Cool! But what do you mean non-romantic? Marriage is all about contract law. - Daniel Dulitz

According to Wikipedia, in some states it is legally a conditional gift. I wonder whether it was legally regarded as such back then. "In some states of the United States, engagement rings are considered "conditional gifts" under the legal rules of property. This is an exception to the general rule that gifts cannot be revoked once properly given [...] once the engagement has been broken, the ring should be returned to the donor." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki... - Simon