Wedding Anniversary Symbols
From paper to Diamonds...
The word wedlock comes from the Anglo-Saxon word, wedlac, meaning to pledge and ‘lac’ gift.
The tradition of marking the successful period of marriage with a special gift has survived through hundreds of years of history. Originally only seven anniversary dates were associated with gift giving. But in 1937 an American Jewellery Association created a more comprehensive list incorporating those historic traditions and this is commonly used today.
The anniversaries mostly celebrated are silver, ruby and golden yet there are tokens for many other anniversary years that are starting points for gift inspiration to celebrate another year of marriage.
| First | Paper |
| Second | Cotton |
| Third | Leather |
| Fourth | Linen |
| Fifth | Wood |
| Sixth | Iron |
| Seventh | Wool |
| Eighth | Bronze |
| Ninth | Pottery |
| Tenth | Tin |
| Eleventh | Steel |
| Twelfth | Silk |
| Thirteenth | Lace |
| Fourteenth | Ivory |
| Fifteenth | Crystal |
| Twentieth | China |
| Twenty-fifth | Silver |
| Thirtieth | Pearl |
| Thirty-fifth | Coral |
| Fortieth | Ruby |
| Forty- fifth | Sapphire |
| Fiftieth | Gold |
| Fifty-fifth | Emerald |
| Sixtieth | Diamonds |
