How Old Is the Wedding Ring?

Not all people in the world practice the custom of exchanging rings at marriage. But in some places, the custom has been followed for so long that no one knows where it started.

In some primitive tribes, it was a custom for the man to place an arm or leg bracelet on a married woman to show that she belonged to him. This custom may have led to the first use of the wedding ring.

Wedding rings were already in use by the time of the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians believed that the circle stood for eternity, and therefore the ring stood for a marriage that would last forever.

Wedding rings have been worn on the fourth finger of the left hand since the days of ancient Greece. The Greeks believed that a vein in this finger ran directly to the heart.