Wedding Anniversary Chart And Guide
For each year of married life there are traditional Wedding Anniversary stones and metals to be offered as gifts between husband and wife, usually in the form of jewellery. Certain anniversary years like the 25th Silver Jubilee Wedding Anniversary, the 50th Golden Jubilee Wedding Anniversary, and the 60th Diamond Jubilee Wedding Anniversary are considered to be the more significant milestones. The traditional anniversary gemstone or metal for these anniversary years therefore reflects this – the simple logic being that marriage longevity deserves recognition and reward and the greater the longevity the greater the reward!
The list of Wedding Anniversaries precious stones provided below details the stones or metals typically exchanged, as well as an indication of the wider traditional Wedding Anniversary gifts list for the earlier years of marriage.
History Of Wedding Anniversaries
Historically gifts exchanged between spouses, or given as gifts by family and friends, in the early years of marriage were practical household items to help the couple build up their home. Luxury gifts were then given later in life when the couple were assumed to have most things they needed and were perhaps more financially secure. Some of these items have lost their significance or apparent value through changes in fashion but with imagination the spirit of the chosen material can be recognised. For example paper, which would have proven more of a gift when keeping a journal and writing were more central to our lives, could now encompass paper beads jewellery, theatre tickets, stocks and shares, notification of a hot air balloon ride, or even a certificate for naming a star!
Before the mid 1930s, not all years had a symbol or material representing the anniversary. Only the 1st and subsequent milestone anniversaries, namely the 10th, 20th, 25th, 50th and 70th, were represented by a symbol, gift or stone, and it is likely that the Victorians were instrumental in introducing or reintroducing these. It wasn’t until 1937, when the retail sector in America saw an opportunity to increase sales that the American National Retail Jeweller Association filled in the blanks. They provided a list of Wedding Anniversary gifts for every year of marriage up to the 15th year and then every 5 years thereafter up until the 60th wedding anniversary. They performed a similar exercise in 1912 with a definitive list for Birthstones!
An historical anomaly means there are actually two Diamond Jubilee Anniversaries, one at 60 and one at 75 years of marriage. The 75th anniversary is the original Diamond Anniversary, with the 60th anniversary being added by the Victorians when in 1897 Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee on the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne. This was then adopted as a Wedding Anniversary. To read a further example of Queen Victoria’s influence over jewellery trends have a look at our History of Charms where she was instrumental in bringing charms and charm bracelets back to the fore.
Going further back to medieval times, the actual tradition of presenting wedding gifts seems to lie geographically in the area we now call Germany. Only two anniversaries were recognised, namely the 25th and 50th years. To mark the occasion of the Silver or 25th Wedding Anniversary a husband would crown his wife with a wreath or garland of silver. The silver symbolized the harmony that was assumed to be necessary to make so many years of matrimony possible. Likewise, he would crown her with a wreath of gold on a Golden or 50th Wedding Anniversary – hence we now have Silver Wedding Anniversaries and Golden Wedding Anniversaries.
Wedding Anniversary Chart
This Anniversary list can also be downloaded as a free PDF file by clicking on the icon at the foot of the page. This file also includes the traditional Wedding Anniversary gifts guide alongside the precious stones and metals for each year of marriage. If you would like more information about a particular stone have a look at our Gemstone & Minerals Guide.
 |
1st Wedding Anniversary - Gold Jewellery (No Associated Stone) |
 |
2nd Wedding Anniversary - Garnet |
 |
3rd Wedding Anniversary - Pearl |
 |
4th Wedding Anniversary - Blue Topaz |
 |
5th Wedding Anniversary - Sapphire |
 |
6th Wedding Anniversary - Amethyst |
 |
7th Wedding Anniversary - Onyx |
 |
8th Wedding Anniversary - Tourmaline |
 |
9th Wedding Anniversary - Lapis Lazuli |
 |
10th Wedding Anniversary - Diamond |
 |
11th Wedding Anniversary - Turquoise |
 |
12th Wedding Anniversary - Jade |
 |
13th Wedding Anniversary - Citrine |
 |
14th Wedding Anniversary - Opal |
 |
15th Wedding Anniversary - Ruby |
 |
16th Wedding Anniversary - Peridot |
 |
17th Wedding Anniversary - Watches (No Associated Stone) |
 |
18th Wedding Anniversary - Cats Eye |
 |
19th Wedding Anniversary - Aquamarine |
 |
20th Wedding Anniversary - Emerald |
 |
21st Wedding Anniversary - Iolite |
 |
22nd Wedding Anniversary - Spinel |
 |
23rd Wedding Anniversary - Imperial Topaz |
 |
24th Wedding Anniversary - Tanzanite |
 |
25th Wedding Anniversary - Silver Jewellery (No Associated Stone) |
 |
30th Wedding Anniversary - Pearl |
 |
35th Wedding Anniversary - Emerald |
 |
40th Wedding Anniversary - Ruby |
 |
45th Wedding Anniversary - Sapphire |
 |
50th Wedding Anniversary - Gold Jewellery (No Associated Stone) |
 |
55th Wedding Anniversary - Alexandrite |
 |
60th Wedding Anniversary - Diamond |
 |
65th Wedding Anniversary - Blue Sapphire |
 |
70th Wedding Anniversary - Platinum (No Associated Stone) |
 |
75th Wedding Anniversary - Diamond Jewellery |
 |
80th Wedding Anniversary - Ruby |
List of Wedding Anniversaries By Year – Free Adobe PDF Download
ADDITIONAL ARTICLE KEYWORDS & THEMES:
Wedding Anniversary By Year, Wedding Anniversary Symbols
If you find this BigBeadLittleBead resource useful please provide feedback as it helps us to gauge the resources that matter to you most.
If there is anything else you want to know, just ask on our Contact Us page.
Please feel free to reproduce this guide for personal or educational use, crediting Big Bead Little Bead as the source. If you wish to reproduce this item for commercial use then please contact us at info@bigbeadlittlebead.com to discuss your requirements.
Copyright © 2008-2013 Big Bead Little Bead.
Anna Weller of Big Bead Little Bead
