It wasn't until the 15th century that diamonds first adorned the eternal circular band. History records the first diamond engagement ring in the 15th century when Archduke Maximillian of Hamburg presented the ring to Mary of Burgandy. At that time, diamonds were scarce, traveling via the spice route from India to Europe, and diamond engagement rings were prohibitive to all but royalty and the very wealthy. It would be centuries until diamonds would be discovered in Brazil and Africa. DeBeers would not open its doors until 1888, and there was no Antwerp Diamond Exchange.

It was not until the industrial revolution that life took a quantum leap. Advances in transportation brought goods and services that were once the province of the rich and famous to the masses. Diamond mines opened in South Africa, and while diamonds were still precious, they were at least accessible.

It was in 1939 that a concerted effort to popularize the diamond engagement began in earnest with an advertising campaign in New York City. The sale of diamond engagement rings had been on the decline since 1919, decreasing by as much as 50%, due in part to the Great Depression. Harry Oppenheimer of De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd, the famed South African diamond mine, took action and with the help of N.W. Ayer & Son, a New York advertising agency, launched an all-out assault with an ad campaign. It was in 1947 that the slogan "A Diamond is Forever," was born and launched the most successful advertising campaign of the twentieth century, moving the diamond engagement ring from a luxury to THE most important element of a proper engagement. And little has changed since then.

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