Most little girls grow up dreaming of the moment that their knight in shining armor gets down on one knee and proposes. It is a romantic gesture that is topped off with the perfect accessory, the engagement ring. Most little girls dream of that perfect diamond atop their ring finger, gleaming and bright. The engagement ring has a very old and interesting history that began thousands of years ago. The traditional diamond engagement ring that we know of today is actually a fairly recent custom.
In most traditions in the Western world, an engagement ring is worn by a woman on the third (ring) finger of her left hand, signifying that she is engaged to be married. The ring is usually presented by a man upon a proposal of marriage, and worn by the woman after she accepts his proposal. It signifies the agreement to marry, and is usually worn along with the wedding band (on the same finger) for the duration of the woman’s life or the marriage, whichever ends first.
The tradition of the engagement ring can be traced back as far as Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The Ancient Romans held the belief that the Vena Amoris (Latin for “vein of love”) was...