Anniversary Gifts
Whether you're celebrating your first year of marriage or your fiftieth, honoring and cherishing one another is always meaningful — and jewelry makes the perfect gift. Explore everything from stunning anniversary pendants to timeless earring designs to find the perfect gemstone for your next anniversary celebration.
The History of Anniversary Gifts
Traditional
The tradition of anniversary gifts dates back to Medieval times, where each year's gift was thoughtfully chosen to bring good fortune and prosperity to the marriage. By the Victorian era, this practice became widespread and beloved, with gifts ranging from simple paper (such as a heartfelt card) to practical leather items (like journals or bags).
Modern
As time progressed, anniversary gifts evolved to reflect the modern world. Paper transformed into clocks, symbolizing the timeless nature of love, while leather transitioned to crystal, representing clarity and beauty (think elegant glassware). Over time, jewelry also became an increasingly popular choice, adding a touch of luxury and sentimentality to the tradition.
Gemstone
In the gemstone tradition of anniversary gifting, each year is represented by a specific jewel, chosen for its unique qualities, such as wisdom, passion, or strength, to enrich the bond of marriage.
Wedding Anniversary Gifts by Year
1st Anniversary Gift: Gold
Celebrating the first year of marriage is often called the "golden anniversary," making gold the perfect symbol for this milestone. Representing the golden memories and cherished moments of your first 365 days as a married couple, gold embodies a strong and enduring partnership. Traditionally, yellow gold is given for this occasion, but white or rose gold can be just as meaningful, especially if your partner prefers a different hue. This timeless metal serves as a beautiful reminder of your love and commitment.
2nd Anniversary Gift: Garnet
The garnet, with its rich, deep-red hue, is a timeless symbol of romance and passion, making it the perfect gemstone to celebrate your second anniversary. While red garnet is the most traditional, this versatile gemstone also comes in vibrant shades like orange and green, offering options to suit every style. Whether set in a pendant, bracelet, or another jewelry piece, garnet makes a stunning and meaningful gift.
3rd Anniversary Gift: Pearl
Symbolizing purity and wisdom, pearls are the perfect way to celebrate your third anniversary, carrying a significance as timeless as the sea. Treasured for centuries, these elegant gems offer a blend of tradition and modern style. Whether you choose a classic strand or a bold, contemporary design like pearl-accented hoops, pearls make a meaningful and versatile gift.
4th Anniversary Gift: Topaz
Topaz is a versatile gemstone that comes in a rainbow of colors — from blue to orange to white. Despite their range in hue, the most gifted topaz for fourth anniversaries is the teal-blue topaz that features a cool, serene color. With generally high clarity grades and a rank of 8 on the Mohs hardness scale, topazes are perfectly suited to everyday wear, in whatever form of jewelry you prefer.
5th Anniversary Gift: Sapphire
Mark your fifth wedding anniversary with the enchanting beauty of sapphire — a versatile gemstone available in nearly every color. While blue is the most iconic shade, sapphires also come in stunning hues like pink, orange, white, and more (every color except red). With their vibrant variety and remarkable durability, sapphires make a perfect choice for anniversary bands or to enhance a wedding ring stack, offering a timeless yet personal way to celebrate your love.
6th Anniversary Gift: Amethyst
Celebrate six wonderful years of marriage with the vibrant beauty of amethyst. Known for its regal allure, this gemstone showcases a rich purple hue that is both bold and captivating. Often paired with white gold or platinum to complement its vivid color, amethyst shines beautifully as a centerpiece or accent in necklaces and earrings, making it a timeless and meaningful gift.
7th Anniversary Gift: Onyx
Celebrate your seventh anniversary with the bold and captivating beauty of onyx. Known for its pure black color and high-polish finish, onyx has long been regarded as a powerful and spiritual stone, making it a meaningful symbol of your journey together. This striking gemstone shines brightest in modern, sculptural jewelry designs, such as ID bracelets and medallions, offering a contemporary yet timeless way to mark this special milestone.
8th Anniversary Gift: Tourmaline
Tourmaline is the traditional gemstone for celebrating eight years of marriage, symbolizing wisdom, insight, and creativity — perfect qualities to honor nearly a decade together. This versatile gem comes in a variety of stunning colors, with pink and green being the most common. A rare and unique option is watermelon tourmaline, featuring breathtaking bi-color hues of pink and green, making it a truly special choice to commemorate this milestone.
