Symbol of feeling, wealth and power: why we love rings so much and how to understand them
'03.03.2020'
Source: Lenta.ru report
"Lenta.ru" tells the story of different types of clothes and accessories. At the center of the new story is a ring: a symbol of love, power and individuality.
Art and practicality
The ring is one of the most “naturally logical” jewelry. It is enough to look at how little girls of all nationalities from different parts of the world, playing, winding grass or colored threads on their fingers. It is convenient to put on and take off the rings without assistance (with a chain bracelet, for example, difficulties may arise). They are always in sight, do not require special styles of clothing (open wrists, like a bracelet, or a deep neckline, like a necklace). And for the same reason, they can be used as an identification mark. A ring with a signet or gem carved from stone served in ancient times as a personal seal and a means of identifying letters. Rings are easy to combine, if desired, they are worn several pieces simultaneously on one or on different fingers.
It is impossible to determine who started wearing the rings before: men or women. Archaeologists find these jewelry from gold, silver, bronze, copper and various alloys in the graves of both of them. Wealthy deceased went to the better world in golden rings, the dead are simpler - in copper and brass. One of the most ancient burials, where scientists discovered the rings, belonged to the pharaoh Psusennes I. The ancient Egyptian monarch took with him to the kingdom of the dead many jewelry, including 36 rings decorated with colored stones, including blue lapis lazuli (very beloved by the masters of ancient Egypt) and Carnelian (red carnelian).
Schliemann also dug many rings when he was looking for the legendary ancient Greek Troy. Most of them are ordinary pieces of wire with or without beads. Sometimes in ancient times, rings were made from a single piece of stone. Later, during the time of Hellenism, the ancient Greeks made much more intricate jewelry. And the most magnificent and luxuriously decorated rings were made by the Byzantines during the heyday of the empire. No wonder the few rings of Byzantine work that have survived from the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries occupy an honorable place in museums.
A lot of attention was paid to rings in jewelry in Central Asia. Mined in India, Burma and Sri Lanka, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds diverged throughout the East, adorning the expensive rings of shahs, sultans, viziers and simply very rich people. Despite the fact that Islam does not welcome too explicit a demonstration of wealth, Muslim men willingly wore rings. In addition to demonstrating wealth, medieval eastern (and not only eastern) masters often presented rings from their own hands to a particularly distinguished subject or subordinate.
It is impossible not to mention that the rings played a huge role in political intrigues in the Middle Ages. A forged signet on the ring helped falsify important letters, and a lot of adventurous novels were written about the poison hidden in the cache's ring. Especially often, such tricks are mentioned in connection with the Borgia family. The rich poisoners in the old days had their own jewelers who willingly carried out such dubious orders.
Ring as a sign
Men both in antiquity, and today wore rings not only as a decoration or replacement of money "just in case of emergency." Men's rings of a special pattern were a sign of belonging to a wide variety of communities, secret and explicit: from religious organizations to Masonic fraternities. The Egyptian priests and the followers of the god Mithra had their rings. The pastoral ring, which Catholics respectfully kisses, is worn by bishops, cardinals, and Pope. According to the established tradition, a diamond is sent to the papal ring, a ruby to the cardinal, and amethyst to the bishop's.
The rings of high-ranking priests were symbols of spiritual (and often quite ordinary, secular) power. A ring with a seal or coat of arms, handed over by a suzerain to a vassal or a guarantor, meant the transfer of power or the right to speak on behalf of the suzerain. This was more than relevant in a society where a large part of the population was completely or almost completely illiterate and could not read the letter of recommendation or the road.
But the most obvious "sign function" of the rings was and remains the role of the marriage symbol. The betrothal, through the ring worn by the bridegroom to the bride, originates in the ceremony of the “chuppah,” the religious Jewish marriage. Only one ring appears in this rite, which the groom puts on the bride with the blessing of the rabbi. In this case, the rabbi is obliged to check that the ring is gold and “without blemish”, that is, there are no holes in its shin (neither an openwork pattern, nor inserts from precious stones). If the ring does not meet this requirement, the chuppah cannot be carried out.
On the subject: The American received from the groom a Tiffany engagement ring, which turned out to be a fake for $ 6
For Christians, the requirements have become more liberal. Plus, for the wedding you need two rings: one the bridegroom puts on the bride, and the second - the bridegroom. Wedding rings can be decorated with diamonds: a priest, unlike a rabbi, is unlikely to mind. In the Orthodox tradition, especially pious people are crowned with rings on which brief prayers are engraved. People who are not so religious often engrave their initials and wedding date on rings from the inside.
