Title: The Origin of Wedding Rings: Ancient Tradition or Marketing Invention? - GIA 4Cs
Headings: The Origin of Wedding Rings: Ancient Tradition or Marketing Invention?
The Origin of Wedding Rings: Ancient Tradition or Marketing Invention?
What were the first wedding rings?—Egyptian, Greek and Roman wedding rings
How did wedding rings evolve?—Medieval and Renaissance wedding rings
When did women start wearing diamond wedding rings?
When did engagement rings and wedding rings become two separate rings?
When did men start wearing wedding rings?
How did diamond engagement rings become a tradition?
What do wedding and engagement rings represent now?

Content: Puritans in colonial America considered jewelry frivolous. Puritan husbands therefore gave their wives thimbles instead of rings. After brides used their thimbles to sew clothes and textiles for their new home, they could then saw off the tops of their thimbles to create rings. This antique Claddagh wedding ring features a large rose-cut diamond heart under a diamond crown, clasped between two enameled hands. It is inscribed: ‘ Dudley and Katherine united 26 March 1706.’ Courtesy: Victoria and Albert Museum
When did women start wearing diamond wedding rings? The oldest surviving diamond jewelry dates back to 300 BCE. The first known diamond ring dates back to the late 100s CE and was found in Rome.