Diamond rings are set in love

The first diamond engagement ring was given in 1477 from the Archduke Maximilian of Hamburg to Mary of Burgundy. It was placed on the fourth finger of the left hand because the Greeks believed this finger provided a vein that went straight to the heart -- called a vein of love.

A few centuries before this, a few people started polishing diamonds rather than leaving them in their natural rough state. I have not found any information about whether Mary's diamond was natural or polished.

After the Archduke's gift, it became popular among the wealthy to give a diamond engagement ring. In the 19th century, the industrial revolution gave rise to a large middle class, raising the wealth of common people. In 1870, diamonds were found in South Africa increasing supply. As demand and supply came together, the middle class started wearing gold jewelry and giving diamond engagement rings. In 1886, Tiffany introduced a six-prong solitaire ring that is still popular for engagements.

Since then there have been many variations that have been popular. In the 20s and 30s, a variety of deco styles served for engagements. In the 50s and 60s, the solitaire was often enhanced with baguettes. The current rage is to set the engagement diamond in a ring with many small diamonds in a style called micropave.

When diamonds are formed in nature they grow according to a crystal system called octahedral. They have eight sides, but the appearance is like two four-sided pyramids fit base to base. By the time a diamond rises to the surface of the earth via volcanic activity and then tumbles through rivers, the octahedral crystal structure is often barely recognizable to the miner who finds the diamond.

When cutters first started polishing diamonds, they simply polished off the frosty exterior to yield a shiny surface. There was no attempt to get symmetry. It took centuries to get diamond cutting to the point that diamonds were round and symmetric after cutting. That was around 1900. It was about 1940 when diamonds started to be cut according to what is called the brilliant cut pattern and it has only been in the last 20 years that the marketplace has placed proper emphasis on how well a diamond is cut.

I sometimes go to Antwerp, Belgium, to buy wholesale diamond rings and diamonds and I am occasionally asked how that became a center for diamonds. Let me dispel the notion that Amsterdam is a diamond center. I have never known of a single jeweler, retail or wholesale, going to Amsterdam for diamonds. That is strictly for tourists. At one time Amsterdam and Bruges, Belgium, were diamond centers, but now it is Antwerp. There is a story about how these northern European locations came to be.

Centuries ago, India was the source of diamonds. They came to Europe via Venice. It would have made sense for Venice to become a diamond cutting center, except, when diamonds were taken north, over the Alps, the caravans were subject to robbers. If diamonds were already cut, they were recognized by thieves as valuable. If they were uncut, they were often overlooked. Thus it made sense for diamonds to be transported in the rough and thus they needed to but cut upon arrival.

So diamond cutting centers were established in northern Europe and eventually Antwerp became king. To this day, I would estimate that 70 to 80 percent of the world's gem diamonds go through Antwerp on their way to the marketplace.

Another interesting note is that the cutting centers became dominated by the Jewish community. Unfortunately, European Jews had to always be alert for persecution and sometimes this meant they had to leave their homes very rapidly. For this reason they needed to concentrate their assets in something very transportable. There were not many Jewish real estate barons in those days. Diamonds were perfect for a persecuted people