Talk:Wedding ring

2003

"wedding band is the traditional European" ... but it's a "wedding ring" in the UK. And what about the US? hell yes

"Girls traditionally judge the seriousness of a promise ring by its value, and the size of its gem." ... do they all? Doesn't this tie in with the feminist "legalized prostitution" argument? -- Tarquin 18:34 Jan 1, 2003 (UTC)

Yes, it's usually called a "ring" in the U.S., too. This whole article sets my teeth on edge, as much because of its sillly tone ("girls" don't get engaged/married, for example -- women do) as that its "facts" are not true, but I choose not to get involved. -- isis 18:49 Jan 1, 2003 (UTC)

The two are interchangeable and synonymous here. Ring is more colloquial and band is what a jeweler would be apt to call it. As for "girls", promise rings are not wedding rings. Calling females of high school age girls seems perfectly reasonable. --belg4mit 2006-01-15

Handedness The whole concept of handedness ought to be broken out into a section. Much of the west wears a wedding ring on the left hand, however Russia--and at least Croatia as well--traditionally wear it on the right. See also (and link) claddagh ring which has a whole set of rules for orientation and handedness. Interestingly, the same finger for all of the above though. --belg4mit 2006-01-15

Dear pleople,

I am from Chile and we use wedding ring on the left hand.

Greetings!

Wearing ring on right hand.

I removed Norway from this part, because I know it's worn on the left there. I also doubt it's worn on the right in Germany, though I can't confirm this. Of Chile I have no idea.

17-Jan-08 Hi! I am Elias Medina, I live in Chile and I am pleased to let you know guys that wedding ring is used in left hand, so I edited the information on the main page editing it as it should.

   In Germany the wedding ring is traditionally worn on the right hand by both common 
   confessions (Chatholics and Protestants).
   However I always had the impression that the question on which hand the ring belongs had 
   something to do with the predominant confession in a country. Protestants seem more likely 
   to wear the ring left and Catholics more likely to wear it right.
   There must me some way to find out where this habits come from. Does noone have an idea?

I (rrw) readded the Germany to the list of right-hand countries. I also added Poland, since I am Polish and I should know better ;) As for Germany, I just had a conversation with coworkers from Germany couple of days ago, exactly about wedding ring wearing habits and I know for a fact, that in whole Germany it's worn on right hand.

As an American, I am unfamiliar with some of the details in the article. Some references would be nice for:

The rubber bands on ship-board.
"[C]orroding metals are never used because they stain the skin."
The rings made with sets of birth stones

Some details that I disagree with:

"Stainless steel is so cheap that many consider it insulting." (www.diamondtalk.com and www.tradeshop.com have counter-examples)
Sizes of stones. 1/2 carat diamond rings are quite common in the United States; 2 carat diamond rings are unusual in the United States. (Per www.diamondtalk.com, www.pricescope.com, www.niceice.com)

-- Jasper 21:30 September 6, 2003 (UTC)

This entire article reads like a brochure from a mom & pop jewelry store. I question the accuracy of many of the statements on the page, as they seem to attribute a single person's experience and opinions on the subject to worldwide tradition. -- CyborgTosser

I dispute the accuracy of the description of the three interlocking rings. These are a Russian tradition, and usually represent the three persons of the Trinity.

This is a tricky article to write as it deals with sensitive emotional issues - expectations and experiences differ and are very important to individuals. Good effort so far by all involved I'd say. --/Mat 10:51, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)

"It is common for chaste married people, especially men, to fail to wear a ring" - surely the reverse is more true? ie unchaste parties. Not sure about "common" either. I'll leave the changing to someone more familiar with the facts. --/Mat 10:51, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Neither my father nor most of the adult men I knew as a child wore wedding bands (generations now in their 60s and beyond). In my generation and beyond, wedding bands seem to be common for men. I don't know whether it's different in different parts of the U.S., for different generations, or what. Elf | Talk 23:02, 11 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

