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Blogs in the spotlight
- How do I buy the perfect diamond ring?
- Choosing the perfect wedding ring
- Buying an engagement ring: expert tips & tricks
- Which earrings are the right ones for you?
- How to choose the perfect diamond bracelet?
- How to choose a necklace for ladies?
- Take your time in choosing your watch
- What's the right jewellery for each occasion?
- Why buy diamond jewellery online?
- A guide to building up your jewellery collection
- What types of precious metals are there?
- What types of precious metals are there?
- Jewellery trends and innovations in 2020
- What sorts of diamond setting are there?
- Which symbolic meaning do your fingers have?
- Why do people wear a wedding ring on their left ring finger?
- Which mysterious powers does the Atlantis ring have?
- Which powers does the wedding ring have?
- What else can rings do?
‘An ape is always an ape, though dressed in scarlet!’ This quote from The Praise of Folly, is just one of many which the humanist, philosopher and writer Erasmus used to express his criticism of people and society. The book was published in 1511 and mocks all sorts of human follies. But is it really all that strange to want to make ourselves look beautiful? To feel the urge to decorate ourselves with make-up and jewellery?
Or can we refute Erasmus’ statement by giving jewellery a deeper meaning? We will start looking for what gold rings symbolize. But let’s start with ourselves: the meaning of the finger we wear our ring on.
Discover our extensive collection of diamond engagement rings.
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What symbolic meaning do your fingers have?
Just think about the games held in the Colosseum and other Roman arenas. Whoever survived the fight would be pardoned, but could also still be killed. The gladiator’s life was literally in the Emperor’s hands. If he stuck his thumb up, the gladiator would be pardoned. On the other hand, if the thumb went down ...
All fingers but the thumb had a specific meaning in ancient times.
Why do people wear a wedding ring on their left ring finger?
There were also some other ideas in relation to the wearing of a gold ring on the ring finger, symbolising eternal love. One of the other explanations was that when you bend the little finger or middle finger, the ring finger will always faithfully bend along with them.
TIP: Would you like to find out more about what jewellery meant to the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans? Read this article about the jewellery of times gone by, right through to today’s diamond engagement ring.
Which mysterious powers does the Atlantis ring have?
One reason to suspect the ring isn’t Egyptian and to think it’s even older are the extraordinary, yet different from the Egyptian hieroglyphs, images. The symbol on the Atlantis ring consists of three horizontal bars in the centre, two triangles with a hole above at the outer ends and a row of three squares between the bars and triangles at both ends.
Have your own symbolic ring made through our tailor-made services.
Leader of the Tutankhamun expedition Howard Carter attributed his escape from the curse to the Atlantis ring.
Which powers does the wedding ring have?
As wedding rings were increasingly being adopted by all classes of the population during this period, there were also a rising number of folktales.
People also thought the wedding ring had to be worn permanently. If the woman lost her wedding ring, she was also set to lose her husband. A wedding ring which broke, would bring even more calamity. In that case both the man and the woman would die before their time ...
What Else Can Rings Do?
The traditional way of greeting a bishop is by kneeling down and kissing his ring. This is a sign of respect and humility for the church authority and is rewarded with the forgiveness of daily sins. Kissing the ring also used to be customary when meeting the king.
The rings, signet rings and amulets which housed auxiliary devils would be struck at astrologically favourable times.
Rings have been held in great regard throughout the ages.
Are you also under the spell of the (gold) ring? Take a look at the extensive collection of gold rings here or contact BAUNAT’s experts via telephone, email or chat for extra advice.
Frequently asked Questions
Which hand do you wear your engagement ring on as a Christian or Muslim?
The engagement ring: on which hand do I wear it? The engagement ring: on which hand do I wear it as a Muslim? The engagement ring: on which hand do I wear it as a Christian?
In most cultures, people wear both the engagement ring and wedding ring on the left-hand ring finger. As a Christian, you can also wear the engagement ring on the left hand and the wedding ring on the right hand. In countries of the Islam culture, the hand on which rings are worn varies from country to country. Jordan Muslims wear their wedding ring on the right hand, but in Iran people choose the left hand.
How to wear your engagement ring and wedding ring?
In most Western cultures, the engagement ring is worn on the ring finger of the left hand. In the past, people believed that this finger was the 'artery of love' that was connected directly to the heart. After marriage in some countries, the engagement ring is moved to the middle finger of the left hand to make room for the wedding ring on the ring finger. Here, most people wear both rings on the left hand, although some prefer to wear the wedding ring on the right-hand ring finger.
What is the royal history of diamonds?
In the 13th century, an act of Saint Louis (Louis IX of France, 1214-70) established a sumptuary law that reserved diamonds for the king based on their rarity and value that was conferred to them at that time. From that moment onwards, diamonds began appearing in royal jewelry for both men and women. From the 17th century, they were also seen with the greater European aristocracy and the wealthy merchant class.
The earliest diamond-cutting industry is believed to have been positioned in Venice (Italy) somewhere around the 1330’s. It is estimated that diamond cutting found its way to Paris and Bruges around late 14th century and later to Antwerp.
By 1499, the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to the Orient around the Cape of Good Hope, providing Europeans an end-run around the Arabic impediment to the trade of diamonds coming from India. Goa, on India's Malabar Coast, was set up as the Portuguese trading center, and a diamond route developed from Goa to Lisbon to Antwerp.
Sofie Kuppens
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