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Choosing Jewelry for a Wedding Anniversary Gift

Choosing Jewelry for a Wedding Anniversary Gift

Dec 14th 2018

In Western and some Eastern cultures, from the moment couples decide to get married jewelry plays an important role in their relationship.

A gold engagement ring – often set with one or more diamonds – is usually offered as a betrothal gift by the man, as a sign of his wish to marry. Then when the couple is married, the new husband gives his wife a ring – usually a gold band – to wear as a symbol of their life partnership. Increasingly brides also give their grooms a gold wedding band to wear. In some cultures, the bride is also given a toe ring or a bangle to wear.

And that’s not the end of it. Over time wedding anniversary gift lists have been drawn up to guide couples in choosing a symbolic item for their spouse each year, on the date they were married. Both traditional and modern wedding anniversary gift lists feature precious metals in the form of gold and silver, as well as jewelry and precious stones. Generally the idea is to give a symbolic gift every year for the first 15 years of marriage, and then a special gift every five years. Often husbands choose to give an eternity ring (often a gold band set with multiple small diamonds) to their wives for a wedding anniversary he considers significant.

Traditional anniversary gift lists specify precious metals and stones every five years from the 25th wedding anniversary. These include silver for the 25th wedding anniversary, pearls for the 30th, coral for the 35th, rubies for the 40th, sapphires for the 45th, gold for the 50th, emeralds for the 55th and the ultimate diamond or diamonds for the 60th wedding anniversary.

Modern anniversary gift lists have been reorganized to meet the needs of most modern couples, but jewelry and precious metals and stones remain firm favorites. Here are some examples from a modern gift list:

  • diamonds (10),
  • fashion jewelry (11),
  • pearl-colored gems (12 – which gives the opportunity for husbands to give their wives anything from rings to bracelets or necklaces),
  • gold jewelry (14),
  • watches (15),
  • platinum (20),
  • jade (35),
  • ruby (40),
  • sapphire (45),
  • gold (50),
  • emerald (55),
  • diamond (60).
  • Gold is durable, sturdy, dependable, and makes an ideal setting for your precious diamond jewelry. Gold also comes in a variety of colors -- yellow, white, and rose (or pink).
  • The karatage of the jewelry will tell you what percentage of gold it contains: 24 karat is 100 percent, 18 karat is 75 percent, and 14 karat is 58.5 percent gold. When comparing gold jewelry, the higher the number of karats, the greater the value.
  • When buying gold jewelry, always look for the karat mark. All other things being equal, the higher the karat, the more expensive the piece. In the United States, 14-karat gold, or 585 parts pure gold, is the most common degree of fineness. Nothing less than 10 karats can legally be marked or sold as gold jewelry in the U.S. However, lower karatages, such as 8-karat gold and 9-karat gold, are popular in other countries
  • Approximate Metal Weight is intended use is for you to have an indication of Approximate weight of the metal. While being accurate is very important to us at Sarraf.com, due to factors beyond our control it is impossible to be exact each and every time, therefore we strive to maintain an accuracy of ± 5%.
  • In its pure form silver is almost as soft as gold, and therefore is usually alloyed with copper for strength. Karatage is not marked because, legally, anything called "silver" or "sterling silver" is 92.5% pure.
  • Fine Silver in its natural state, 999/1000 pure, is too soft an element for practical jewelry. To make it workable, an alloy such as copper is added. Here are the main silver alloys. Sterling Silver is a mixture of 92.5 % pure silver (925 parts) and 7.5 % metal alloy.
  • "Carat Weight" is simply the weight of the diamond.
  • By definition, 1 carat is exactly 200 milligrams. Since most diamonds sold in the jewelry industry weigh less than 1 carat, the carat is usually subdivided into "points." There are 100 points in 1 carat, so that a diamond weighing 3/4 carat would be a "75 point diamond." In summary:

    1 carat = 200 milligrams = 100 points
  • Carat is the simplest and most objective of the four C's. A 1.00 Carat diamond weighs 0.2 gm on scales weighs. In the trade we call 1/2ct - 50 points.
  • Naturally more Carat weight means more cost because BIG diamonds are very rare. A diamond of double the weight costs around 4 times more. Add the magic weight idea to rarity: a 1.00ct D color Flawless costs 1.7 times more than a 99 point D Flawless.

