When you’re shopping for an anniversary gift to demonstrate your enduring love and commitment, there are a variety of options to consider. Whether you prefer the traditional look of a classic anniversary ring to complement her wedding set or want to expand her jewelry collection with a necklace or bracelet, you’ll be sure to surprise and delight her when you gift dazzling anniversary jewelry to commemorate another blissful year.
What’s the Story Behind Anniversary Gifts?
While gifting anniversary jewelry may seem like a result of modern marketing, this tradition actually has centuries-old roots. During the Victorian era, a new matrimonial trend emerged, and people began to enter marriage for love rather than domestic provision.
Terrified that the fickle nature of love might not be enough to ensure lasting matrimonial unions, the friends and family of a couple began the tradition of giving anniversary gifts to encourage continued partnership and domestic tranquility. The tradition of giving valuable milestone gifts dates back even further, with medieval Germanic societies often gifting couples with silver wreaths upon the 25th year of marriage and a golden wreath to those couples who achieved 50 years of wedded bliss.
Today, anniversary gifts remain popular, but it’s typically the couple themselves who do the giving, generally out of genuine affection and admiration. While silver and gold continue to be traditional milestone gifts for years 25 and 50, anniversary jewelry is a popular choice to celebrate any year of marriage and can be customized in a variety of ways to showcase the uniqueness of your happy union.
Popular Anniversary Jewelry Gifts
When most people think of anniversary jewelry, the classic anniversary ring is at the top of their minds. The anniversary ring is a timeless favorite for a reason and is sure to be admired and appreciated by its recipient. However, beautiful jewelry options abound, and you may want to consider other jewelry pieces that are equally appropriate for celebrating another year with your beloved.
Anniversary necklaces are a popular and practical choice for many women. An anniversary necklace can feature any number of styles and gemstones and are often easily personalized. Consider an anniversary necklace for a woman whose profession limits wearing jewelry on her hands or who may prefer to regularly wear only her wedding set.
An anniversary bracelet is an elegant way to mark a milestone and offers many options for customization to ensure a perfectly thoughtful gift. Anniversary bracelets are often a less commonly considered item of jewelry and make for an unexpected and delightful anniversary surprise.
Traditional Anniversary Jewelry Gemstones and Precious Metals by Year
For traditionalists, it’s also helpful to know that there are certain gems that are customary to give in celebrations of each anniversary milestone. An anniversary gemstone list is valuable in narrowing down potential gift ideas while also allowing plenty of room for creativity and flexibility. Set these gems in a new piece of anniversary jewelry, select a memento keepsake, or even add the appropriate gemstone in charm form to an anniversary bracelet.
- 1st anniversary: gold
- 2nd anniversary: garnet
- 3rd anniversary: pearls
- 4th anniversary: blue topaz
- 5th anniversary: sapphire
- 6th anniversary: amethyst
- 7th anniversary: yellow sapphire
- 8th anniversary: tourmaline
- 9th anniversary: morganite
- 10th anniversary: diamond
- 15th anniversary: ruby
- 20th anniversary: emerald
- 25th anniversary: silver
- 30th anniversary: pearl
- 35th anniversary: emerald
- 40th anniversary: ruby
- 45th anniversary: sapphire
- 50th anniversary: gold
Do I Have to Choose a Specific Gemstone for Anniversary Jewelry?
Milestone anniversaries like the 25th year and 50th year jubilee were the first anniversaries to be marked with specific precious metalwork gifts like gold and silver wreaths. While your beloved may not prefer a silver or gold wreath, the options abound for silver and gold anniversary jewelry with gemstones of any color that is sure to wow.
While each anniversary year is assigned a traditional gemstone, you are not obligated to choose anniversary jewelry featuring a stone you or your partner doesn’t prefer. Colored gemstones can add visual interest and personality to anniversary bracelets, rings, and necklaces alike. There are many gemstones to choose from, however, and a knowledgeable jeweler can guide you to the right precious gemstone for you.
Planning a Collection of Anniversary Jewelry
Anniversaries offer a wonderful opportunity to celebrate your partner, but without some planning and consideration, it can feel repetitive when you gift anniversary jewelry each year. Discuss their style preferences and then visit an experienced jeweler to develop a plan for a cohesive set of jewelry to build upon with each passing year.
Include various types of jewelry, including anniversary rings, anniversary necklaces, and anniversary bracelets, and prioritize common elements that will allow her to mix and match pieces for unique looks. Having a guide will help you enjoy the gift-buying process each time and ensure that she has a well-designed, quality collection of jewelry that she will enjoy for life.
Why Should I Choose an Anniversary Ring?
An anniversary ring is a traditional choice often given during a milestone anniversary, like the 1st, 5th, 10th, or 20th year of marriage. An anniversary ring can take many forms, including adding an additional band to her wedding set, a coordinating ring to wear on the opposite hand, or a fun fashion ring she can wear for special occasions.
Combining Anniversary Rings with Wedding Sets
Some anniversary rings are meant to be stacked in the original wedding set, so you must make sure that additional bands will not rub against the diamonds in the existing rings or vice versa. A knowledgeable jeweler can help you make the appropriate fit assessments before stacking an anniversary ring.
Ring stacking is a popular fashion jewelry trend that has a long tradition in wedding jewelry. A typical wedding set includes an engagement ring and wedding band, which complement each other in design. Adding an anniversary ring to the stack is a way to enhance value and style in this all-important set. Anniversary rings that you should consider stacking in her original wedding set include:
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Ring jackets, which hug the center stone of an engagement ring
- Eternity bands, which feature diamonds around the entire perimeter of the band
- Colored gemstones that accent the original design
- Mixed metals to add dimension and interest
Why Should I Choose an Anniversary Necklace?
