What your wedding ring says about you
Like everything else we do the wedding ring we choose to wear for the rest of our lives reveals things about us which go beyond the casual choice of style and price. Material and design, for example, show not just how we think but how we see ourselves and our place in the world.
The psychology department of human studies at the University of Queensland carried out a study of more than 3,000 married couples to see how their choice of wedding band affected correlated with their view of the world and the way they saw themselves in it. The results are nothing less than interesting:
Traditionalists – those who see marriage as a traditional aspect of life and their role in it go for traditional gold wedding rings. People within this group often follow in the footsteps of their peers and their parents and consider marriage as much a duty to society as a need for themselves. Gold to them is a link back to tradition. Their parents wore gold wedding rings and they choose to do the same. Although they often go for simple designs they do, on occasion, decide to choose a wedding ring set which is more ornate or sports something different like an engraved pattern or a wedding ring with a handwoven gold wire design. For those who are staunch traditionalists in their choice of wedding ring, amongst this group, the results showed that they expressed their individuality through their choice of engagement ring or anniversary ring.
Rebels – those who saw themselves as rebels wanted their wedding to be as special as their lives and this was reflected in their choice of wedding rings. Rebels in this group considered themselves less duty bound to society to get married and more wanting to get married because it meant so much to their partners. Their choice of wedding ring often ran to stainless steel wedding rings, titanium wedding rings and even ceramic wedding rings. Titanium wedding rings seemed to have a slight edge because of the ‘space age’ feel of the metal but ceramic wedding rings and stainless steel wedding rings also were the preferred choice with the deciding factor often being the design.
Show-offs – show-offs want their wedding to be noticed. They were the ones who spent the most on their wedding ceremony, insisted on a live band and wanted a large wedding crowd. Their choice of wedding ring appeared to be equally grandiose with gold wedding ring designs which combined diamonds and, frequently, a mix of precious metals. Diamond wedding rings for him and her were a favourite amongst this group with men, as well as women, favouring a wedding ring which simply seemed to be a cut or two above the rest.
Eco-warriors – this is a new addition to the group with people here being demographically younger than the other groups of newlyweds. Their awareness of green issues and their desire to keep their wedding at a realistic cost is reflected in their choice of wedding band. They often went for stainless steel wedding rings, preferring the simplicity of the metal, its affordable price, the wide variety of designs and the fact that it was designed to last forever.
Purists – purists amongst this group looked at antique wedding rings. For them it was important the wedding band they chose to have a symbolic link with the past which went beyond the moment they chose it and antique wedding rings are, for them, represent a direct link to the richness of yesteryear. Purists seemed to be natural optimists. They say themselves not so much as owners of their antique wedding rings as custodians, there to keep them for a while and then pass them on to a new generation.
Modernists – those who belonged to this group saw it as their duty to take the traditions of marriage and update them with new styles and practices. People in this group went for two-tone wedding rings. They loved the fact that two-tone wedding rings come in many different styles and price ranges. They can be ornate and decorated and expensive or they can show a sparseness of style and a minimalist design which will make even the most self-effacing of couples fall in love with their two-tone wedding rings. The combination of more than one precious metal with gold and white gold being the predominant metals of choice, was something which deeply appealed to them as it bound, in their minds, the traditional raw material of the gold wedding rings of the past with a more modern design and material in a duality which was in perfect balance in one wedding ring and totally appealed to their own sense of identity.
The study reflected the fact that when it comes to choosing a wedding ring which appeals to us we tend to go for something which creates a deep emotional response and largely reflects our personality. What is interesting, of course, is that fewer than 15% of the respondents admitted to thinking that deeply about their choice of wedding ring with most of them saying that they made up their minds within a few days of seeing the design of wedding ring they liked with their spouse.
Weddings are always deeply emotional. A wedding ring has obviously deep emotional connotations and it reflects much of the philosophy we have about life.
Tags: Jewellery, wedding ring