Wedding and betrothal rings - the pledges of love - have universally speaking appealed to our imaginations, emotions and longings since times immemorial.

Lady Diana was engaged with a ring made of an 18 carat blue oval sapphire circled by fourteen diamonds. Actress Catherine Zeta Jones’s promise to the accomplished actor Michael Douglas was sealed with a 10 carat antique diamond estimated at about $2 million. What a way to seal the wedding vows!

Rituals and customs apart, the traditional shining stone across the fourth finger has remained an eternal mystery across continents and historic periods.

During the reign of George I of England, wedding rings were often worn on thumbs even though they were placed on the third finger during the wearing ceremony.

Over a period of time, precious metals such as silver and gold were put into service as the metal of choice for the wedding ring - the blending of these two metals signified the union of strength and beauty.

Hard and durable enough, they could be molded into several designs to suit the individual taste and the pocket. However, iron and brass not to be undone, with time the metal forms of the ring also graduated to copper and steel not to forget titanium and platinum – the metal of substance and understated elegance.

The "Latitude and Longitude" rings are also novel and of interest. A slender band on the ring shows a degree of latitude traced with longitudes.

The ceremonious tradition of wearing the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand stems from a Greek fable that a certain vein in that finger, the vena amoris(or vein of love), runs directly to the heart, a theory that stands discredited and disproved by the scientific school of thought.

Medieval wedding rings were often set with colored gemstones, because of the symbolism of the colors.

The smallest betrothal ring on record was given to two year old Princess Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, on the event of her engagement to the infant Dauphin of France, son of King Francis I, in 1518. The tiny gold ring, fitted to her finger, was set with a valuable diamond.

Historians are of the belief that the item of betrothal owes its origins not to the metal but papyrus strands of the plant species, twisted so as to form the ring.

The act of giving and acceptance of the ring was now also considered to be legally binding. For some, this put forward the woman as the ‘property’ of the man but as truth would have it, it also protected her rights as the bride-to-be.

Gold or silver rings were given on occasions, to show everyone how the bridegroom trusted his betrothed as his valuable property. To symbolize this, the ring was sometimes shaped as a key rather than a normal circular band. This was not presented at the wedding ceremony as the custom nowadays, but when he carried her in his arms across the threshold of her new home.

The land of Mesopotamia(Egypt) brought a change in reason behind the ring presentation, where the rings were presented not out of love but ‘badges of property’. The prospective bride would be fixed and booked to the new home leaving no scope for her to run away. It was very much like booking within the precincts of home for life – property rights as one would call it.

Unfortunately this process of exchange of rings and therefore ownership of the bride extended to Greek and the Roman era as well.

With the spread of Christianity through the Roman Empire, the wedding transactions became two sided with the groom having to prove his worth to the prospective in-laws.

The marriage in the Renaissance period remained a contractual deal in the garb of life-long commitment.

The Victorian times saw the transition of the ring-from property commitment to the strings of heart, therefore love. The Second World War witnessed a welcome change, when both the bride and the groom exchanged rings more out of ‘matters of the heart’.

The Middle Ages saw the concept of betrothal gaining momentum – where the groom publicly presented the bride with a valuable token so as to extend and confirm assurance to the bride’s parents that he would honor his word few months down the line.

The transition phase and the journey of the ring has been deep enough. From a plain and simple gold band to designer engravings laden with gemstones and interlocked strands, the wedding ring has come a long way and how:

1/ Claddagh(spelt Clad-ahh): Originally from Ireland and made of silver, this wedding band indicated friendship and romantic interests. Two hands hold and clasp a heart in the centre which is topped with a crown. While the linking hands denote unity and friendship, the heart in the centre conveys love and the crown in the centre loyalty. First crafted by a seafarer Richard Joyce, the Claddagh ring has been the prized wear of the Presidents of America, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

2/Posie Ring: The insides inscribed with short poems and love messages, the Posie ring popular till today finds it origins from the Victorian times till the Middle Ages. Sometimes spelt as posy, posey or poesy rings, the first few versions were embellished with flowers crafted from precious metals. Popular during the 15th, the 16th and the 17th centuries in England and France as lovers’ gifts, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England has an outstanding collection of them.

3/ Gimmal (or twin)Ring: Originated in France and an inspiration for the Puzzle ring, the Gimmal emerged at first as a symbol of friendship and affection; later, however, it graduated to the position of a token of love. This "joint tenancy" ring was, in reality, a double ring, and the twin hoops were united much like the links of a chain. The two sections were constituted so that each had one flat and one convex side, and when the two flat surfaces were brought together, one ring was formed. Often, a hand formed a part of each circlet, and when these hands were clasped, the separate rings were held in place. When the lover put his finger through one hoop and his sweetheart put hers through the other, they were truly symbolically "yoked together."

Again an ancient design, it is made of two rings each surmounted by a hand so that each forms a ring half. The symbolic meaning is simple enough – as two rings become one, so do two lives. In 1525, Martin Luther and Catherine Bora were wed with an inscribed gimmel ring.

4/ Regard Ring: Made of silver or gold, this sentimental token ring set with gemstones is a Victorian style romantic ring that spells the word ‘Regard’ using the initial letters of the following gemstones: Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby and Diamond. The subsequent variations included the spelling of another word, one such variant being “love” which stood for Lapis lazuli, Opal, Vermarine, Emerald.

5/ Dearest Ring: An offshoot of the Victorian tradition, this type of ring spelt the word ‘dearest’ by using the first letter of each jewel.

6/ Plain Band: Stemming and speaking of Jewish customs and traditions, the wedding ring should be a plain gold one as that reflects the purity of the union between a man and a woman. Till the 19th century, couples who wanted to get married in the Church of England had to provide some sort of a ring in order to get married. Due to lack of a plain band, substitutes such as leather strips and even curtain shower rings were used.

Whatever be the age, carat or the source of the ring, there is every reason, even if there is none, to say “I Do”.