Linked forever

Wedding ring
A ring is a piece of jewellery in the shape of a circle, which means it has neither beginning nor end. As a symbol of infinity, connection and eternity, it is the perfect jewel to seal the everlasting fidelity of two lovers. Wedding rings are often smooth and seamless to add extra emphasis to this ‘circle of connection’. The tradition of exchanging and wearing wedding rings dates back to the Roman era. It changed in the Middle Ages, when it was customary only for women to wear them and it was the late 19th century before men started to do so again.

Wedding rings are specifically worn on the fourth finger of the left hand. And for the most romantic of reasons. It was believed in ancient times that the vein of love – the Vena amoris – flowed through this finger and was directly connected to the heart. So it is for good reason that the fourth finger is also known as the ‘ring finger’. This romantic notion did not always hold true, however. Over the centuries, people have also worn their wedding ring on the right hand, and some even placed it on their thumb or middle finger. These days, it doesn’t matter which hand you use to wear your wedding ring. Unless you’re religious, that is. Catholics always wear their wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand, while Protestants prefer their right hand.

Symbols, proverbs and sayings
Wedding rings are often made of gold, which never tarnishes and is thus an ideal symbol of ‘purity’. In numerous cultures, gold also represents beauty, power, prestige, the energy of the sun and the renewal of life. Although many of these symbolic meanings are not found in Dutch culture, there are plenty of proverbs and sayings in our language featuring the words ‘gold’ and ‘ring’. ‘An ape may wear a golden ring yet shall remain an ugly thing’, is one example. Meaning that wearing fine clothes and jewellery is not enough to make you beautiful. Another proverb describes someone as ‘looking as though they could pass through a ring’. Only the finest fabric can do that, so the person in question is very well dressed. Another proverb – ‘it’s a marriage with a very small wedding ring’ – has an entirely different meaning: it suggests that the husband is having a relationship with more than one woman.

Wearing jewellery by the book
In 1939 Amy Groskamp-ten Have published her book Hoe hoort het eigenlijk (roughly ‘The Done Thing’). In it, she set out precise rules of etiquette covering everything from table manners to dress codes. She even specified what jewellery a woman ought to wear on particular occasions. It was not the done thing at the time for a woman to pick out her jewellery at random. If she did so, it would reveal her poor taste. Groskamp also thought it inappropriate for a woman to overdo things before lunch. She was not supposed to wear more than one ring on the same hand until the afternoon. And even after lunchtime, she needed to take care: she could now dress up a little, but she still had to observe certain rules of etiquette. She definitely shouldn’t mix modern and antique jewellery, for instance. And the same went for combining real and imitation jewellery: she was free to choose one or the other, but never to blend the two.

To many of us nowadays, rules like this seem ridiculous. But by no means everyone feels that way: even now there are plenty of authors around to advise their readers about ‘the right clothes and jewellery for the right moment’.

Imitation jewellery
The fashion designers Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli paid little heed to rules of etiquette like this. Their motto in the 1920s and 30s was ‘the more the merrier’. They designed a wide range of imitation jewellery, replacing gold, silver, gemstones and pearls with materials such as plastic, coloured glass and rock crystal. Pieces like this were known as ‘costume’ or ‘fashion jewellery’. Since they were made from cheaper materials, they could be afforded by a larger group of people. Costume jewellery remains hugely popular to this day, and companies and brands are happy to meet the demand. The Austrian firm Swarovski, which produces imitation gemstones and diamonds, is a world leader in this segment.

New approaches
For all the popularity of fashion jewellery, demand for real gold and silver objects remains unabated. There was an important development in 1951, when ‘cocktail rings’ with interchangeable, coloured stones were offered for sale. They allowed the ring’s wearer to match the colour of the stone to their outfit. Cocktail parties were restrained affairs, for which it was the done thing to dress up nicely. Rings of this kind, made of yellow or red gold and set with colourful semiprecious stones of your choice, fitted the occasion perfectly. They became popular in the 1960s with the large, new target group dubbed ‘teenagers’. Children born after the Second World War – the baby boom generation – reached their teens in the late 1950s and 60s. There were two million Dutch people between the ages of 15 and 25 in that era, more than half of whom were earning their own money and had no desire to wear traditional jewellery. Savvy manufacturers responded to this demand by modifying the cocktail ring to meet the tastes of younger consumers. They called the new variant the ‘teen ring’ – a smooth, silver ring with a square, rectangular or round flat plate decorated with a simple line pattern or a cluster of little stones.

More than ‘portable wealth’
After the ‘teen ring’ had made its appearance, a number of designers changed course sharply. The design concept assumed greater importance for them than working with gold, silver and gemstones. They were keen to give jewellery a different meaning, which they achieved by working with cheap materials like rubber, plastic and aluminium. In some cases, designers used highly unconventional materials, such as garden hose and dice.

Jewellery has changed a lot over the centuries, in terms of its significance, etiquette, design and materials. Yet there is one constant: whether it’s a wedding ring, ornamental ring, fashion ring or artistic ring, there is always much more to it than merely ‘portable wealth’. It has a story to tell!