Precious Wedding Rings
Wedding rings are precious objects in our lives, and for reasons that span the spectrum from everyday practical to the most deeply felt.
These small circles around our fingers wrap around our hearts like few other symbols. They represent a major commitment to one another while they demonstrate a major financial investment. But that money isn't seen purely in terms of dollars and cents. It is a measure of our desire to give the very best to the one we regard as the very best.
They're made of metals that range from precious silver and gold to the exotic: palladium or titanium. Because of their rarity or unique qualities they serve as the base of a wedding band that is anything but base in our values.
Strong, stainless and pure they suggest the very qualities that are the reason we treasure the ring's wearer. Rare, lovely and finely wrought, these precious bands are only so because of what they can show about our love for the person who also bears those features.
At the same time, because they have these attributes, they have a practical side that completes the circle of worth. They last a lifetime, like our goals for the special bond of marriage. They remain sturdy in the face of shocks and adversity. They shed the dirt that life sometimes exposes us to, making a polish back to purity a worthwhile task.
Yet, we often adorn these bands of gold or platinum still further. We encrust them with jewels. And, this too, is evidence of the practical and the emotional that these symbols represent for us.
Diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald are often found in wedding bands. Like the precious metals from which the rings are made, these choices too are no accident. Hard enough to stand up to the strongest blows, rare in a world of common things and beautiful beyond compare are the jewels that sit so lovingly in our wedding rings.
The passion red of a fine ruby sits aside a central pure white diamond, harder than any other stone. A dazzling green emerald that evokes the crystal clear sea green of a honeymoon tropical paradise serves as companion. These fine gems are both a high money value and symbols of esteem.
The combination of precious metal and jewels creates a wedding band that contains all we bring to the wedding ceremony - and the life beyond it.
It's an investment of dollars to bear proof of our investment in a relationship that is unlike any other. That dollar sum is small, though, in comparison to the investment we make in the person we marry. Just as these precious objects are protected from loss or harm, so is their wearer.
Wedding rings. Symbol. Fashion adornment. Pinnacle of beauty and meaning. So much in so small a space.
