Short History of the Wedding Ring

It is a common belief that the deed of exchanging wedding rings during the marriage ceremony can be traced all the way back to the ancient Egyptians. This practice soon caught on and spread too many other countries in many different forms.

Let’s have a quick look as to how this practice has evolved the world over.

Egyptians:

The ancient Egyptians where the first documented population that made use of the practice of exchanging wedding rings during their wedding ceremonies. These “rings” where made of some sort of plant material that was shaped into a band and is said to have symbolized immortal love.

Romans:

The Romans where next to adapt the custom, however there was a fundamental difference. In the Egyptian culture the wedding ring was a symbol of immortal love, where as in the Roman culture it was a symbol of ownership. When a man chose his wife he would place a ring on her finger to symbolise his ownership of her.

Asia and the Middle East:

When this phenomena hit Asia and the Middle East a variation to the ring was imminent. The rich men of the Middle East would force their wives to wear these puzzle rings while they were away. The ring was designed to fall apart when removed and only the husband would know how to reassemble the ring.

Europe:

The Europeans made use of a poesy ring as their symbol of love and eternal togetherness during their wedding ceremonies.

The Colonial Americans:

During these tough times jewellery could only be afforded by the wealthy. The average man on the street made use of the thimble as their sign of affection. Not only was this practical but as time went on the back end of the thimble would be cut off and the remaining ring would be used as a wedding ring.

In most countries the wedding ring is traditionally worn on the fourth finger of the left hand. This finger is believed to be closely linked with the heart. However in some countries the ring is worn on the same finger of the opposing hand.

Up until the second world war it was only the woman that would wear a ring but as more and more service men went off to war, many of them either wore engagement rings or wedding rings as a token of their love and commitment to the their betrothed.