An anniversary necklace is a thoughtful way to affirm your lasting love, as well as expand her jewelry collection beyond her wedding set. You might consider selecting an anniversary necklace that coordinates with her wedding jewelry or simply choosing a classic style, like a universally loved simple gold necklace that complements her fashion tastes and blends with her wardrobe. Alternately, consider an upcoming special occasion and select an anniversary necklace appropriate to the event and her planned wardrobe.
An anniversary necklace is a gift with a wide variety of options to consider, from chain length and pendant style to metal choices, including classic yellow gold, modern white or rose gold, and dazzling platinum. Popular anniversary necklace styles include:
- Pendant necklaces
- Station necklaces
- Y-shaped necklaces
- Linked necklaces
- Paperclip chain necklaces
- Eternity necklaces
- Choker necklaces
- Bar necklaces
Why Should I Choose an Anniversary Bracelet?
While anniversary rings and anniversary necklaces are popular gifting choices, we believe an anniversary bracelet is an extra special gift to commemorate a milestone year. These pieces of anniversary jewelry offer much potential for customization, which makes them even more special.
Consider a Tennis Anniversary Bracelet
Tennis bracelets have long been the bracelet of classic luxury and sophistication. With its line of dazzling diamonds, a tennis bracelet is a stunning choice to celebrate any year, but it is particularly suited for a tenth anniversary, which is traditionally celebrated with gifts of diamond anniversary jewelry.
What’s Special About an Anniversary Charm Bracelet?
An anniversary bracelet can also come in the form of a charm bracelet, which offers the benefit of marking multiple years on a single piece of jewelry. You can add a special charm for each anniversary, incorporating the traditional gemstones or special memories from that year for a sentimental touch. Charm anniversary bracelets come in various styles, including the familiar linked American style, the flat Italian charm bracelet style, and the ropelike European style, which accepts bead-shaped charms.
Look Into an Anniversary Bangle
A bangle can make a contemporary choice for an anniversary bracelet and adds the benefit of being practical for everyday wear. What makes it stand apart from other bracelet designs? The difference between bangles and bracelets largely concerns the structure; bracelets have flexible fits and clasps, while bangles have a rigid structure and no clasp.
Bangles can be styled in many ways and are often easier to stack or dress down for an everyday look. Another benefit is that, unlike anniversary rings and anniversary necklaces, bangles are a fixed size and won’t require any sleuthing to determine a chain length or finger size.
While flexible gemstone-studded anniversary bracelets are often the first to be considered, a bangle makes an equally stunning piece of anniversary jewelry that is also highly customizable. A contemporary bangle thoughtfully engraved or bejeweled with a significant gemstone makes for an anniversary bracelet that anyone would be delighted to receive.
Modern Anniversary Jewelry Trends
While we think traditional anniversary gifts are a sweet way to honor your lasting love, some couples prefer to take a more contemporary approach with anniversary jewelry. A popular way to mark a milestone anniversary is to upgrade her original engagement ring. Some couples opt to simply replace the original stone with a larger carat of the same cut, while others choose to enhance the original set by adding a coordinating stacking anniversary ring or ring jacket.
Still, others opt to forgo the gift lists and wedding set enhancements altogether and choose a fashion piece to gift as anniversary jewelry instead. There’s no better way to communicate your love than by demonstrating you know their tastes! A breathtaking contemporary bezel-set diamond fashion ring makes a perfect anniversary ring at ten years or any year!
Personalizing Your Anniversary Jewelry
An anniversary is a time for reflection upon your shared experiences, both hardships and triumphs. What better way to mark such a moment than to personalize an anniversary gift? Adding your own special touch helps to acknowledge your shared story and the continuation of your commitment to each other.
Personalize by Engraving
Many types of jewelry may be engraved, from watches and monogram jewelry to bangles, anniversary rings, and anniversary necklace pendants. Engrave a date, a quote, or the name of a child on your jewelry to instantly create an heirloom piece that will be forever cherished.
Personalize with Colored Gemstones
A special way to honor your partner is by including a significant birthstone in the piece. Whether you mark the birth of children, set both of your birthstones, or just theirs, adding colored gemstones that signify the ones you love is a simple but thoughtful way to personalize a piece of jewelry. Consider both the modern and traditional birthstone lists to ensure you know what birthstone options are available for your preferred month.
Birthstones by Month
- January: Garnet
- February: Amethyst
- March: Aquamarine; bloodstone
- April: Diamond
- May: Emerald
- June: Alexandrite; pearl
- July: Ruby
- August: Peridot; spinel; sardonyx
- September: Sapphire
- October: Tourmaline; opal
- November: Golden Topaz; citrine; topaz
- December: Blue zircon; blue topaz; Tanzanite; turquoise; lapis lazuli
Anniversary Jewelry for Men
While most anniversary jewelry is purchased with women in mind, there are many anniversary jewelry options that will make the man in your life feel loved and celebrated. Some say that the men’s version of an engagement ring is the coveted Rolex timepiece, and we agree that this luxury designer watch would make a welcome anniversary gift, as well. Consider a Rolex watch or other designer timepiece to commemorate a milestone anniversary in the same way one might consider an anniversary ring.
An anniversary is also a wonderful time to upgrade his wedding band with diamonds or other gemstones or to present a signet anniversary ring to celebrate his dedication as a partner. Make a truly special heirloom by designing your own family crest to emblazon on a signet ring.
Whether you choose to gift an anniversary ring, bracelet, necklace, or some other piece, a fine jewelry present will never go out of style. For today and for decades to come, thoughtfully curated anniversary jewelry communicates your enduring love and admiration for your beloved.
