According to records, it was stated that Pope Innocent III was responsible for the creation of two of the most important rings that we are aware of today: the wedding and engagement rings. He asserted that there must be a waiting period between engagement and marriage. Since both of these events were treated as contracts, the rings were symbolically used in order to seal the deal legally. Prior to the 13th century, it was only the engagement ring that was given in Europe, though the history of wedding rings are far older than we are aware of.
Accordingly, about five thousand years ago, the Egyptians already used reed or hemp rings as a sign of eternity since the shape of a circle has no beginning and no end. The stone cut types that we know today such as the princess cut was still not popular during those periods. During the biblical times, great dowry gifts were given in the betrothal of couples. It was therefore assumed that rings, especially those that are considered as precious metals, were substituted for expensive dowries.
During the reign of Romans, rings were utilized as deal attestations and connotation of ownership. High ranking officials wore gold rings, while ordinary citizens wore iron rings as a sign of their position in the community. The rings worn by ordinary citizens at that time were similar to the large rings that held the keys to the household. As such, it has been regarded that if a Roman citizen presented his bride with an iron marriage ring, he was therefore giving her the key to his household as well as all his worldly goods.
It was in 16th century England that the use of wedding ring was officially moved from the right hand to the left hand. It was assumed that such change was done in order to show a women her place in the society, since the right hand was acknowledged as the hand of power. The placement of the wedding ring on the third left hand finger was rooted from the idea that such finger was supposed to be the place where the love vein or vena amoris is situated; therefore, as the ring is symbolic of love, it was officially worn in the third left hand finger as it is directly connected to the heart. Today, wedding and engagement rings are both widely worn on the left hand; however, there are some countries that traditionally wear their engagement rings on the right hand such as Poland and Ukraine.
For Puritans, rings were considered as agnostic, which they believe is inappropriate to use during wedding ceremonies; hence, instead of using rings they used wedding thimbles for their marital vows. The Victorians were the ones who welcomingly embraced the custom of wedding rings and accentuated them with flowers and hearts. On the other end of the spectrum, the Edwardians embellished their rings with leaves and other ornamental arts, which in turn paved way for the rise of art deco rings. From here, the use of gemstones on rings were incorporated and so were the stone cut types such as the princess cut, emerald cut and step cut to name a few.
It was not until World War II that men started to wear wedding and engagement rings. The soldiers going off to war were the first men to wear these rings in order to remember their wives or partners back home. Today, wedding rites are also treated as double ring ceremonies. That is, both the bride and the groom wear wedding rings in order to show their commitment and love for each other, although the use of engagement ring is still reserved for women.
Wedding and engagement rings are both significant jewelries that have a long and fruitful history. Aside from sealing contract deals, these rings were also used as representations of power and position within the society. A marriage ring however, remained as the symbol of commitment between two people. Today, rings used for wedding and engagement comes in various styles and cut just like the popularly known princess cut.
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