9th Anniversary Gift: Lapis Lazuli
Celebrate your ninth anniversary with the striking beauty of lapis lazuli. This mesmerizing midnight blue gemstone, composed of lazurite, calcite, and flecks of pyrite, offers a distinctive and meaningful choice for this milestone. Lapis lazuli shines in various jewelry styles but is especially captivating when set in white or yellow gold rings or pendants, making it a timeless token of your love.
10th Anniversary Gift: Diamond
A decade of marriage deserves to be celebrated in dazzling style with diamonds. Whether it's adding a diamond band to your wedding stack, gifting a diamond pendant or tennis bracelet, or upgrading an engagement ring with a new or larger center stone, diamonds make this milestone unforgettable. For some, the original engagement ring is passed down as a cherished heirloom, adding even more meaning to the occasion.
15th Anniversary Gift: Ruby
Celebrate 15 years of love and commitment with the fiery beauty of rubies. Known for their regal red hue, rubies symbolize devotion, passion, strength, and dedication — perfect qualities for this special milestone. With their exceptional durability, rubies are often featured as the centerpiece in diamond-adorned pendants or bold cocktail rings, making a striking and meaningful statement of love.
20th Anniversary Gift: Emerald
Celebrate 20 years of marriage with the timeless elegance of emeralds. This regal green gemstone, historically linked to royalty, symbolizes growth, peace, and reflection — making it the perfect choice to mark two decades together. The vibrant color of emeralds serves as a beautiful reminder of the journey you've shared, making it a meaningful and lasting gift.
25th Anniversary Gift: Silver Jubilee
Celebrate 25 years of love and commitment with the timeless elegance of silver. Known as the metal for a silver jubilee, this milestone is the perfect opportunity to create a custom design that reflects your unique love story. Whether it’s a silver ring, a pair of earrings, or a coordinated set of matching pieces, a personalized design is a meaningful way to honor the journey you've shared and the bond you've built over the years.
30th Anniversary Gift: Pearl
There's no better way to celebrate three decades together than with the timeless elegance of pearls that symbolize wisdom and beauty. If you also gifted pearls for your 3rd anniversary, consider redesigning the same pearls into a new piece of jewelry to retain the sentimentality of the original design with a fresh look.
40th Anniversary Gift: Ruby
Honor four decades together with the fiery ruby that symbolizes passion and romance. If you also gifted rubies for your 15th anniversary, consider purchasing a piece that perfectly complements the original jewelry design. In doing so, you'll create a matching jewelry set that can be passed down for generations.
50th Anniversary Gift: Golden Jubilee
Fifty years together is a remarkable achievement and should be commemorated with gold jewelry. This could be a gold band or pair of earrings — whatever the style, the gold jewelry you choose should be special enough to celebrate half a century together.
60th Anniversary Gift: Diamond Jubilee
Celebrate six remarkable decades of marriage with the timeless brilliance of diamonds. Known as the gift for a diamond jubilee, diamonds mark this milestone with enduring sparkle and elegance. Whether it's a tennis necklace, diamond studs, or another piece your partner may need to complete their jewelry collection, a diamond gift is a beautiful way to honor a lifetime of love and commitment.
70th Anniversary Gift: Platinum Jubilee
Celebrate 70 years of enduring love and commitment with the unmatched strength and beauty of platinum. Known for its durability, platinum symbolizes the resilience and longevity of your marriage. Its stunning silvery-white hue can be worn in simple, elegant designs or paired with diamonds and other precious gemstones, making it a versatile and timeless choice to honor this incredible milestone.
Wedding Anniversary FAQ
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The silver anniversary is your 25th wedding anniversary.
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The diamond anniversary is your 10th and 60th wedding anniversaries.
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An anniversary ring is a design you receive or gift to your partner to commemorate the years you've spent together.
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Wear your diamond anniversary band on its own or in a stack with your engagement ring.
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Your first wedding anniversary is considered the 'golden anniversary'.
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Your 70th wedding anniversary is the 'platinum anniversary'.