Van Sipma Jewelers2011 Ridge Rd. Homewood, IL 60430 |
American Gem Society: The Power of Love
| Around 1600, the gimmel merged with
another romantic symbol, the two clasped hands of the fede (Italian for
faith). The entwined gimmel hoops ended in hands which, when the ring was
closed, joined together. To these symbols was added a third, the heart.
In especially elaborate rings a pair of enamelled hands embrace a large
diamond heart.
Other seventeenth-century rings are ornamented with hearts aflame with desire, pierced by Cupid's arrows, crowned as fidelity's just reward, held in a single hand, or clasped in a pair of hands. These designs were set with rose- and table-cut diamonds. Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden gave his sweetheart, Ebba Brahe, an exquisite ruby heart encircled with diamonds as a love ring. |
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In complete contrast to this atmosphere
in which romantic symbols were fashionable, the Puritans, reacting against
Church ritual, tried hard to have the wedding ring abolished. They were
not successful.
Although posy rings, enamelled with sprays of flowers with the inscription inside the hoop, were most often used for seventeenth-century weddings, diamond marriage rings still had great appeal. At the proxy marriage of Mary of Modena with James II in 1673, a large diamond--probably rose-cut--was placed on the 15-year-old bride's finger. When their son, James Stuart (The Old Pretender to the English throne) married the Polish princess Clementina Sobieska in Italy, 1719, this same ring was used at the ceremony. |
American Gem Society: The Power of Love
