Here’s the Guy Who Stuck Us All with Having to Buy Diamond Engagement Rings

The diamond engagement ring wasn’t purely cooked up for posters and magazine ads. There was a person in history who probably thought he was simply giving a lavish one-off gift to his wife-to-be, without knowing he’d be decimating paychecks for anyone seeking companionship.

That man, the first to give a diamond engagement ring, was the Archduke Maximilian of Austria, who offered the world's first diamond engagement ring to Mary of Burgundy all the way back in 1477. 

Sure, in the context of royal betrothments, diamond rings seem pretty par for the course. If it had stayed that way, where it was only expected between two people who would then wield massive national power, it wouldn’t be that bad. After all, they can afford it. Instead, thanks to a choice made by somebody who could probably eat a bar of gold for breakfast without putting too much of a dent in his coffers, we’re all stuck going to Jared. 

The most insulting part of all? It wasn’t even his idea. It was something his advisors suggested. So, the most romantic imaginable gift ever to be exchanged between lovers was cooked up in an ancient cabinet meeting, and given to a woman who would fall off her horse five years later, die and be replaced with a second wife. 

If the guy had just written a poem like everybody else, you wouldn’t have to break off half your salary to prove you love somebody.