Diamonds: Today, they are gifted as symbols of love and eternity, but over the years they have meant many things to many people.
Three platinum and diamond rings, c. early 20th century. All available for sale at Gray & Davis.
- Our old friend Pliny the Elder noted that diamonds neutralized all poisons
- And protected against the Evil Eye
- Because of their great hardness, diamonds were believed to be able to overcome the power of the Devil
- Perhaps this is one of the reasons the fifteenth-century Medicis used three interlocking diamond rings as one of their emblems
- And of course, in 1477 Archduke Maximillian of Austria gave Mary of Burgundy one of the earliest known “official’ diamond engagement rings. The diamonds were set in the shape of an “M.”
Happy Birthday to all of our April born friends!