I did some editing but still more could be done. Tried to do more of the "some people believe" strategy. E.g., etiquette & wedding & jewelers books & literature I've read say that the wedding band goes closest to the heart, below the engagement ring--but whoever wrote the article originally stated the opposite. I removed latter but stated former as "one tradition..." or something like that. I moved the engagement & promise ring discussions to their own articles and edited those some, too. I think it's probably true that if a man buys an engagement ring that's visibly below his means and not merely because that's what the woman wants that he might be viewed as cheap in many cases. Oh, well. Elf | Talk 22:43, 11 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

I've never heard of a wedding ring worn on the right hand in Sweden either. The information sounds strange. | 84.217.133.101 20:34, 6 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe interesting (explaining why orthodox people use the right hand): http://www.antiochian.org/1286

widows

The e2 node on "Ring finger" [1] states: "there is a tradition of etiquette that a widow may continue to wear the wedding ring on the third finger of the left hand, but should move it to the third finger of the right hand if she remarries."

Can anyone verify this? --NeuronExMachina 08:21, 2 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Chinese Tradition

Anyone know of engagement and wedding ring traditions in China? Is it a tradition imported from the West? I don't think I ever see Chinese men wearing wedding rings, not so sure about Women though.

Moving article

I will shortly be moving this article to "Wedding ring" as "Wedding band" is a very rarely used term. If anyone would like to comment beforehand, please do so below. Nicholas 11:32, 7 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I wouldn't bother. It has a nice old-fashioned air, and I think 'wedding band' is still used in the related industries. I don't feel strongly about this, however, so if you do, go to. Just remember to fix all the links at 'what links here'. Quill 21:12, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Wedding Ring on a Chain?

In the Caribbean, this has come to mean that the marriage is bumpy but their is still hope. When the woman removes her wedding ring and does not wear it on the finger or around her neck on a chain this can signify that the marriage is on the rocks. If the man removes it and wears it about his neck, it may signify that he is unhappy but still married.

Holocaust picture in poor taste?

I am a bit horified by the picture of wedding rings confiscated at the concentration camp. To go from "warm fuzzies" thinking about marriage to suddenly imagining so many marriages torn apart by that horrific event... Yikes.

Could we find a better picture? Jerde 06:36, 3 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Very poor taste. I have removed the image. --Jens Schriver 23:20, 8 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Deleted sentence

I deleted this sentence because I didn't know what it was supposed to mean. If this offends someone please make it more clear before you put it back in the article.

So it commonly occurs for chaste married people not to wear a wedding ring.

hdstubbs

Clean-up

I did quite a lot of clean-up: too many cooks makes an overabundance of wikilinks. Also, there were many extraneous parentheses that I removed. I also uniformized the spellings throughout.

I'm still worried that this article has a heteronormative and Eurocentric bent; someone who knows should include gay married couples' traditions as well as traditions from non-western cultures. The roundness of the ring also symbolizes eternity; this is not mentioned anywhere in the article. Telestylo 21:42, 15 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Image

I've changed the previous image for a new one which I believe illustrates the subject matter better for two reasons:

In the previous image, the wedding ring was smaller than the engagement ring, so the engagement ring was the main focus of the image. Now, there's just a wedding ring.
The newer photo shows more clearly which finger a wedding ring is traditionally worn on.

CLW 02:42, 17 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Muslim Quote

Took out "Muslim" quote because it's not said, in fact, Muslims don't even exchange rings... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.178.64.161 (talk • contribs) .

The quote in question is

"I offer you myself in marriage in accordance with the Holy Qur'an and Holy Prophet, peace and blessing be upon Him. I pledge to be your obedient and faithful wife." Said by the wife at a Muslim wedding

Does anyone know the source or can verify the accuracy of the quote? Thanks, --Hansnesse 05:40, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Gems

Removed the below... it's unencyclopedic, written in the second person, and on a page about wedding rings which no where mentions gems... only a band of metal.

Be aware of the gem`s softness before you decide on the stone. The softer the weaker. Use Mohs scale that registers the stones ability to resist abrasion

On Mohs scale 1 will be the weakest and 10 the hardest.

You should not pick gems that are softer than 7 on Mohs scale for the wedding ring.

