History has it that Pope Innocent III was responsible for the customization of two ring types that are very popular today: wedding and engagement rings. He asserted that there must be a waiting period between engagement and marriage. As both of these events were considered as contracts, these rings were used as attestations to legally seal the deals. Before the 13th century, Europeans only make use of the engagement ring as tokens, although the history of wedding rings are more ancient.

Almost five thousand years ago, the Egyptians used reed or hemp rings as representations of eternity, a circle that has no beginning and no end. During those times, the stone cut types that we are familiar with such as the princess cut and emerald cut were not yet in use. In the biblical era, great dowry gifts were handed during the betrothal of couples. It has been speculated that rings, most especially those that are made from precious metals, were used as inexpensive substitutes for expensive dowries.

In the course of the Roman reign, rings were used to seal deals and denote ownership. High ranking senators used gold rings that signified their positions in the community, while iron rings were used by ordinary citizens. The latter rings were relative to the large iron rings that serve as key holders inside the household. Hence, it has been speculated that if a Roman citizen gave his bride an iron marriage ring, he was actually giving her access to his household and all his material goods.

In 16th century England, the use of wedding ring was officially moved from the right hand to the left hand. It was assumed that such change was done in order to show a women her place in the society, since the right hand was acknowledged as the hand of power. Accordingly, as we are all aware of, the wedding ring is placed on the third hand of the left finger because it was concluded that such finger on the left hand is where the vein of love known as vena amoris is located; hence, as the ring signifies love, it was only appropriate to place it on the finger that is directly connected to the heart. Today, wedding and engagement rings are both widely worn on the left hand; however, there are some countries that traditionally wear their engagement rings on the right hand such as Poland and Ukraine.

Among the Puritans, rings were thought as symbols of heathen that is why they did not use them for their wedding ceremonies; instead they used marriage thimbles during their wedding vows. Meanwhile, the Victorians practically embraced the custom of wedding rings and further embellished them with twin hearts and flower designs. On the other end of the spectrum, the Edwardians embellished their rings with leaves and other ornamental arts, which in turn paved way for the rise of art deco rings. From here, the use of gemstones on rings were incorporated and so were the stone cut types such as the princess cut, emerald cut and step cut to name a few.

It was not until World War II that men started to wear wedding and engagement rings. The soldiers going off to war were the first men to wear these rings in order to remember their wives or partners back home. Currently, marriage ceremonies are also regarded as double ring ceremonies. This means that both the bride and the groom are given wedding rings to symbolize their commitment and love for each other, though wearing of engagement rings are still appropriated for women.

This article tackles the brief history of wedding and engagement rings from its humble beginnings until the World War II. It also speaks of how the marriage ring and engagement ring were used during the past. It also discusses the importance of these rings during various ceremonies, how gem stone cut types such as princess cut evolved and incorporated in these important jewelries.