Who Invented Engagement Rings, Anyway?

by Kelly Bare

Have you ever wondered why we first began lusting after diamonds? Blame it on one enterprising archduke, who arguably started the tradition.

One of the first recorded uses of a diamond engagement ring was Archduke Maximilian of Austria’s proposal to Mary of Burgundy with a ring set with thin, flat pieces of diamonds in the shape of an “M.”

But we can trace this mark-your-territory wedding trend way, way back, eons before Max and his fair Lady M.

Below, how our love affair with the rock slowly evolved.