List of the most common gems and their Mohs scale ranking:

Diamonds 10

Rubies 9

Sapphire 9

Emerald 8

Topaz 8

Aquamarine 7.5 to 8

Amethyst 7

Garnet 6.5 to 7.5

Opal 6

Citation needed

I note citation needed tag after the comment that making sexual advances to someone wearing a wedding or engagement ring is frowned upon. The original comment may be too blindingly self obvious to be worthy of inculsion in the article, but I don't think this needs citation unless the reader is from a different planet, (sorry peronal gripe about random insertions demanding citations to prove the least questionable bits of articles). AS much as I'm tempted to footnote see most of western culture, that would probably be inappropriate - would the person who asked for the citation care to justify why, or if there is no response I intend to delete it :-). Winstonwolfe 03:08, 29 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Another Interesting Article

There is another interesting article on wedding ring history @ http://www.oldandsold.com/articles/article115.shtml

Might provide a few more bits of info. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Smithville (talk • contribs) .

It seems like a fairly poor quality, short essay thrown on to a commercial site. I don't see how it serves our readers to include it. --Siobhan Hansa 04:31, 18 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Jews

What about those rare Jewish betrothal rings that were shaped as a synagogue? Is that still a custom?

I've read that it was a custom for Jewish woman to wear the wedding ring on the the index finger because that was the finger with which they point to the Torah as they read. Is this true?

History of the Wedding Ring

When were they first worn?

Please sign your comments. Who knows? As the article alludes, there are 'hints' at the history, but there is 'no' agreed upon origin; pictures start showing up in the renaissance, rings and other betrothat items are referred to well before then, but it cannot be definitively stated that it was a widespread tradition - to make any assertion as to origin in this article would be original research. I believe the article is already as precise as it can be re the origin of men's wedding rings; perhaps we need to state this more explicitly, will add it to my todo list...Bridesmill 23:27, 17 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've seen quotes that the wedding ring can be documented all the way back to early egypt 4700 BC. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.105.212.191 (talk • contribs)

Do you have a source for that? It would be great to include it in the article if we can verify it. -- SiobhanHansa 11:36, 12 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Cultural question

Given that the male ring was an american and very recent invention, I'm not sure how much more international this can be made....Bridesmill 23:27, 17 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Unsafe practice removed

" Tungsten rings cannot be cut with these tools but can be removed by breaking them with a common plumber's wrench known as "mole grips".

I removed this piece because a. ring removal tools with a diamond cutter will remove basically anything, though it's going to be timeconsuming to do so, and b. using a vicegrip to remove a stuck tungsten ring???WITHOUT doing serious injury to the patient? Definitely not a recommended course of action (speaking with my firefighter hat and my silversmith hat on)Bridesmill 23:51, 17 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds special - but is it??

"To make wedding rings, jewellers most commonly use a precious yellow alloy of gold, " sound like wedding rings use a special alloy, different form other jewelry - can we reword this to reflect that wdding bands in general use the same materials as any other jewelry? Bridesmill 23:59, 17 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Not all Spain wears it in the right hand

If you understand that Aragon or the Catalan speaking countries (Catalonia, Valencian Country and Balearic Islands) are a part of Spain, all belonging to the former Aragon Crown, they do not wear their ring in the right hand, but in the left. I am from the Valencian Country and I actually wear it on my left hand.

Manel

Wedding ring cushion

Is any information at Wedding ring cushion usable here? --Moglex 18:17, 1 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"Traditionalist" Catholic

I removed the "traditionalist Catholic" ring formula. It lacks a citation, and a quick Google search shows that it was taken from a 1549 liturgical book, with the main distinguishing characteristic of the mention of gold and silver having been removed from 1552 on. Since at least 1928, the form that the "Tridentine" missal has used has been virtually identical to that in the ordinary form of the Mass. No traditionalists today use 1549 liturgical books, and if it provided for the sake of history there are probably texts that could be found which go back even further. The 1962 Missal, which is what traditionalist Catholics would use today, has this: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Take and wear this ring as a sign of our marriage vows." (http://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/TextContents/Index/4/SubIndex/66/TextIndex/12) Since this is virtually identical to current Missal, I see no point in listing it. MikeND05 03:36, 12 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Titanium rings and amputation

"Many people have had to amputate their fingers due to titanium ring incidents." This seems to be an urban legend. Can we get some sort of reference to this point, if it is indeed true?

Frure (talk) 15:37, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]