The engagement ring - the one that is given by the groom at the same time as the marriage proposal - came into use much later than the wedding, namely at the end of the XNUMXth century. It can be said that its appearance and popularity in the West became a great marketing success for major jewelry manufacturers: Tiffany & Co., Garrard, Harry Winston, Cartier, Graff. It was they (and after them other brands), competently pursuing an advertising policy, who inspired Western (and later post-Soviet) girls that they should wait for a ring for an engagement, and for men that this ring should be given.
When choosing stones for the engagement ring, the common "four C rule" applies (carat weight (carat weight, 1 ct is 0,2 grams), color (color), clarity (purity) and cut (cut)). In the USA and European countries, stones are evaluated according to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) system, in Russia - according to GOST TU 117-4.2099-2002. Again, it is not without the participation of large jewelry manufacturers that it is almost generally accepted that the weight of the stone in the engagement ring should be a multiple of integers. Therefore, a karate is much more expensive than a diamond weighing 0,99999 carats.
Stones without any shade are very rare, therefore, the presence of a shade is evaluated on a special scale (the minimum additional tone is D and E according to the GIA system and 1 and 2 according to the Russian system). The absence or minimum number of internal defects and inclusions is the purity of the stone: IF (Internally Flawless, “internally flawless”) and VVS1 and VVS2 (Very, Very Small Inclusions - “very, very small inclusions”) according to GIA, 1 and 2 - according to Russian system.
The cuts are also very different. Although many manufacturers emphasize the special "authenticity" of round stones, many girls want to get an engagement ring with a different cut diamond, especially if such rings are chosen by stars. The facets “pear”, “heart”, “oval”, “princess” (square), “marquise” (almond-shaped), “baguette” (rectangular), “emerald” and “radiant” (octagonal with a different number of faces) are popular, "Cushion" (in the form of a pillow with rounded corners and edges).
Founder of Graff Lawrence Graff introduced engagement rings with colored diamonds, which are often rarer and more expensive: yellow, pink and blue. Also, following the old, still “domarketing” tradition of the XNUMXth century, grooms give brides engagement rings with other precious stones: rubies, sapphires, emeralds. So, actor Richard Burton presented an engagement to movie star Elizabeth Taylor, a big connoisseur of colored stones, a square platinum emerald framed with pear-shaped diamonds. A ring with a large emerald and the same large diamond was received from the future US President John F. Kennedy by his bride Jacqueline.
After the wedding of the British prince Charles and Princess Diana, and then their son William and his bride Kate Middleton, rings with oval sapphires (natural or synthetic) surrounded by diamonds (also natural or synthetic) became especially popular in the UK and other countries. The reason for this fashion was the Garrard engagement ring worn by Lady Dee. Then it was inherited by William, and he presented it to his lover's engagement.
On the subject: 'Sapphire commoners': why the famous ring of Princess Diana angered the royal family
Ring and socialite
Personal life, romance, weddings and divorces of celebrities arouse the eager curiosity of readers of socialite chronicles in all corners of the world. The focus of the paparazzi is primarily engagement rings. Sometimes the stars themselves proudly demonstrate the jewelry received as a sign of love. In other cases, photographers have to use “long-range” lenses, and photo editors have to maximize the image to show insanely expensive rings to the public.
Here are a few examples from recent years only. Blake Lively received from her fiancée Ryan Reynolds a Lorraine Schwartz ring with an oval light pink 12-carat diamond for two million dollars. The colorless fifteen-carat of the same brand and at the same price received the TV star Kim Kardashian from her fiancé, rapper Kanye West.
Singer Mariah Carey accepted, along with a marriage proposal from her now ex-husband Nick Cannon, a ring for half a million more: a Jacob & Co pink diamond surrounded by 58 small stones that create a halo effect (the so-called "halo effect"). Vegan and activist actress Natalie Portman asked her fiance, dancer Benjamin Millepieu, for an "ethical" ring. And she received a piece of recycled platinum, made by jeweler Jamie Wolf, with a vintage diamond that was previously in a different setting.
The former groom of the singer Lady Gaga Taylor Kini gave the bride a ring with a 10-carat diamond in the shape of a heart. However, Lady Gaga terminated the engagement and returned to Kini his symbolic gift. The same fate befell the gigantic blue emerald cut diamond received by Paris Hilton from one of her suitors, the Greek millionaire Latis. The stone, which cost almost five million, returned to the unlucky donor. He will probably be waiting for a bride who, like Natalie Portman, loves recycling and rational consumption.
