Ring History

When Did Men Start Wearing Wedding Rings?

In the United States, men started wearing wedding rings in large numbers during World War II. At the end of the Great Depression, only about 15 percent of couples used two rings at their wedding. By the late 1940s, about 80 percent did.

One

Did men wear wedding rings before the 1900s?

Mostly not, at least in America. Wedding rings go back to ancient Rome, where the ring was tied first to the marriage dowry and later to a promise of fidelity. For most of the centuries that followed, the ring went to the bride.

There were exceptions. In the 16th and 17th centuries, European couples used the gimmel ring: two interlocking bands, one worn by each partner during the engagement, then joined back together at the wedding for the bride to wear. Some countries got to two rings early. Dutch couples were exchanging rings at weddings by at least 1815, and German brides and grooms both wore wedding rings by at least the 1870s. In the United States and Canada, though, the wedding ring was the wife’s alone until well into the 20th century.

Two

Why did the 1926 push for men’s rings fail?

It asked men to buy something the culture of the time did not want them to wear. In 1926, American jewelers and manufacturers ran an industry-wide campaign to sell the male engagement ring, with radio spots, newspaper ads, and store window displays.

It flopped. Historian Vicki Howard, who documented the campaign in her 2003 paper “A Real Man’s Ring,” points to two problems:

• The idea was ahead of its time. Marriage as a union of equals was still a fringe view, and shopping for jewelry was seen as something women did.
• The timing was terrible. Within a few years the Great Depression hit, marriage rates fell, and for couples who did marry, a second ring looked like an expense they could skip.

Three

What changed during World War II?

The ring took on a new meaning for men heading overseas. When men shipped out, a wedding ring was a tangible link to the wife waiting at home. That gave men a reason to wear a ring that advertising alone never had.

The rest of the picture lined up behind it. Marriage surged in the 1940s. Couples were marrying younger and had more money to spend. Jewelers dropped the engagement ring pitch and focused on the wedding band instead, and two rings gave young couples a way to mark their marriage as more modern than their parents’. Within about a decade, the share of two-ring weddings jumped from roughly 15 percent to roughly 80 percent.

Four

What were wartime wedding rings made of?

Gold, and usually a plain band. War even shaped the gold itself. In 1942, Britain capped wedding rings at two pennyweights, a little over 3 grams, and required 9 carat gold instead of the traditional 22 carat. These “utility” rings carried a special hallmark inside the band to prove they followed the rules.

That plain gold band became the picture most of us still hold of a man’s wedding ring. It is still a great choice. Our classic gold bands come in 10K, 14K, or 18K gold, in yellow, white, or rose.

Five

What does a men’s wedding ring look like today?

Whatever you want it to. The two-ring wedding is now so standard that it is hard to picture a ceremony where only one partner gets a ring. What changed most since the 1940s is choice.

A plain gold band still honors the tradition that took hold in the 1940s. But you can also wear Gibeon meteorite, Damascus steel, black zirconium, titanium, or tantalum, add an inlay, or pair two metals in one band. If you want help choosing, start with our material comparison guide, then see how custom ring design works.

Classic Gold Damascus · Gold Meteorite

FAQ

Men’s wedding ring history, answered