Anything that shines always catches our eyes. So is Diamond. That little stone is set beautifully on metal, and you adorn it on the little nose, when the lights fall onto it, the light it reflects, just adds the most glittering star to your pretty face and amplifies your glam exponentially, that’s the beauty of tiny rock.

We all wish to wear diamonds, be it a small one weighing 0.01 carat or a large one like a solitaire, weighing one carat or above. No girl ever said, no to diamonds, like never.  It is said more of anything is bad, but more numbers of diamond jewelry or diamonds are never bad. On the contrary, the more diamond jewellery you buy, the better it is. Because it’s a non-depreciating asset you are putting your money into.

There are so many varieties of stones found around the world like emerald, ruby, amethyst, and many more. The list is endless, but what makes Diamond so rare?  What makes Diamond so fascinating? From where did it originate? How did the diamond make its way to our loved engagement rings? There are a few questions which will be answered today.

Origin of diamond

Diamonds existed million years ago. The earliest diamonds were found back in the 4th century BC.  However, the youngest deposit was said to be found 900 million years ago. We can’t even imagine the days when this beauty came into our life.

Diamond has to go through a lot of heat and pressure, before it reaches you, and makes you look beautiful. It is extremely difficult to find underground volcanic pipes where one can find a natural diamond. And then volcanic eruption propels the diamond to come to the surface. These beautiful shiny uncut, rough, and unpolished diamonds started making their way to Europe and China and with no period, they became a synonym to luxury and royal status.  The second reason why it became the favorite jewel for kings is the strength and power endured by the rare gemstone, called Diamond.

Cut and shape

Since the 4th century, diamonds were used uncut and unpolished, as rough diamonds were utilized for various purposes. Diamond is one of the hardest elements found on the earth. It was only in the 14th-century that the cutting and polishing of diamonds began. It was done with primitive techniques, in the early days, with new advancements in technologies, diamond cutting, and polish which was earlier done by skilled laborers, are now done by high precision machines and tools for better perfection in the cut of the diamonds.

Nowadays, diamonds come in all shapes and sizes from the tiniest diamond to a diamond weighing above hundreds of carats. Imagine a shape and you can easily get a diamond of that shape, be it emerald shapes, an octagon shape, heart shape, you name it and you have it.

First diamond engagement ring in 1477

Diamond is not only beautiful, but with time they have become symbols of love, commitment, and endurance. So when we speak about rings, especially engagement rings,  the only picture that comes to our mind is of solitaire studded on a delicate gold band, with a little diamond surrounding the solitaire in a halo setting. Rings have been used as a symbol of commitment from ancient times. Earlier rings were made of twisted copper wire, or braided hair and were worn on the third finger of the left hand. The placement was significant, as it is believed the vein of this particular finger connects directly to the heart.

The history of the engagement ring began in 1215 when POPE Innocent III declared the waiting period between the betrothal and the wedding ceremony. Ring signified the couple’s interim commitment and the same tradition is followed to date. But the first diamond ring which was used for proposal was in the year 1477 when Archduke Maximilian of Austria proposed marriage to Mary of Burgundy.

This was a small story on how diamond became the synonym to status symbol and made its way to become the most precious diamond jewellery of life as an Engagement ring.