell upon Europe, however, most of the wedding traditions the bishop had observed soon disappeared and would not reappear until the Renaissance. Royalty led the way.
In the last quarter of the fifteenth century Charles the Bold ruled a rich combination of territories that are now parts of northern France, the Netherlands and Belgium but were then known, collectively, as ‘Burgundy.” When he lost his life in battle in January, 1477, he left behind a single heir, Mary; and in the paternalistic world of fifteenth century Europe, she was vulnerable. Burgundy’s wealth was great, so suitors abounded. Needless to say, marriage could be either her salvation or her punishment. Her subjects underscored this by demanding that she forego some of the governing powers she had inherited. She yielded, conscious that if she did not, her subjects might well fail to support her if Burgundy were invaded by France. England’s Duke of Clarence (later beheaded for treason) was interested and Louis XI, King of France, was urging her to marry Charles, his 7 year old son and heir presumptive; but In 1476, her father had arranged for Mary, to be betrothed to Maximilian of Habsburg and Mary’s step mother, Margaret, counseled her to honor the contract. It made political sense; and the 18 year old Maximilian was enough acute to the importance of their marital and political union that he signified its importance by giving Mary the first ‘modern’ diamond wedding ring. Paintings from the period depict the diamond he gave her as a ‘point cut’; that is, it looked like a polished pyramid, the product of an advancement in diamond cutting that had taken place late in the previous century.
Max meant well, but like many who think they know it all, he was behind the times; the diamond he had given her was ‘old fashioned’. It had become possible to cut diamonds to more ‘sparkly’ gems of shapes not terribly different from those we know today. Louis van Berquem, one of Charles the Bold’s subjects, had revolutionized diamond cutting two years earlier. He had invented the ancestor of all of today’s diamond polishing wheels; and Charles, recognizing the importance of this technological advancement, had awarded him three thousand gold ducats and become his patron. Had she lived, Mary might have had a nicer diamond; but she died after being thrown from a horse less than five years later.
Of course, the combination of Louis’ advanced diamond cutting techniques and the social statement made by Maximilian’s gift made Europe’s aristocrats eager to own and give diamond rings and jewelry themselves; and the fact that common folk couldn’t afford them made them all the more attractive. Thus for around four hundred years diamonds were mostly reserved to the very few; then the Industrial Revolution and the discovery of diamonds in Africa changed that. The spread of wealth in western Europe and the United States, occasioned by the Industrial Revolution, put jewelry within the reach of far more people than ever before - and a wedding ring of precious metal became part of most weddings. Diamonds became affordable for many after 1869 when they were found, in quantities unknown before, in Africa. Inevitably, therefore, more than a few of the wedding rings crafted and given since that time have been set with diamonds. Now the newly well to do of the ‘BRICs’ (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are demanding more diamonds than ever before; and the diamond ring has become part of romance on the world stage. The only downside to this is that the supply of diamonds is stagnant; so demand, the invisible hand of the market, has caused the prices for diamonds (already more than 100 times more valuable than gold by weight) to increase significantly over the last few years.
If you’re in the market for a diamond ring to express your love, now is the right time to buy; and we will help. Here at Hursts’ Berwyn Jewelers we know diamonds; so unlike Max, you we won’t let you be caught a little behind the times. Check us out on line at hurstsberwynjewelers.com; then phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment to select what may well be the gift of a lifetime. We’re not the common jeweler; so come see us.
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