With the many cultural backgrounds throughout the world, the use of ethnic wedding rings for couples is an option to honor a particular ancestry or even a way to highlight a culture that is of interest to a couple. The detailing in various ethnic wedding rings creates a unique design for a couple that can also depict meaning and tradition. Whether a couple would like to honor their heritage or simply choose a meaningful ring, there are many styles, designs and cultural traditions that can be featured with ethnic wedding bands.
History of Ethnic Rings
The expectation of nearly any wedding ring regardless of the ethnicity is that it represents the commitment of a couple. Most wedding ring traditions originated in Europe. Wedding rings are primarily worn on the left hand but some cultures use their right handed ring fingers including countries such as Germany, Poland and Peru. In some countries the appropriate hand depends on the religious denomination, such as in the Netherlands, most couples wear their wedding bands on their right hand except for Catholic couples who wear the rings on their left hand. The Hindu religion actually forgoes a ring on any finger, and instead, women wear a toe ring.
Features of Ethnic Rings
The use of three is very common in ethnic rings. For example, Russian wedding bands are typically created from multiple bands using different metals such as yellow gold, white and a rose colored metal. The French often featured woven bands that can range from plain to ornate. The rings are intended to stand for faith, love and hope, the traditional virtues of the Christian faith.
Turkey is said to be the country originating puzzle wedding rings. The idea was to make multiple rings assemble in to a single ring. The reassembly was intended to be so difficult, that should wife remove her ring while her husband was away from home, she would easily be caught because of her inability to re-assemble the rings. Today’s puzzle rings are actually sold with instructions and sometimes a video format as well.
The United States, Canada and other English speaking countries have helped to popularize the Celtic styled ethnic wedding rings. This can be in part traced to a greater number of Irish or Scottish descendants, but can also be in part due to the symbolic nature of Celtic designs. There are specific Celtic designs to denote popular marital virtues such as unity and fidelity. The rings are usually etched or embossed on silver, white silver or platinum colors.
Ethnic wedding ring traditions can vary significantly throughout even a single country, but the main tenants of unification, faithfulness and commitment are typically portrayed. The principle idea that is universally behind any wedding ring regardless of ethnicity is to symbolize the faith and commitment involved with a couple uniting which can be translated regardless of ethnic tradition. If a couple wishes to feature a particular ethnicity, consulting a knowledgeable jeweler can help provide details as well as background information for a selected culture.