Traditions Die Hard

Why do you have to give your fiance a diamond when you ask her to marry you? why can't you just give her a cake? or a nice scarf? or better yet, just the words out of your mouth? well, there's one man to blame.

The Man

Archduke Maximilian of Austria in 1477 had the great idea that he would give Mary of Burgundy something to bribe her a little bit and show off his wealth so that she would marry him. Since gold and diamond were rare and expensive, he gave her a huge rock set in a gold ring so that she could wear it around and show off her bling. Soon, royalty and all who could afford to, adopted the tradition of giving a diamond. So I guess we can all thank Archduke Maxi'million'.

The Finger

The tradition of putting the ring on the left hand ring finger is thought to have been popularized by the Egyptians who believed the ring finger (as we call it today) has blood vessels that connect directly to the heart. Luckily, we know that all blood vessels connect to the heart in some way. So if your fiance wants to wear her ring on her toes, although undesirable and unseen, it would work just as well.