Its not often men have a good reason to feel upset and betrayed at the word ‘beer’, but maybe the story behind engagement rings qualifies.
You see, seventy years ago engagement rings were almost always plain bands of metal. Perhaps silver, or gold or platinum. There was no tradition or expectation of spending a huge two months salary just to avoid being called cheap.
And two months salary is a lot of coin. Mainly because it heralds the beginning of a lot of other expenses. A wedding, wedding rings, a house, another car and babies are all still to come and still to be paid for. As such a tradition involving spending something less than two months salary might be a better idea.
Anyway back in the 1940’s a diamond firm called “de Beer’s” launched a slick marketing campaign with the slogan ‘A Diamond is Forever’ (at least we got a cool Bond film title out of it, if nothing else). The purpose was to make engagement rings a prominent status symbol in the western world.
It worked, perhaps a little too well. In America at least, most European countries have still not adjusted to this custom, preferring to stick with the plain gold or silver bands used as a sign of the promise to marry. Some countries like Russia have no engagement ring tradition at all.
Before the 13th century, there was no tradition of rings when getting engaged at all. But in the middle of that century the Pope decreed that there be a longer time between engagement and marriage. A tradition of the fiancee wearing a simple band of metal to show the promise given to her ensued.
In the end there is a small consolation for men. Years later de Beer’s launched another campaign to make engagement rings for men. To the relief of wallets the world over, this one did not succeed.
