Victorian keeper ring

Keeper rings, like many wedding traditions, are surrounded by a variety of legends. One of these dates back to Victorian era (1837-1901) when the keeper ring is said to have represented the idea that the receiver was worth “keeping.” It was considered a kind of pre-engagement or betrothal ring and was presented a year before the official engagement. 

 

Keeper ring meaning

Whether you believe the ring goes back to the 1700s or that the Victorian keeper ring started this trend, the romantic “you’re a keeper” sentiment attached to the ring makes it a popular choice today as a unique wedding ring, engagement ring, eternity ring, and even an anniversary band. These keeper rings continued into the Edwardian era with styles that included elegant braided gold rings.

King George III era keeper ring

King George III Era Style Ring

Another story dates back to 1761 when King George the III gave his bride, Queen Charlotte, a wedding ring band encircled with diamonds. Diamond rings were a popular ring choice in the mid-eighteenth century, and a second ring – a keeper ring – was worn to protect the more valuable ring from accidentally sliding off the finger. These were also known as guard rings. These antique keeper rings came in a variety of styles from plain gold or enameled bands to diamond or gem-set bands similar to today’s eternity ring.

Modern guard rings are designed to enhance the ring they protect.

Over time, the diamond ring took on the role of a betrothal ring, and the keeper ring evolved into the wedding band. And keeper rings of today are known as guard rings, but they are often designed to enhance the ring they are protecting.

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Photo credits: amazon, Joe Hardy, amazon

5 strange marriage customs around the world

When you think about it, many wedding customs can seem unusual compared to regular everyday life. I mean when else do you think about wearing some old, new, borrowed or blue? But as strange as customs like that can seem, there are some really strange marriage customs around the world that top that by far. Here are five you won't believe.

 

1. India: Marrying a Tree

For instance, can you imagine a bride marrying a banana tree before she can marry the groom? You heard me right. Marrying a tree! For certain Indian brides, if you follow this marriage custom in India, you’ll realize eternal joy with your soul mate. 

 

Blackening the bride.

2. Scotland: Blackening of the bride (and groom)

This ones a Scottish wedding tradition that also involves a tree. Some just celebrate it by blackening the bride, but many these days have included the groom as friends and relatives “show affection” by dumping nasty, smelly things on them. This is done days or weeks before the actual wedding and can include things that would make me gag. We’re talking about spoiled food, curdled milk, even dead fish. Think of cleaning out all those fuzzy unrecognizable leftover experiments from your refrigerator pouring them into a bucket to turn into a slimy gruel, along with buckets of flour, dirt or whatever goo they feel like dumping over the bride (or couple) while paraded through the streets. It’s thought to ward off spirits and bring good luck. But that’s not all. Remember, the tree? Well the bride is taken out for a night of drinking and then tied to a tree. The idea behind this is that if the bride can handle this, she is ready to face any humiliation or problems marriage brings her way.

3. Germany: Piles of broken porcelain

How often do wives wish their husbands would help around the house more. In Germany, they have a tradition to help get the couple working together as they clean up piles of porcelain dishes their guests smash on the ground to ward off any evil spirits. The moral: if they work together, the couple can handle any challenge together.

 

Piles of broken porcelain dishes to clean up.

4. France: Chocolate, champagne and the toilet

This wedding-related custom takes place following the reception. The bride and groom get to eat chocolate and champagne! Doesn’t sound so bad, right? Except they have to drink and eat from a toilet bowl. Why? To give them strength for their wedding night.

5. Indonesia: Honeymoon - 3 days housebound with no toilet

This marriage custom relates to the honeymoon and makes a good strange marriage custom to end today’s blog. An Indonesian honeymoon custom keeps the newlyweds housebound for three days and nights. While that part isn’t so bad, the strange part is they cannot use the toilet all that time. They are allowed minimal food and drink and actually have someone watching over them! Why oh why would they do this? They believe it will provide a happy marriage full of healthy babies!

The thing that’s interesting with these strange marriage customs around the world are the superstitions attached to them. But really, the reasons many of our wedding traditions exist are superstitions. After all, wearing a wedding veil originated to hide the bride from evil spirits.

Photo credits: Mind Midst, pxhere.com

Popular 1950s engagement ring syles

By the 1950s, the world had started to move beyond the trauma imposed on many different markets from World War II, including the jewelry trade. Metals like platinum which had been scarce during the war were once again available, and white metals including platinum and white gold became the popular choice for 1950s engagement ring styles. This is still a popular choice for engagement rings today because diamonds reflect better in white metals than yellow making a lower grade diamond have the preferred appearance of a lower color. This along with a greater access to diamonds influenced engagement ring styles in the 50s.

 

 

 

Popular 1950s stylistic elements

Stylistic elements found in engagement rings from the 1950s include engravings or braid details in the setting. They also featured progressively larger stones. One of the most popular styles representative of the 50s were engagement rings featuring a large center diamond nestled among symmetrical smaller diamonds or baguettes, on either side of it. Popular cuts included round cuts, Asscher cuts, emerald Cuts and marquise Cuts. The diamond’s cut is what gives it the ability to reflect light.

 

 

Engagement rings of 1950s Hollywood stars

The 50s enjoyed the excitement of being a decade with its own royal wedding when Hollywood star Grace Kelly, whose dress inspired Kate Middleton’s wedding dress, married Prince Rainer of Monaco. She wore a 10.15 karat Cartier emerald cut solitaire engagement ring. 

Princess Grace wore 10.15 karat Cartier emerald cut ring.

If you think that’s big, Elizabeth Taylor was given a 29.4 karat emerald cut Cartier engagement ring by Mike Todd. But while these rings where topics of conversation, one of the biggest engagement/wedding band trends of the ‘50s still going on today was started by Hollywood’s Audrey Hepburn − stackable rings. Her fiancé Mel Ferrer presented her with three rings, a baguette cut white gold eternity band along with two wedding bands, one yellow gold and the other rose gold. He figured she could mix and match them to suit her mood and outfit. 

 

 Audrey Hepburn − stackable rings

 

The fun thing about engagement rings of the 1950s is that many of the ring trends popular then are still popular today. So if you’d like to wear a vintage ring that looks current or rather buy a vintage-inspired ring, the 50s offer a nice selection with options you’re sure to love. 

Photo credits: wikimedia.org, glamor magazine, British Pathe, grandrapidsbride