A wedding ring or wedding band consists of a precious metal ring, usually worn on the base of the left ring finger – the fourth finger (with the thumb counted as the first finger) of the left hand. Such a ring symbolizes marriage: a spouse wears it to indicate a marital commitment to fidelity. The European custom of wearing such a ring has spread widely beyond Europe. Wedding ring - Traditional customs. Wedding ring - Pre-wedding customs. According to some customs, the ...

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• Wedding ring - Traditional customs
• Wedding ring - Pre-wedding customs
• Wedding ring - Wedding ceremony customs
• Wedding ring - Post-wedding customs
• Wedding ring - Contemporary usage
• Wedding ring - Materials
• Wedding ring - Styles patterns fashions
• Wedding ring - Quotes

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Wedding ring - Pre-wedding customs. According to some customs, the wedding ring forms the last in a series of gifts, which also may include the engagement ring, traditionally given as a betrothal present, and the promise ring, often given when serious courting begins. Other more recent traditions, and the jewelry trade, seek to expand the idea of a series of ring-gifts with an eternity ring, which symbolizes the renewal or ongoing nature of a lasting marriage, sometimes given after the birth of a first chi ...

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Wedding ring, Wedding ring - Traditional customs, Wedding ring - Pre-wedding customs, Wedding ring - Wedding ceremony customs, Wedding ring - Post-wedding customs, Wedding ring - Contemporary usage, Wedding ring - Materials, Wedding ring - Styles patterns fashions, Wedding ring - Quotes

Read more here: » Wedding ring: Encyclopedia II - Wedding ring - Traditional customs

The inception of the engagement ring itself can be tied to the Fourth Lateran Council presided over by Pope Innocent III in 1215. Innocent declared a longer waiting period between betrothal and marriage; plain rings of gold, silver or iron were used earliest. Gems were more than baubles; they were important and reassuring status symbols to the aristocracy. Laws were passed to preserve a visible division of social rank, ensuring only the privileged wore florid jewels. As time passed and laws relaxed, diamonds and other ...

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Engagement ring, Engagement ring - Refusing the gift, Engagement ring - Material and design, Engagement ring - History

Read more here: » Engagement ring: Encyclopedia II - Engagement ring - History

"Until death do us part." —common ending words of a Christian wedding vow "With this ring I thee wed." —from the traditional Church of England marriage-ceremony formula "With this ring, you are consecrated to me according to the law of Moses and Israel." —translated from the Hebrew words said at a Jewish wedding "N., take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." —f ...

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Wedding ring, Wedding ring - Traditional customs, Wedding ring - Pre-wedding customs, Wedding ring - Wedding ceremony customs, Wedding ring - Post-wedding customs, Wedding ring - Contemporary usage, Wedding ring - Materials, Wedding ring - Styles patterns fashions, Wedding ring - Quotes

Read more here: » Wedding ring: Encyclopedia II - Wedding ring - Quotes

The plain gold band is the most popular pattern. Medical personnel commonly wear it because it can be kept very clean. Women usually wear narrow bands, while men wear broader bands. In France and French-speaking countries, a common pattern consists of three interwoven rings. They stand for "faith, hope and love", where "love" equates to that particular type of perfect disinterested love indicated by the ancient Greek word agape. Provocatively, this pattern sl ...

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Wedding ring, Wedding ring - Traditional customs, Wedding ring - Pre-wedding customs, Wedding ring - Wedding ceremony customs, Wedding ring - Post-wedding customs, Wedding ring - Contemporary usage, Wedding ring - Materials, Wedding ring - Styles patterns fashions, Wedding ring - Quotes

Read more here: » Wedding ring: Encyclopedia II - Wedding ring - Styles patterns fashions

In the United Kingdom and the United States in past generations, women wore wedding bands much more commonly than men did. Today, both partners often wear wedding rings, but where occupations or professions forbid or discourage the wearing of jewelry (as in the cases of actors, police, military pilots and electrical workers), either marriage partner may not wear a ring. In addition, people often remove wedding rings for comfort or safety. Others may object to the idea of precious metals, or dislike the idea of declaring their legal status th ...

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Wedding ring, Wedding ring - Traditional customs, Wedding ring - Pre-wedding customs, Wedding ring - Wedding ceremony customs, Wedding ring - Post-wedding customs, Wedding ring - Contemporary usage, Wedding ring - Materials, Wedding ring - Styles patterns fashions, Wedding ring - Quotes

Read more here: » Wedding ring: Encyclopedia II - Wedding ring - Contemporary usage

Designs of such rings have varied greatly over the years. It traditionally is a precious band, and mounts a diamond or other gem. Current fashions for engagement rings are for a gold, platinum, or silver band with a single diamond. This trend dates from advertising campaigns in the 1940s by de Beers, the world's leading diamond producer. An engagement ring is often intentionally expensive as a sign of a man's permanency. The argument for a diamond is that it is the most enduring, beautiful, and expensive gem. Many women, however, pref ...

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Engagement ring, Engagement ring - Refusing the gift, Engagement ring - Material and design, Engagement ring - History

Read more here: » Engagement ring: Encyclopedia II - Engagement ring - Material and design

Women traditionally refuse offers of marriage by refusing to take the offered engagement ring. A woman who accepts an engagement ring, and then does not marry the man but keeps the ring, is considered grasping and dishonest in some cases, although an alternative argument is that the ring was a gift to which the woman is entitled; because an engagement is also a period for evaluating one's commitment to the relationship, it is not uncommon for either the man or the woman to break off the engagement. It is generally held that if the betrothal fails because the man pursues other women or himself breaks off the eng ...

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Engagement ring, Engagement ring - Refusing the gift, Engagement ring - Material and design, Engagement ring - History

Read more here: » Engagement ring: Encyclopedia II - Engagement ring - Refusing the gift

Most religious marital ceremonies accept a band of any material to symbolize the taking of marriage vows, with unusual substitutions permitted in marriages under unusual circumstances. When people cannot obtain or adjust a metal ring of appropriate size, substitutions such as rubber bands may be used. To make wedding rings, jewellers most commonly use a precious yellow alloy of gold, hardened with copper, tin and bismuth. Platinum and white alloys of gold, equivalent to or superior than gold, are also used. Titanium has recently becom ...

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Wedding ring, Wedding ring - Traditional customs, Wedding ring - Pre-wedding customs, Wedding ring - Wedding ceremony customs, Wedding ring - Post-wedding customs, Wedding ring - Contemporary usage, Wedding ring - Materials, Wedding ring - Styles patterns fashions, Wedding ring - Quotes

Read more here: » Wedding ring: Encyclopedia II - Wedding ring - Materials