The First Wedding Rings | Engagement Rings, Wedding Rings ...

by Shalini

Wedding rings have a long history and can be traced back to medieval times. Some say the practice of exchanging wedding rings goes back to Egyptian times but our earliest recorded instances come from the Middle Ages. By this time, many metals had found their way into everyday usage so it was only natural that jewellery too was fashioned out of metal. With jewellery becoming a status symbol, it was only natural that marriages were also affirmed with a piece of jewellery – and so the concept of wedding rings was born.

Gold of course, has always been a favourite through the ages. In medieval times, the metals that also found favour were copper, iron and silver. The main reason was that metals could be fashioned into any shape and would still hold their shape after they were cooled. This gave rise to the possibility of using various designs in jewellery. Most metals allowed intricate designs to be fashioned and artisans had a field day translating their artistic talents into works of art. Of course, as in all times through the ages, the metal used was indicative of the class that the person belonged to. The nobility and the rich used the more expensive metals while the poorer ones used the metals that were more affordable and readily available to make their wedding rings. Somewhere in the 14th century was when simple metal wedding rings gave way to gemstones being embedded in some of the wedding rings. However, it was the simple band, mainly gold, that survived to become the most popular wedding ring.

Read more...