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Wedding Anniversary Gemstones
The traditional designation for wedding anniversaries go back to many years ago. The standard list, which includes each year for the first fifteen and each five years thereafter, was intended as a guide to the products which were considered proper to present to the married pair as gifts. The anniversary gift for the first fifteen years are inexpensive, for example, the first was paper, the second cotton, the fifth wood. Starting with thirtieth more expensive items (gemstone) were assigned to the wedding anniversary gifts from 30years onward:
| 1st | Paper |
| 2nd | Cotton |
| 3rd | Leather |
| 4th | Fruit or Flowers |
| 5th | Wood |
| 6th | Sugar |
| 7th | Copper |
| 8th | Bronze |
| 9th | Pottery |
| 10th | Tin |
| 11th | Steel |
| 12th | Silk |
| 13th | Lace |
| 14th | Ivory (substitutions include white jade, or marble) |
| 15th | Crystal |
| 20th | China |
| 25th | Silver |
| 30th | Pearl |
|---|---|
| 35th | Coral |
| 40th | Ruby |
| 45th | Sapphire |
| 50th | Gold |
| 55th | Emerald |
| 60th | Diamond |
| 65th | Blue Sapphire |
| 70th | Platinum |
| 80th | Oak |
It should be noted that in actual practice, it is the husband who traditionally gives the wife a ring, necklace, bracelet, brooch, or pair of earring containing the gemstone to celebrate the anniversary.
Reference:
Birthstones and the lore of gemstones, Willard Heaps, Angus & Robertson PTY LTD,1971.