WEDDING RINGS

The use of gold for wedding rings dates back to ancient times and the study of alchemy. Gold is a base metal. No matter what impurities are mixed with gold it can be refined back into pure gold. It’s because of this that gold is seen as a holy metal and at one time called the metal of God.

Because gold was seen as being pure and as a symbol of God, it became popular as a wedding ring. The gold band was supposed to keep the love solid and to ensure fidelity of the spouse.

Gold wedding rings are also a symbol of wealth. Gold has always been highly valued in most of the world. It was not unusual for a woman to own only one piece of jewellery, her wedding ring. Because faithfulness and marriage were so highly prized, gold was seen as an appropriate symbol. Marriage was seen as a form of wealth in and of itself. A gold wedding ring emphasized this perfectly. Both gold and marriage were seen as being permanent.

In most cases, a gold wedding ring was a simple gold band with no embellishment. Over the centuries those with wealth began to make wedding rings a bit more elaborate. Eventually wedding rings were encrusted with gemstones and were so elaborate that the Church took notice. The Church frowned on taking what it considered a sacred symbol and making it worldly. As a result, the gold band once again became the norm and the jewelled rings became what we now know of as engagement rings.

An interesting historical note is that until the last century women never had any input into these rings. The man would purchase or even make the ring as a token of his love and promise of fidelity. For a woman to be involved with such a purchase would have been inappropriate. It would also have been inappropriate for a woman to criticize the ring in any way.

During the history of gold wedding bands, yellow gold was the preferred colour for the rings. It wasn’t until very recently that white gold began to be almost as favoured as the yellow gold.

In recent years other metals have began to push the gold wedding band aside. Many people prefer platinum, titanium and even silver to the traditional gold wedding band. It’s a matter of individual taste and preferences as there are no longer any hard and fast rules to dictate what a wedding band should be made from.

Recent trends in gold wedding rings are showing that not only has embellishment returned but that it is not going to go away. Wedding bands are now more likely to be etched and detailed than not. While it is certainly still possible to buy a simple and plain gold band, most people opt for rings with a bit more character.

If one thing is certain it is that as long as there is marriage there will be gold wedding bands. Plain or fancy, the gold wedding ring has stood the test of time.