I'll get around to making a russian wedding ring someday, but in the meantime I made a russian wedding ring style bangle. I do love a nice bangle! Somehow the way they are inter meshed adds a lovely relaxed style to them.
The traditional russian wedding ring is made of three types of gold, white, yellow and red and are said to signify the Holy Trinity - or I've also heard that they mean For then, For now, For ever.
I also found a story about the meaning on this blog in which a mum tells her son about the meaning behind the rings...
"She told me that the ring was a symbol of this love, as all wedding rings are.
But, she told me, this ring brought together the three most important things of a loving relationship.
The white gold ring, she told me, is softer than the other golds. Being softer, it will take the shape of the finger. "Love is like that", she said. "In the journey through life, two people in love have to change their shape. They have to give some things up, and take other things on. To become a family each one has to move towards the other". So that's what the white gold represents: bending towards each other.
Yellow gold, on the other hand, is very hard. You can bump it and knock it, and afterwards, all you had to do is to give it a hard rub, and there it would be: all bright and shining again. "Life is like that" she said. "It's not easy. Sometimes things are really difficult. Then you have to support each other. Sometimes love has to be hard". So this is what the Yellow Gold represents: the strength to get through life, and then come out on the other side all bright and shiny and new.
Then she was silent for a time. So I asked her "what about the red gold mommy?"
It took her a moment before she answered.
"Have you ever seen red gold before?" she asked softly.
"No", I replied.
"Well," she said, "Red Gold is rare". "And love", she said "is just as rare. When you find it, when you finally have it, you must look after it. You have to protect it. If you lose it it might never come back to you again". And that is what the Red Gold represents: that Love must be cherished, because life is short and every moment spent without love is a moment lost forever."
Do cheesy moments like that really happen?
Hmmmm. I wonder if my kids will remember any of my stories when they're older - or to be honest, whether any of them are worthy of remembering (note to self, must come up with better explanations for things).
I might venture into mixed metal designs, though I think right now, gold will be just for commission pieces. I'd love to know what you think of them though.
