Wedding Rings

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Double Wedding Ring Quilt Pattern Article

Diamond wedding rings are no longer just for women. Many grooms today choose to purchase a man's diamond wedding ring to match the bride's. Still others enjoy the social status that comes with wearing a diamond wedding band. Purchasing a diamond wedding ring means that the groom must consider not only the material and design of the ring, but also the quality of the diamonds.

Although often not considered to be as important as the diamonds in the bride's engagement and wedding rings, the groom's diamonds should also be purchased with care. The man should take the same "4 Cs" into consideration: carat weight, clarity, color, and cut.

A carat is exactly 200 milligrams, but very few men's bands will sport a diamond of this size. Most bands will instead have several smaller diamonds that may of may not equal one full carat. A full carat is also equal to 100 points, so a jeweler may refer to a ring as having several 10 point diamonds (each of which would be equal to one tenth of a carat).

While the clarity of a diamond is often considered the least important of the 4 Cs, it is still a key consideration in your diamond purchase. The clarity of a diamond measures the number and extent of the flaws in the diamond. For the most part, a more valuable diamond will have fewer flaws. It is extremely rare that you will find a completely flawless diamond; only a couple hundred "FL" diamonds are produced a year. Although there are several grading systems used to determine a diamond's clarity, the Gemological Institute of America's (GIA) score is by far the most popular. It ranks diamonds as Flawless (FL), Internally Flawless (IF), Very Very Slightly Included (VVS), Very Slightly Included (VS), Slightly Included (SI), and Included (I). (Note: “inclusions” are slight specks, cracks, or other flaws in a diamond). These ranks are not subjective; the scale has extremely specific criteria that are used to differentiate between the grades.

The color of the stone, referring to how yellow the stone is, can also be graded on a GIA scale. An ideal diamond is completely colorless, being ranked as a D. The alphabetical scale ranks nearly colorless stones as I and J , increasingly yellow beginning with M/N, and a Z is a completely yellow stone. The average color for engagement diamonds in the United States is G to H.

The cut of a diamond is possibly the most confusing of the "4 Cs," since it can refer to the cutting style, the shape of the stone (round, square, heart-shaped, etc), its proportions, or the workmanship and the diamond-cutting process. The brilliant round cut is the most common cut for diamond engagement rings and wedding bands.

About the author:
Mens Wedding Rings Info provides detailed information on diamond, platinum, titanium, gold, moissanite, unique, and comfort fit men’s wedding rings, as well as wedding ring sets for men and women. Mens Wedding Rings Info is the sister site of Titanium Rings Web.



Written by: Eric Morris

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Double Wedding Ring Quilt Pattern Article

A Brief History
The wedding ring has a long and rich history. The Egyptians are credited for beginning the tradition of the wedding ring around 3,000 BC when an Egyptian Pharaoh gave his beloved a ring as a symbol of his love. In Egyptian hieroglyphics, the circle is the symbol of eternity because it has no beginning or end. The earliest wedding rings were made from braided reedy plants like hemp. These primitive rings generally did not last more than a year and had to be replaced often. Later, leather, bone and ivory were crafted into rings as tokens of love.

The Romans used rings made of durable iron; however the symbolism behind the use of the ring was not quite as romantic as the Egyptian's. To the Romans, a wedding ring was used to signify a binding, legal agreement of ownership by the husband and the ring was a token of purchase. In the third century, silver and gold replaced iron. Iron tended to rust and gold and silver had more aesthetic beauty. Gold or silver rings also symbolized the groom's faith that his betrothed was to be trusted with his valuable property.

Early Celtic rings were made of hair. The bride and groom would weave locks of their hair together into a braid and the bride would wear the ring as a token of their commitment to each other.

Puzzle rings, called a Gimmel, were popular engagement/wedding rings in the 15th century. The Gimmel ring consisted of two or more interlocking rings, joined by a pivot, so they could slide together to form one ring (symbolizing the union of two lives). The most popular Gimmel ring depicted two hands and a heart, which symbolized faith, trust or plighted troth. When all three rings were joined, the hands clasped over the heart. This variation of the Gimmel ring was called a Fede (Italian for 'faith') ring. One part of the ring was given to the bride as her engagement ring, the second and third parts of the ring were kept by the groom-to-be and the witness of the engagement ceremony. At the marriage ceremony, all three parts would be reunited on the bride's finger.

The Claddagh ring, a version of a Fede ring, became popular in 17th century Ireland and remains popular to this day. It depicts two hands holding a crowned heart. The motto associated with the ring 'Let love and friendship reign' has become the traditional Irish wedding band.

During the Renaissance and throughout the 18th century, sterling silver poesy rings were popular wedding bands. Poesy rings were engraved with mottoes or verses, mostly with a religious or romantic overtone.

At the same time poesy rings were popular, the Puritans were renouncing wedding bands, because they considered jewelry frivolous. Colonial Americans often exchanged thimbles during the wedding ceremony. Thimbles were acceptable to the Puritans because they were viewed as a practical item. After the wedding, the women would slice off the bottom of the thimble and created a wedding band.

During the Victorian and Edwardian eras, wedding bands were engraved with intertwined hearts, flowers, intricate leaves and delicate filigree. In the 1920's and 1930's, the art deco movement introduced wedding ring styles focusing on bold colors and geometric shapes. Today, wedding rings can be made of gold, silver, platinum or a combination of two or more metals.

Superstitions
There are many superstitions associated with the wedding ring. Here are a few:

It is unlucky to go shopping for wedding rings on a Friday, due to the bad luck associated with that day.
It is unlucky for the bride or groom to wear their rings before the wedding ceremony.
Once the wedding ring has been placed on the finger, it is considered bad luck to remove it. If the ring accidentally comes off, the husband must replace it on her finger.
Dropping the ring during the ceremony is an evil omen. Whoever dropped the ring, it would signify they would die first. If the ring rolls away from the alter and rested on a gravestone in the floor of the chapel, it would mean the bride would die first if the person buried underneath the floor was a woman; the groom would die first if it was a man buried below.
A too-tight ring might point to painful jealousy or the stifling of one party by the other.
A too-loose ring could mean a parting of the ways through careless acts or forgetfulness.
Having the wedding ring(s) blessed by a clergyman is believed to give the ring the power to rid disease and guard the wearer from devils.

Written by: Tom Tsatsos

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