These days, many people take wedding bands and engagement rings for granted, and while they give these beautiful jewelry items with integrity and love, they are often given without any real knowledge of the meaning behind them.
Both wedding bands and engagement rings are very special pieces of jewelry; In fact, they are more than simple jewels, they are the symbol of many emotions and promises such as:
- Love
- Commitment
- Fidelity
- Eternity
- Honor
But where, and why, do these popular and sentimental pieces of jewelry come from?
The history of wedding bands
These jewelry items have a history that goes back many centuries and passes through many countries around the planet. Below you will find a brief history of the wedding and engagement ring, reportedly from country to country.
Egyptians
The now famous wedding ring is believed to have originated in Ancient Egypt where sections of plants are said to have formed in circles to signify immortal and unending love. The fourth finger (which we now know as the ring finger) was thought to contain a special vein that was connected directly to the heart and thus became the official finger of the wedding ring.
NOVELS
The Romans also agreed with the Egyptians regarding the wedding ring finger and its meaning, but instead of offering wedding rings as a symbol of love, they awarded them as a symbol of ownership. Roman men would “claim” their wife by giving them a ring.
ASIAN / ARABIAN
Puzzle rings were a complex type of jewelry that was once popular in Asia, and these jewelry had the lovely ability to be crumbled and reassembled, if you knew how, of course. Rich men from the Middle East began to wear these rings as wedding bands for their wives, who were often forced to wear a puzzle ring when her husband was away. Upon your return, the husband would know if any of his wives had been disloyal by removing the ring while he was away, because the ring was designed to collapse upon removal and could only be reassembled if you had the required skill and knowledge.
EUROPEAN
Several centuries ago, Europeans were quite captivated by what we would classify as an engagement ring, but it was later called the Poesy Ring. This ring was given to a loved one as a form of promise and signified fidelity and love. The Poesy Ring was offered as a promise of eternal union, just like today’s engagement rings are offered as a promise of eternal marriage.
AMERICAN PEOPLE
During colonial times, all jewelry items in America were banned due to their apparent lack of moral value. Instead, a more practical thimble was given as a token of love and as a pledge of eternal union. However, after marriage, women tended to remove the bottom of their “engagement thimble” to form a kind of ring.
History of engagement rings
Today’s engagement ring also has its own varied and interesting history, part of which is explored below. Engagement rings have been known by many different names, have symbolized a variety of different things, and have not always been made of precious metals and dazzling gems.
GREEKS
The ancient Greeks are believed to be the forerunners of the rise of the traditional engagement ring. Given as a token of care and affection, the rings worn by the Greeks were known as engagement rings and were given before marriage. However, the delivery of these rings was not always a prerequisite for marriage and was often given in the same way that a friendship ring can be given today.
NOVELS
As seen from their use of the wedding ring, the ancient Romans were not the most sentimental of people, and the earliest version of their “engagement ring” was thought to have keys engraved on them. It has been debated that this could have symbolized a woman’s right to access and own half of everything after marriage. However, the more sentimental like to think that the key may have been the key to her husband’s heart.
REGALITY AND THE SOURCE
Engagement rings as we know them today, stunning gems encased in precious metals, became popular around the 14th or 15th century, when the rich and royalty began to trade and wear these jewels. However, these items were so expensive that no one but royalty and the wealthy could afford to trade them. It would be many centuries before these engagement rings became more popular or traditional.
Why a ring?
The purpose of engagement rings and wedding bands is to convey deep emotions of everlasting love, everlasting happiness, everlasting commitment, and everlasting togetherness. In fact, these rings signify eternity, between the giver and the recipient. A ring, of course, is a complete circle without interruption and without end or beginning, which means that it goes on and on, it is eternal.
And, since folklore says that the fourth finger of the left hand has a vein that leads directly to the heart, it is natural that both engagement rings and wedding rings are worn on this particular finger, which once had the reputation for being a direct route. to the heart.
Resume
In short, it is clear that the giving of a ring in honor of a union, engagement and marriage has been carried out since ancient times, and although it may not always have been as glamorous and romantic as it is today, it was still a form of exchanging an engagement or marriage contract.
Fortunately, today’s wedding bands and engagement rings are not made from hair, grass, plants, or twine as they might have been in ancient times, but rather from beautiful metals set with dazzling gemstones such as platinum, titanium, white gold. , gold, sapphires, diamonds, rubies and emeralds. These incredible items of jewelry are likely to remain as popular as ever as the centuries go by, and even as the rest of the world moves into a futuristic and technological age, it is hard to imagine a day when a beautiful ring of diamond engagement don’t. t melt the heart of your container.