Diamonds are graded on a letter scale from D to Z: D, E, or F diamonds have no color detectable to the unaided eye; grad G, H, I, or J are nearly colorless, but a trained gemologist can detect a slight yellow cast. J through Z colored diamonds have yellow or gray color visible to the unaided eye. Diamonds rated lower than I have color that is detectable even to the untrained eye. Those rated J to M have a trace of color, while any diamond with an N or higher carries a noticeable yellow tint

The charts above are clarity plots, which is a representation of the number and size of inclusions typically present in diamonds of a particular clarity grade. Look for a clarity plot on a diamond certificate, or grading report, to get a clear idea of the number and size of inclusions in a particular diamond. From this map, you can perfectly determine a diamond's clarity without even

Gemologists use grades of clarity to describe how many inclusions a diamond has. These grades range from flawless (FL) or internally flawless (IF) to included (I3), with the numbers indicating varying degrees of quality within a grade (1 being the best). Most commonly diamond sold are diamond that has no inclusions visible to the unaided eye, like VS1 and SI1-2. Diamonds of this clarity are much less expensive than flawless diamonds, and will not contain inclusions that would reduce from the splendor of the diamond

MM
Inches
Inches
MM
Inches
Inches
1
0.04
1/32 inch
2
0.08
1/16 inch
3
0.12
3/32 inch
4
0.16
1/8 inch
5
0.20
3/16 inch
6
0.24
Just under 1/4 inch
7
0.28
Just over 1/4 inch
8
0.31
5/16 inch
9
0.35
Just under 3/8 inch
10
0.39
Just over 3/8 inch
11
0.43
7/16 inch
12
0.47
Just under 1/2 inch
13
0.51
Just over 1/2 inch
14
0.55
9/16 inch
15
0.59
Just under 5/8 inch
16
0.63
5/8 inch
17
0.67
Just under 11/16 inch
18
0.71
Just over 3/4 inch
19
0.75
Just over 3/5 inch
20
0.79
Just under 13/16 inch
21
0.83
Just over 13/16 inch
22
0.87
Just under 7/8 inch
23
0.91
Just over 7/8 inch
24
0.94
15/16 inch
25
0.98
1 inch
26
1.02
1 and 1/32 inch
27
1.06
1 and 1/16 inch
28
1.10
1 and 3/32 inch
29
1.14
1 and 1/8 inch
30
1.18
1 and 3/16 inch
31
1.22
Just under 1 and 1/4 inch
32
1.26
Just over 1 and 1/4 inch
33
1.30
1 and 5/16 inch
34
1.34
Just under 1 and 3/8 inch
35
1.38
Just over 1 and 3/8 inch
36
1.42
1 and 7/16 inch
37
1.46
Just under 1 and 1/2 inch
38
1.50
Just over 1 and 1/2 inch
39
1.54
1 and 9/16 inch
40
1.57
Just under 1 and 5/8 inch
41
1.61
1 and 5/8 inch
42
1.65
Just under 1 and 11/16 inch
43
1.69
Just over 1 and 3/4 inch
44
1.73
Just over 1 and 3/5 inch
45
1.77
Just under 1 and 13/16 inch
46
1.81
Just over 1and 13/16 inch
47
1.85
Just under 1 and 7/8 inch
48
1.89
Just over 1 and 7/8 inch
49
1.93
1 and 15/16 inch
50
1.97
2 inches

In order To get clearer understanding of how thick or wide is a piece of jewelry, you can use US coins for reference. For thicker items you can stack multiple coins to acquire the approximate thickness or the width of your selected jewelry.

  • Dime Thickness is 1.35mm and Diameter is 17.9mm
  • Penny Thickness is 1.55mm and Diameter is 19.05mm
  • Nickel Thickness is 1.95mm and Diameter is 21.21mm
  • Quarter Thickness is 1.75mm and Diameter is 24.26mm