Guilt Free Diamond Engagement Rings

The diamond engagement ring is perhaps the most widely used symbol in the world for love and commitment. The engagement ring suggests an upcoming marriage and the diamond evokes thoughts of true love and even complete adoration.

Mary of Burgundy is the first woman we know of to have received a diamond engagement ring. This took place in 1477 when Archduke Maximillian of Austria asked for her hand. This practice did not immediately become common however. Giving presents with precious gems on gold or silver remained largely an activity among the aristocracy. It was only in the twentieth century that the idea began to spread among common people. This might be largely due to a very successful marketing campaign for diamonds by DeBeers. Their advertising campaign coined the term "A Diamond is Forever." Other expressions have followed such as "a diamond is a girl's best friend." The DeBeers marketing campaign was so successful that in western society it is now an extremely common practice to offer a diamond ring with a proposal of marriage.

In the last ten years, more and more information has surfaced about the harsh realities of the diamond trade. Conflict diamonds and blood diamonds are terms used to describe diamonds which may have been mined by poorly paid miners and even slaves in some cases and to describe diamonds from regions in which the diamond trade is used to fund weapons for war. This knowledge removes the romance associated with diamonds.

However what this information has also done is bring to light the fact that some diamonds are mined in ethical ways. These are now called ethical diamonds. A wonderful example is the diamond trade in the Canadian Northwest Territories. The diamond miners and other workers are mainly Inuit. They have been professionally trained and earn fair salaries with excellent company benefits. The diamond trade has drastically changed the Inuit way of life as the salaries earned have had a ricochet effect which has impacted the entire region for the better.