Editing Wedding ring (section)

==History==
[[File:Byzantine - Marriage Ring with Scenes from the Life of Christ - Walters 4515 - Right.jpg|thumb|''Marriage Ring with Scenes from the Life of Christ'', {{circa}} 6th century, [[Walters Art Museum]]]]

The Western traditions of wedding rings can be traced to [[ancient Rome]] and [[Ancient Greece|Greece]], and were first associated with the marital [[dowry]] and later with a promise of [[fidelity]]. The modern exchange of rings derived from the customs of [[Europe]] in the [[Middle Ages]] as part of [[Christendom]].

===Historical styles===

====Gimmel rings====
[[File:Gimmal ring british museum.JPG|thumb|right|Gimmel ring with the hoop opened, in the British Museum]]

During the 16th and 17th centuries, European husbands bestowed a [[gimmel ring]] upon their wives. Similar to the [[puzzle ring]], the gimmel ring consisted of two interlocking bands. The bride and groom both wore one of these bands after their engagement, and the two bands were reunited during the wedding ceremony. Subsequently, the wife wore the combined ring.<ref name="Some Tradition About Rings">{{cite journal|last1=Hort|first1=G.M.|title=Some Tradition About Rings|journal=The Irish Monthly|date=1919|volume=47|pages=650, 654}}</ref>

====Poesy rings====
The poesy ring was a style of ring that was popular during the [[Renaissance]] era. It was a band of sterling [[silver]] inscribed with a poem or "poesy".<ref name="Some Tradition About Rings"/>

====Other styles====
Different cultures used many other historical styles of wedding ring. According to popular legend, in the [[Middle East]], a [[puzzle ring]], consisting of many bands that interlock to create a finished ring, would be given by the husband as a wedding ring, because if the wife removed it (presumably to commit adultery), the bands of the ring would fall apart, and she would be unable to reassemble it before its absence would be noticed.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Ohio Review|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nbBTAAAAIAAJ|year=1977|publisher=Ohio University.|page=31}}</ref>  However, a puzzle ring can be easily removed without the bands falling apart.

The [[fede ring]], being a band consisting of two hands clasped in betrothal, is another historical custom of [[Europe]] that ostensibly dates from antiquity.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

====Limited gold content in the United Kingdom====
In 1942 during the [[Second World War]], British wartime restrictions on the manufacture of jewelry resulted in "utility" wedding rings that were limited to a maximum mass of two [[pennyweight]]s, being slightly heavier than {{convert|3|g|oz}}, and were forged of 9 carat gold rather than the traditional 22 carat.<ref name=Church102>{{cite book |last=Church |first=Rachel |date=2014 |title=Rings |publisher=V&A Publishing |page=102 |isbn=9781851777853}}</ref> The Regional Assayer Office hallmarked these rings, which guaranteed their gold content and compliance with the wartime regulations with a special utility mark adjacent to the mark for the year on the inside of the band; the hallmark resembled a capital "U" with the bottom curve absent or two parentheses enclosing a space, i. e., "()".

===Double-ring ceremony===
The double-ring ceremony describes the exchange of wedding rings by and for both spouses. In several European nations such as the [[Nordic countries]], it is common to exchange plain [[engagement ring]]s of the same form for both sexes, and typically, an additional, more precious, and bejeweled wedding ring is given to the bride. In the nuptials, the groom's ring becomes a wedding ring also, and can be bestowed anew by the bride as a part of the wedding ceremony. The engagement is commonly a matter of agreement between the two, and the wedding rings are chosen together. Both engagement and wedding rings are worn on the left hand in Sweden and Finland, the bride having both rings together. Occasionally, the groom receives a separate wedding ring. In [[Germany]] and [[Austria]], both parties use engagement rings worn on the left hand.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hahnefeld |first=Bjoern |date=March 15, 2023 |title=Engagement ring and wedding ring – which hand? |url=https://www.goldene-zeiten.info/expertenwissen/trauringe/verlobungsring-und-trauring-an-welcher-hand-tragen/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126152102/https://www.goldene-zeiten.info/expertenwissen/trauringe/verlobungsring-und-trauring-an-welcher-hand-tragen/ |archive-date=November 26, 2022 |access-date=September 23, 2023 |website=Goldene Zeiten Juweliere}}</ref> At the nuptials, a wedding ring is placed on the right hand, as in several east European nations, including [[Bulgaria]], [[Poland]], and [[Russia]]. This can be a new ring for the bride or both, or reusing the engagement rings. Any engagement rings can then remain on the left hand or be transferred to the right hand. In Germany, it has been customary for both the bride and the groom to wear a wedding ring since at least the 1870s<ref name="The Ring of Rings">{{cite journal|last1=Chambers|first1=W & R |title=The Ring of Rings|journal=Chamber's Journal of Popular Literature, Science and Arts|date=1872|pages=352}}</ref> and mentions of couples exchanging rings during the wedding ceremony in the Netherlands can be found at least as far back as 1815.<ref name=Gartman>{{cite book | last = Gartman | first = Hendrik | title = Eugenia, de zegepraal over de liefde | publisher = Hendrik Gartman | year = 1815 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ud9NAAAAcAAJ&q=ringen | access-date = 31 October 2021 | archive-date = 7 April 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220407010416/https://books.google.com/books?id=ud9NAAAAcAAJ&q=ringen | url-status = live }}</ref> In both the [[United States]] and [[Canada]], wedding rings were initially only worn by [[wives]], but became customary for both spouses during the 20th century.<ref name="Howard">{{cite journal |last1=Howard |first1=Vicki |year=2003 |title=A 'Real Man's Ring': Gender and the Invention of Tradition |journal=Journal of Social History |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=837–856 |doi=10.1353/jsh.2003.0098|s2cid=144304412 }}</ref> In [[Brazil]], [[Mexico]], and [[Spain]] both sexes also wear engagement rings, and the groom's ring often becomes a wedding ring in the nuptial exchange ceremony. In The Netherlands plain bands can be worn on either hand, left for Catholics and right for Protestants. When engaged, both bride and groom wear what will be the wedding band on the opposite hand and switch hands after the wedding.