FOREVER YOURS

Diamonds adorn many forms of jewellery. But of all these, there is one that, for centuries and in spite of its small size, best expresses the power of love: the… solitaire.

Rings date back several millenia. However, those given as tokens of love were first mentioned by comic Roman poet Platus in the 2nd century BCE. Roman rings of this type have been recovered: inscriptions on the interior bear witness to the marriage contracts signed in the presence of the emperor’s image.

Likewise Byzantine wedding rings, wide gold bands, have round or oval bevels depicting the couple face to face or receiving Christ’s blessing.

When Christianity became the official religion of the empire in the 4th century, the pagan custom of exchanging rings was Christianized, as demonstrated by St. Augustine’s priests imploring the Church to permit weddings without the exchange of rings.

The symbolism of the wedding ring was clearly defined in the 7th century by the archbishop and chronicler Isidore of Seville (c. 560-636): « It was given by the spouser to the espoused either as a token of mutual fidelity or still more to join their hearts to this pledge and the ring was therefore placed on the fourth finger, for a certain vein is said to flow thence to the heart. »