The History of Ring

A wedding ring or wedding band is a finger ring that indicates that its wearer is married It is usually forged from metal, and traditionally is forged of gold or another precious metal.

The earliest examples of wedding rings are from Ancient Egypt. Western customs for wedding rings can be traced to ancient Rome and Greece, and were transmitted to the present through Christendom in Europe, which adapted the ancient customs.

Depending on culture, a wedding ring is typically worn on the base of the left or right ring finger, if the wearer is left handed often it will go onto the right hand. Many spouses wear their wedding rings day and night, causing an indentation in the skin that is visible even when the ring is removed. Since the 19th century in the West, it has been considered unlucky to remove a wedding ring once it has been placed on the finger in church.

Ancient Near East

Finger rings have been found in tombs in Urdating back to circa 2500BC. The Hittite civilization produced rings, including signet rings, only a few of which have been discovered. People in Old Kingdom Egyptwore a variety of finger rings, of which a few examples have been found, including the famous scarab design. Rings became more common during the Egyptian middle kingdom, with increasingly complex designs. Egyptians made metal rings but also made rings from faience some of which were used as new year gifts. Native styles were superseded by Greek and Roman fashions during the Ptolemaic dynasty.

Archaic and classical Greek

Archaic Greek rings were to some extent influenced by Egyptian rings, although they tended to be less substantial and were not for the most part used as working signet rings. A lack of locally available gold meant that rings made in the eastern colonies tended to be made from silver and bronze while Etruria used gold.

The classical period showed a shift away from bronze to wider adoption of silver and gold. The most typical design of the period involved a lozenge bezel mounting an intaglio device.Over time the bezel moved towards a more circular form.

Roman Rings
During the early and middle imperial era (first two centuries AD) the closest there is to a typical Roman ring consisted of a thick hoop that tapered directly into a slightly wider bezel. An engraved oval gem would be embedded within the bezel with the top of the gem only rising slightly above the surrounding ring material. Such rings are referred to Henig II and III/Guiraud 2 in formal academic parlance or simply as Roman rings by modern jewellers. In general Roman rings became more elaborate in the third and fourth centuries AD.