The ancient Romans exchanged circular bands of iron as proof of a marriage contract. Gold began to be used for these rings in the second century A.D.

The tradition of wearing the wedding band on the fourth finger of the left hand stems from a Greek belief that a certain vein in that finger, the vena amoris, runs directly to the heart.

Medieval wedding rings were often set with colored gemstones, because of the symbolism of the colors.

The first known recorded account of a diamond betrothal ring is from 1477; it was presented by Archduke Maximilian of Austria to his beloved Mary of Burgundy.

The smallest betrothal ring on record was given to two year old Princess Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, on the event of her engagement to the infant Dauphin of France, son of King Francis I, in 1518. The tiny gold ring, fitted to her finger, was set with a valuable diamond.

In the Middle Ages, men often kept a betrothal ring suspended from the band of their hat, ready to send to their chosen maid.

Posy rings, inside which were inscribed little poems and love messages, were popular for centuries, from the Middle Ages until Victorian times.

Very elaborate, intricately-detailed rings were used in the Jewish wedding ceremony during the Renaissance period. The bezel was often in the shape of a gabled building, synagogue, or Solomon's Temple.

Renaissance jewelers created a new kind of wedding ring called the gimmel, or twin, ring. It consisted of two (or more) interlocking rings, joined by a pivot to slide together into one, symbolizing the union of two lives. Martin Luther and Catherine Bora were wed with an inscribed gimmel ring in 1525.

A ring in which the gimmel hoops terminated in hands, which clasped together when the ring was closed, was known as a fede ring (Italian for faith). It was introduced around 1600.

A diamond cluster ring in the shape of a long pointed oval was popular as an engagement ring during the time of Louis XVI, and remained fashionable for 150 years afterwards.

In the seventeenth century, the Puritans tried--unsuccessfully--to abolish the tradition of the wedding ring.

Hearts were popular motifs for engagement and wedding rings during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Such rings often combined rubies (signifying love) and diamonds (signifying eternity).

King George III introduced the tradition of the "keeper," or guard, ring in 1761 when he presented a band encircled with diamonds to his bride, Queen Charlotte. Today such a ring is popular as a wedding or anniversary band.

In Persia, it was customary for a bridegroom to give a ring to everyone who attended the ceremony. Similarly, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert gave out six dozen rings, each engraved with the queen's profile, at their marriage.

Queen Victoria's engagement ring was in the form of a serpent. The snake motif was believed to be a symbol of good luck.

The discovery of large diamond deposits in South Africa during the nineteenth century brought diamond engagement rings into vogue.

A type of English engagement ring, called the princess ring, had three to five sizable diamonds in a row across the top; it was popular in the U.S. in the early twentieth century.

The Tiffany, or solitaire, setting was introduced in the late nineteenth century.

Wedding bands engraved with orange blossoms and wreaths were particularly popular during the 1920s and 30s. The tradition behind the motif dates back to the Crusaders, who would place a wreath of orange blossoms on the bride's head as a blessing.

World War II temporarily took platinum off the market, making it unavailable to jewelers for engagement rings and wedding bands. Consequently, most such rings made during the war years were of gold.

Wordl War II also saw the "revival" of the double-ring wedding ceremony, an old European custom, in which the groom (as well as the bride) receives a wedding band; its popularity continues today.

Pearls

The ancient Greeks believed that the bride who wore pearls on her wedding day would enjoy marital bliss, and not cry as a newlywed woman.

During the Crusades, dashing young knights presented their fair ladies with pearls on their wedding day.

Royal weddings of the 14th and 15th centuries were described as "almost a sea of pearls," with the bride, wedding party and guests adorned with pearl jewelry.

For her 1933 wedding, heiress Barbara Hutton received from her father a strand of fifty-three pearls formerly owned by Marie Antoinette.

Other celebrities who chose pearls as their wedding gem include Queen Elizabeth II, Jacqueline Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor and Gloria Vanderbilt.