The first marriage proposal in which a diamond was used reportedly occurred in 1477 when Archduke Maximillian of Austria asked his betrothed, Mary of Burgundy, to marry him. This proposal set the precedent of using diamonds in Europe, a tradition we still follow today.
In a more socially, ethically and environmentally conscious world, concerns about the process of mining diamonds has increased, leading to the development and rise of lab-grown diamonds, also known as cultured diamonds. As a result, more and more people are embracing cultured diamonds.
The International Grown Diamond Association (IGDA) reported in February that their survey showed 66 percent of millennials are considering man-made diamonds, as they believe buying a lab-grown diamond is a good ethical decision. The association stated that consumer interest in lab-grown diamonds has increased substantially over the last decade.