WEDLING RING FASHIONS

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 54, 27 November 1926, Page 18

WEDLING RING FASHIONS

Platinum wedding rings, which recently became more fashionable than gold ones, have another rival so far as novelty is concerned. This is a square-shaped ring of "white” gold, which is much cheaper than platinum and is a gold alloy. Obviously their novelty is their chief asset, since for comfort in wear, especially under gloves, a round ring is much superior. The new-style wedding rings are not always approved by the older generation, who seem to consider that the plain gold band, and a fairly heavy one at that, is the recognised symbol of the married state.

Ancient wedding rings, however, were by no means made to a plain conventional pattern., Many of the old Jewish specimens are very large and elaborately decorated and enamelled. They bear on one side raised representations of the Temple of Jerusalem, and inscriptions such as "Joy be with you” and other felicitous .wishes. i ,

The gimmel, or linked, ring, was much favoured as a wedding ring in the Middle Ages. hen the custom of solemn betrothal before marriage was a very usual occurence, and this ceremony involved the exchange of rings between lovers. Hence the popularity of the rir}g made with a double or more often a triple link. I have seen one which shuts into a single solid band, bearing two small clasped hands at the join. When the solemn betrothal took place in the presence of a witness the ring was split up into its three component parts, the man and maid taking the upper and lower pieces, and the witness the middle strand. When the actual marriage took place later the ring-was again assembled and became the bride's wedding king. Manv sixteenth and seventeenth

century wedding rings bear inscriptions or posies, and this fashion of having a ring engraved with some motto or love line was revived a year or two ago.

The custom of wearing the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand .goes back to the belief that a nerve on this finger communicated direct with the heart, and it was known as the healing finger to the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Many materials have been used in the past for the fashioning of wedding and betrothal rings, including bone and ivorv, crystal, jade, gold, and silver, some set with gems and some plain. A gem-posy-ring, contrived by a French jeweller early in the nineteenth century, made use of lapis lazuli, opal, verde antique, emerald, malachite, emerald, the first letter of the name of the stones making the plea, "Love me.” “Eternity rings” are becoming more and more popular. They are generally of diamonds, and cost from £l5, according to the quality of the stones. They are not for everyone, because of the fact that they will not stand the hardest of wear.

Despite ultra-modern fashions in the symbolical ring, there is still a great number —indeed, the majority—of gold rings sold, and here fashion tends toward the narrow rather than the wide bands. Brides like to choose their own wedding rings, and usually accompany the bridegroom to the shop. Not infrequently the bride will come alone to choose her ring. Since the vogue for platinum rings manv older married women have occasionally had their gold rings "platinated,” that is, dipped in platinum. Some jewellers, however, do not advise this, as the platinum sometimes wears off, revealing the gold beneath.