| These days, many people take wedding bands and | | | | History Of Engagement Rings |
| engagement rings for granted, and although they give | | | | The engagement ring of today also has its own varied |
| these beautiful items of jewellery with integrity and | | | | and interesting history, some of which is explored |
| love, they are often given with no real knowledge of | | | | below. Engagement rings have been known by many |
| the meaning behind them. | | | | different names, have symbolised a variety of |
| Both wedding bands and engagement rings are very | | | | different things and have not always been made of |
| special items of jewellery; in fact, they are more than | | | | precious metals and stunning gems! |
| just jewellery - they are the symbols of many | | | | GREEKS |
| emotions and promises such as: | | | | The ancient Greeks are thought to have been the |
| - Love | | | | forerunners in the rising of the traditional engagement |
| - Commitment | | | | ring. Given as a token of care and affection, the rings |
| - Fidelity | | | | used by the Greeks were known as betrothal rings |
| - Eternity | | | | and were given before marriage. However, the giving |
| - Honour | | | | of these rings was not always a pre-requisite to |
| But where - and why - did these popular and | | | | marriage and was often given in the same way as a |
| sentimental pieces of jewellery stem from? | | | | friendship ring might be given today. |
| The History Of Wedding Bands | | | | ROMANS |
| These items of jewellery have a history that spans | | | | As seen by their use of the wedding ring, ancient |
| many centuries and passes through many countries | | | | Romans weren't the most sentimental of people, and |
| from all around the planet. Below, you will find a brief | | | | the early version of their "engagement ring" were |
| history of the wedding and engagement ring, as | | | | thought to have carved keys on them. It has been |
| reported from country to country. | | | | debated that this could have been to symbolise the |
| EGYPTIANS | | | | woman's right to access and own half of everything |
| The now-famous wedding band is thought to have | | | | following marriage. However, the more sentimental like |
| originated in Ancient Egypt, where it is said that plant | | | | to think that the key may have been a key to her |
| sections were fashioned in to circles to signify | | | | husband's heart. |
| never-ending and immortal love. It was thought that the | | | | ROYALTY AND THE AFFLUENT |
| fourth finger (which we now know as the ring finger) | | | | Engagement rings as we know them today - stunning |
| contained a special vein that was connected directly to | | | | gems encased in precious metals - became popular in |
| the heart, and therefore this became the official finger | | | | around the fourteenth or fifteenth century, when the |
| for the wedding band. | | | | affluent and the royals began to exchange and wear |
| ROMANS | | | | these jewels. However, these items were so |
| The Romans also agreed with the Egyptians with | | | | expensive that nobody other than the royals and the |
| regards to the wedding ring finger and its meaning, but | | | | rich could afford to exchange them. It was to be many |
| rather than offering wedding bands as a symbol of | | | | centuries before these engagement rings would |
| love, they awarded them as a symbol of ownership. | | | | become more popular or traditional. |
| Roman men would "claim" their woman with the giving | | | | Why a ring? |
| of a ring. | | | | The purpose of engagement rings and wedding bands |
| ASIANS / ARABS | | | | is to convey deep emotions of eternal love, eternal |
| Puzzle rings were a complex type of jewellery that | | | | happiness, eternal commitment, and eternal |
| were once popular in Asia, and these jewels had the | | | | togetherness. In fact, these rings signify eternity - |
| charming knack of being able to fall apart and put | | | | between the giver and the recipient. A ring, of course, |
| back together again - if you knew how to do this, of | | | | is a complete circle with no break and no end or |
| course. Wealthy Middle Eastern men then began to | | | | beginning, which means that it just goes on and on - it |
| use these rings as wedding bands for their wives, who | | | | is eternal. |
| were often forced to wear a puzzle ring when their | | | | And, since folklore has it that the fourth finger of the |
| husband was away. The husband would know upon | | | | left hand has a vein leading directly to the heart, it is |
| his return whether any of his wives had been disloyal | | | | only natural that both engagement and wedding rings |
| by removing the ring whilst he was away, because the | | | | would be worn on this particular finger, which was |
| ring was designed to collapse upon removal and could | | | | once reputed to be a direct route to the heart. |
| only be put together again if you had the skill and | | | | Summary |
| knowledge required. | | | | In short, it is clear that the giving of a ring in honour of a |
| EUROPEANS | | | | union, betrothal, and marriage has been going on since |
| Several centuries ago, the Europeans became rather | | | | ancient times, and although it may not always have |
| taken with what we would class as an engagement | | | | been as glamorous and romantic as it is today, it was |
| ring, but was then called a Poesy Ring. This ring was | | | | still a way of exchanging a contract of betrothal or |
| given to a loved one as a form of promise, and | | | | marriage. |
| signified fidelity and love. The Poesy Ring was offered | | | | Thankfully, today's wedding bands and engagement |
| as a pledge of eternal togetherness, much as today's | | | | rings are not made of hair, grass, plants or twine as |
| engagement rings are offered as a promise of eternal | | | | they may have been in ancient times, but of beautiful |
| marriage. | | | | metals set with stunning gems, such as platinum, |
| AMERICANS | | | | titanium, white gold, gold, sapphires, diamonds, rubies |
| During Colonial times, all items of jewellery in America | | | | and emeralds. These incredible items of jewellery are |
| were prohibited due to their apparent moral | | | | likely to remain as popular as ever as the centuries go |
| worthlessness. Instead, a more practical thimble was | | | | by, and even as the rest of the world advances in to |
| given as a token of love and as a pledge of eternal | | | | a futuristic and technological age, it's hard to imagine a |
| togetherness. However, after they were married, the | | | | day where a beautiful diamond engagement ring |
| women tended to remove the bottom of their | | | | doesn't melt the heart of its recipient. |
| "engagement thimble" to form a type of ring. | | | | |