Rings

[Pink Dahlia]

The 1920s rings on that site are just magnificent!

 

[MissHuff]

http://antiqueengagementrings.com/Default.aspx

DROOOOOOOOOOOOOL

 

[pretty faythe]

Not here we skip right over spring and go straight to summer!

I think you blinked and missed spring....lol

 

[ohairas]

Ok Pink, just thing "summer lovin', happened so fast!"

Great sites. I'm a sucker for filigree and I love the ebay seller BlufoxxCreations. All replicas made from original molds and such! YUM!
Nikki

 

[Pink Dahlia]

Still waiting on that summer lovin'!

 

[Polka Dot]

I don't usually drool over jewelry, considering I almost never wear it. But this...*sigh*.

I like them all.

 

[fourstarbanner]

Who needs a guy to buy one for you? If I had the money, I would buy something for myself!

 

[PolkaDotMeggie]

WEDDING RINGS

What was the protocal for women in the 40s and 50s when it comes to wedding bands? I have noticed that women now a-days only seem to wear their wedding band. I have always worn my band, engagement ring, and promise ring on the same finger. They were not a matching set, but visually they look good (and fit nicely ) together.

Has the engagement ring just been forgotten about or lost it's importance?!

 

[Feraud]

What is a promise ring? Is this a promise to get engaged?

My wife wears her engagement and wedding ring.

 

[PolkaDotMeggie]

Yes essentially. Or a promise that I would always be loved. It looks like a smaller version of an engagement ring. I suppose I could wear it on another finger. I was just wondering what others do.

 

[ShortClara]

I wear my wedding and engagement together onthe same finger. My BFF wears them both on opposite hands. They both have such meaning - I can't imagine just chucking the engagement ring into a box and never wearing it

 

[Mr. 'H']

Funny, I was going to post a thread on this with the question:

"What did men's wedding rings look like in the 40s?"

 

[PolkaDotMeggie]

Also, does anyone know how to wear the claddagh ring? I am getting conflicting information about what finger to wear it on.

 

[Vintage Betty]

For the irish rings, I believe the heart is facing the person who's taken, and pointing out to indicate the heart is available.

I wear a wedding and engagement set on my left hand, American style. Both are 1930's purchased seperately. I have another wedding ring that I wear on my right hand, as appropriate for that tradition.

The modern day American style diamond wedding rings didn't come into vogue until the early 1900's, when the diamond industry had a surplus. By working with jewelers like Debeers and other major producers of jewelry during this slump period, the diamond industry convinced the American public that it was "appropriate" and correct to purchase your lady a diamond.

Prior to this period, people used gold, or more often, no wedding rings at all.

So the diamond wedding ring is historically a ploy to purchase more diamonds, nothing else.

Vintage Betty

 

[Babydoll]

Also, does anyone know how to wear the claddagh ring? I am getting conflicting information about what finger to wear it on.

I believe that the tradition of the claddagh is to be worn on the ring finger as that is a direct line to the heart. With the point of the heart facing towards the wearer on the right hands means their heart is taken, facing "out" means they are single. Facing "out" on the left means engaged, facing "in" on the left means married.

I have a claddagh that I wear on my right hand, face in.

For me, I wear my wedding band placed first on the ring finger of my left hand as a symbol of my commitment to my vows and to my husband. My engagement ring is worn on top of that.

My mother (married in the early 60s) has a three ring set: gold wedding band, white gold and diamond wedding band, and matching white gold and diamond engagement ring. I love it!

 

[Mr. 'H']

For the irish rings, I believe the heart is facing the person who's taken, and pointing out to indicate the heart is available.

Vintage Betty

Yes, that would be the position here in Ireland.

 

[sweetfrancaise]

So, in answer to engagement rings, they've been in use since the Middle Ages, but they were only a promise. Most people didn't wear them with their wedding band, from what I understand. Diamond engagement rings, however, were part of a marketing compaign by DeBeers in the fifties. My grandmother (1956) and mom (1980) both wear a matching engagement and wedding band set

You might find more answers on the beloved Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engagement_ring#History
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_ring#Post-wedding_customs

Hope this helps!

 

[Josephine]

I don't care for diamonds or gold, so I received an emerald (my favorite stone) in white gold as an engagement ring. My ring was not a 'real' engagement ring, just a regular ring, and it has a curved band so we had to have the wedding ring custom made to fit it. I eventually got them soldered together as when I lost weight they kept sliding apart. I have to wear my engagement ring with my wedding ring now , but even before I definitely wore them together.

 

[Edward]

Has the engagement ring just been forgotten about or lost it's importance?!

I think it's probably largely a financial thing, and in some cases political. Engagement rings are expensive, and I think a lot of folks these days would prefer to put the money towards something practical for the house or a deposit on a property or whatever. A shame, in my eyes, but wholly understandable. I have occasionally run into ladies who feel the engagement ring to be some sort of patriarchal tag of ownership, much emphasis being placed upon the man not wearing one. Rare, but it does happen.

I'd always assumed that women would wear both together - it's what all the women in my family and others I've known over the years have always done. It seems to vary from indivudla to individual which way round they are worn - some wear the engagement ring nearer the knuckle, then the wedding ring, i.e. the order in which they were given the rings, others wear the wedding ring first them the diamond as they believe that it looks better, or for other reasons. It seems to me the be largely a matter of personal preference.

Also, does anyone know how to wear the claddagh ring? I am getting conflicting information about what finger to wear it on.

The comments above are all correct viz which way around it is worn. Babydoll is correct re the appropriate finger; traditionally, it was believed that the ring finger on the left hand contained a vein that was directly linked to the heart, the supposed organ of love. The Claddagh (named after the Irish town in which the design originates) was originally used as a wedding ring, though it's now a very commonly seen piece of jewellery, rarely used for its intended original purpose. I don't know when it fell out of fashion as a wedding band - perhaps plain bands being much cheaper was a factor, or possibly it was when engagement rings became fashionable, the shape of a Claddagh making it difficult or impossible to wear two rings on the one finger, I'd have thought.

Oh..... and by tradition, you're not supposed to buy your own Claddagh.

 

[A.R. McVintage]

Funny, I was going to post a thread on this with the question:

"What did men's wedding rings look like in the 40s?"

My grandpa's wedding band from May of 1941. Now, for those of you who can figure out quick-like, you can see why, for all practical purposes, they were still newly weds in 1946.