WEDDING BANDS: THE EPIC JOURNEY OF A SIMPLE OBJECT THROUGH THE AGES


THE ORIGIN OF WEDDING BANDS; A BRIEF HISTORY


Wedding bands in one form or another have beena long-standing symbol of love and commitment in this and many cultures for many years. But how did it originate?

The first evidence of wedding bands dates back to the Egyptians 6,000 or more years ago. Images on papyrus scrolls depict bands made of hemp, reed, or other materials employed for this purpose.

The circular shape of the ring was associated with eternity, and the endless love shared by the couple.The ring finger at the left hand was chosen as it was believed to be one end of the “heart meridian” or ” vena amoris ” the other end of which was the heart itself, the organ and origin of love.

It is widely believed that the Greeks later adopted this tradition after Egypt was conquered by Alexander the great in 332 BC.

In early Rome, the use of metal for rings made its first appearance, most typically in the form of steel, but occasionally in the form of silver or gold as a statement that the man trusted his wife with valuable property.

The metal materials chosen for wedding bands have also seen some interesting noteworthy changes over the years.

In wartime Britain during the early 1940s because of the war effort, restrictions were placed on wedding band manufacturing regarding the gold content. This was limited to a mass of only two pennyweights, slightly over three grams. During this time, rings had a gold content of only 9k, rather than the traditional 22k.

The metal content of rings manufacturered during this era was denoted by the assayer’s office using the letter “U” stamped on the inside adjacent to the Hallmark stamp.

In the United States during that same time, platinum was restricted for wartime manufacturing efforts, leading to the introduction of white gold.

White gold is the usual yellow gold were all familiar with, but combined with either nickel or palladium which has a bleaching effect, turning the metal white.

This choice saw modest popularity during this era, which has grown to greater prominence in the 21st century.


MODERN CHANGES TO WEDDING BANDS


The wedding band industry again saw radical upheavals around 2008 with great recession. Gold prices spiked the record highs of close to $2,000 an ounce, and a variety of “alternative materials” entered the marketplace.

In response to challenging financial times, unusual materials such as ceramic, rubber, and alternative metals like stainless steel, niobium, titanium, Damascus, and more began to make appearances for the first time.

The combination of economic conditions, technological advances, and generational shifts made for fertile ground for these materials to take root, and they’re popularity was widespread.

Indeed, perspectives on the social importance of the wedding band as a symbol in and of itself went through something of a metamorphosis during the early 21st century.

The concept of the wedding band as a symbol of value and everlasting love seemed to be eclipsed by a more pragmatic perspective of the wedding band as a kind of temporary placeholder, or replaceable unit denoting one’s marital status. The concept of intrinsic value, sentimentality, or notions of the ring itself as a family heirloom became secondary at best or obsolete altogether.

The materials used during this era were selected by manufacturers as inexpensive alternatives to precious or noble metals for obvious financial reasons to adapt to shifting marketplace. These newer materials themselves were not well suited to hand work in the small shop setting, and so the manufacturer of these product lines was almost exclusively the domain of industrialization on a massive scale.

A wedding band could be manufactured so inexpensively that even a routine procedure like sizing no longer made financial or practical sense. The ring was simply discarded, and another purchased.

The marketplace was flooded in short order with a homogeneous wave of such rings. Prices plummeted, and a new standard emerged for much of the population.

But not all.

What about those for whom a wedding band meant something more? What about those people who weren’t satisfied with a disposable intrinsically valueless placeholder as a symbol of their ever lasting love?


ALTERNATIVES TO “ALTERNATIVES”…


At this point, I’m going to make some statements which are my personal opinion based on being a citizen of the 21st century, and as a career long metalsmith.

I am a romtic generally, but especially in matters of love. As a Goldsmith, I take great pleasure and pride in creating meaningful, personal symbols of love and commitment for people who share these views. The movement of alternative materials for wedding bands, while practical, inexpensive, and widespread though it may be, just doesn’t suit everyone.

Personally, I view this trend of new ” alternates” as an understandable but unfortunate metamorphosis of a symbol of our single greatest emotional expression, love.

As a citizen of this time, I hunger for something more, and as an artist, my hands seek to express that desire for myself and others.


THE NOBLE METALS, JOURNEY THROUGH TIME AND SPACE


I choose the noble metals as my pallet: gold in all of its colors, silver, platinum and palladium. These traditional materials have been chosen by metalsmiths through the ages for their value, beauty and workability. They are solid choices for artists of the small shop, and the simple tools of files, hammers, torches and the likes have been virtually unchanged for centuries.

The very metals themselves have a facinating pedigree. Gold, silver, platinum and palladium are literally not of this world.

They are elements unto themselves that are forged only in the extreme conditions found only inside of collapsing stars. The conditions of tremendous heat and pressure create these elements at their core before their blown all over the universe to planets like ours.

The inhabitants of those planets Then collect these metals, and share them with others to be fashioned into objects and symbols of meaning.

I love reflecting on that knowledge and the journey my materials have taken to reach my bench as I hold it in my hand, and contemplate the ways in which I’ll use it. It’s story is simultaneously so epic and so intimate, one can help but to be captivated by its romance.

I am for the metal yet another threshold of transition in a journey that has already spanned eons and countless miles, forged in the insides of stars and planets and places I can only imagine! This is my pallet, the materials I work with on a daily basis. Noble indeed!

It’s my honor as a metalsmith to give shape and form to it’s next incarnation, to fulfill my role as a link in the chain of its evolution. I couple these materials through the lens of my hands into an object of meaning to be worn by people for generations to come.