Rings have been a part of human culture for literally thousands of years.
Jewellery itself has existed pretty much ever since humanity existed. During the early parts of human history, many humans wore jewellery made of shells, bones, feathers and pebbles. Rings have always been one of the most worn types of jewellery.
In this article, we will take a look at the history of rings – but not just engagement and wedding rings. You will have a great look at how many cultures throughout time have valued rings, and will see why people still wear rings to this day.
Earliest Rings
Most cultures around the world have managed to wear and create jewellery in one way or another. During the stone age, necklaces, bracelets and rings were often made out of simple and primitive materials. These included things like the bones of animals (or humans), feathers, horns, teeth, polished pebbles and stones, and so on.
Jewellery was a way of showing rank and authority. It was a way to communicate something to fellow cavemen. Leaders of certain tribes would wear feathers or necklaces that were made of teeth and horns in order to show power.
Some of the earliest rings were found in India. The ancient Indians made lots of jewellery that is similar to what we can find today. These were beads and charms made from seeds and pebbles.
Ancient Egypt
By now, most of us are surely familiar with how important the Egyptians were in the grand scheme of human history. For an astonishing amount of time, Egypt was the most forward-thinking culture on Earth. They famously built the pyramids and mummified bodies. They have a huge and in depth religion with many gods and rituals.
A lot of Egyptians kings and pharaohs were mummified in large and extravagant tombs. After scientists from the modern era discovered them, they were also introduced to the jewellery and rings that they wore.
The ancient Egyptians wore what was known as “Scarab rings”. Scarab rings are rings that have a small decoration of a scarab beetle on them. A lot of the time there were inscriptions on the base of the scarab.
Early scrab rings were often attached to the finger with string. The scarab beetle was almost always made of either gold or silver. Later on, gold coils and wire were used to keep the ring on the finger – close to what normal rings are today.
Greeks & Romans
Ancient Greece is famously full of many highly intelligent philosophers and wise people. In the writing of a lot of these philosophers and poets, we can see that they talked a lot about their jewellery.
Jewellery during the times of Ancient Greece was often used as a means to show social status. For example, the rich people in Greek society commonly displayed their rich gold rings and bracelets. Women also favoured wearing bracelets in particular as they thought that it was a great way to display femininity.
Wise Greek philosophers often wore rings that had detailed inscriptions on them that were made out of gold. Like the Egyptians, the Greeks loved to show their appreciation to the gods. Greek rings were often found to be inscribed with messages for gods like Zeus, Poseidon, Athena and so on.
Since the Romans are somewhat close in culture to the ancient Greeks, their rings were also similar. But one of the biggest differences was that the Romans introduced the concept of “vena amoris” which is Latin for “vein of love”.
This was based on the belief that there was a vein in the ring finger of the left hand that led directly to the heart. Wearing a ring then became a symbol of love and dedication to someone. This whole belief system with rings is one of the reasons why we wear rings today.
Medieval
During the medieval times, rings started to become similar to what we have to this day. This was because medieval blacksmiths were able to shape and develop rings in ways that could not be done before. Medieval rings were also often worn as a status of power and nobility.
Many kings and queens often wore rings that were made of gold and silver, sometimes bronze. But most importantly, the value of medieval rings were often thanks to the gemstone that was used.
The gemstones used were not too different from what we have today, although they did not look as clean. Royalty in England could be seen wearing jewellery that featured the beautiful blue sapphire stone. Emeralds were also used, but mainly by princesses.
It wasn’t until the late 1400s that Archduke Maximilian of Austria famously gave a diamond ring to his lover. This was during a time when diamond rings were far less common to what we have today. Diamonds were often valued only for their strength, rather than their beauty.
Medieval gemstones were not cut and polished like nowadays, so the jewels often did not look as flash as they do now. The middle ages also saw couples regularly exchanging rings as a sign of marriage.
Marriage during the medieval times is quite similar to what we have today, and most practices for modern marriage come from the Christian traditions of a medieval marriage. For instance, rings were exchanged in front of a priest inside of a church to make a marriage between two people official.
Modern
The rings that we all know and love today really kicked off from anywhere around the 1930s to 1950s. This was thanks to the company De Beers, who really pushed for having a diamond engagement ring.
Hollywood actresses like Marilyn Monroe were seen wearing really elegant diamond ring jewellery, and later the term “diamonds are a girl’s best friend” were coined, boosting the industry even further.
Modern rings tend to focus a lot on the carat of the diamond, as well as its setting. The setting is how the diamond is held in place and can range from solitaire to prong, bezel, halo, tension and more.
Later on, man made/lab grown diamonds were invented. Pretty self explanatory, lab grown diamonds are diamonds that are “grown” in a lab and are not mined from the earth. Today, lab grown diamonds are starting to catch up to natural diamonds in popularity.
Conclusion
Pretty much since humans first existed on Earth, we have been fascinated with rings. Early civilizations like the Ancient Indians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Mesopotamians and so on were some of the first to create their own rings. These were often to honour gods and for other religious reasons.
The Romans are often thought to have been some of the first to use rings as a way to show dedication and love to someone. They were the ones that made use of the left hand’s ring finger, believing in “vena amoris” – the idea that there was a vein in the ring finger of the left hand that leads straight to the heart.
In medieval times, rings were often worn by royalty as a means to show status. This was also a time where ring settings were developed and gemstones were more commonly used.
In the modern age, almost every woman is expecting to have a diamond engagement ring. This is thanks to the marketing seen in the 1930s through to the 1950s. Movie stars helped promote the femininity of wearing a diamond ring.
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by Australian Diamond Brokers : August 31st 2022 Come visit our store or browse our website to find out more.