Wedding Anniversary Gifts
Our guide to wedding anniversary gifts aims to inspire you to find meaningful presents. Throughout history, specific gemstones became associated with individual anniversary years. Each gem reflects different aspects of a couple’s journey together. Victorian sensibilities have evolved to reflect modern tastes. Below is the established list of gemstones and metals corresponding to each wedding anniversary.
1st Anniversary Gift: Gold
Gold is malleable; it can be easily shaped without breaking. It is also resistant to rust, tarnish, and corrosion. Gold represents the strength of your feelings for each other and how you can face all that life throws together.
Traditionally, eternity rings are given to celebrate the first wedding anniversary or the birth of the couple’s first child. However, you don’t have to stick to these conventions. Giving an eternity ring is a personal choice; any anniversary that marks a special moment in your relationship is the right time for you. Any piece of gold jewellery can be a beautiful expression of your affection.
If you’re looking for unusual anniversary gifts for him, consider our men’s jewellery. Many of our gifts can be personalised, making them extra special.
2nd Anniversary Gift: Garnet
Garnet symbolises passion, creativity, strength, and harmony. While it is most commonly associated with the colour red, garnets actually come in a wide range of hues, including pink, purple, orange, yellow, and green. Throughout history, this versatile stone has attracted the interest of prominent figures, including the pharaohs of Egypt and the czars of Russia.
3rd Anniversary Gift: Pearl
Deeply rooted in ancient mythology, pearls are connected to Aphrodite, the ancient Greek Goddess of love, marriage, and sensuality. Symbolising purity, charity, honesty, wisdom and integrity, pearls define the best human qualities. Popular in Victorian and Edwardian times, pearls were even used in betrothal rings.
4th Anniversary Gift: Blue Topaz
Blue Topaz has been always associated with love and loyalty and is also known as the stone of prosperity and good health. The Greeks thought that topaz gave strength and Europeans believed it could thwart magic spells and promote serenity. Topaz jewellery makes the perfect gift to celebrate a harmonious marriage.
5th Anniversary Gift: Sapphire
Sapphire has traditionally symbolized nobility, truth, sincerity and faithfulness and has become the most popular anniversary gemstone. Ancient Greek and Roman royalty believed the gem protected them from harm. In the Middle Ages, the clergy thought blue sapphire symbolized heaven and the faithful thought it attracted blessings. Sapphire occurs in a wide range of colours, including pink, purple, orange, yellow, green and brown.
6th Anniversary Gift: Amethyst
Amethyst has been a treasured gem since antiquity and is included in royal collections all over the world. For centuries amethyst was valued even higher than rubies and sapphires and only worn by royalty or by the clergy. Making this beautiful gem the appropriate choice for the queen (or king) of your heart. St. Valentine, the patron saint of romantic love, supposedly wore an amethyst ring carved with the image of Cupid.
7th Anniversary Gift: Onyx
Onyx has been used in jewellery as far back as Mesopotamia, one of the cradles of civilisation. Onyx is a powerful protection stone. It represents strength, perseverance, and the ability to conquer any marriage challenge.
8th Anniversary Gift: Tourmaline
Apart from sapphire and spinel, tourmaline has the widest range of colours and is available in all shapes and sizes. It symbolises love and healing. It represents a colourful life lived together and the love that deepens over time. There are so many styles to suit all tastes.
9th Anniversary Gift: Lapis Lazuli
Often described as appearing like a night sky full of stars, Lapis Lazuli is a beautiful deep blue gem that has been prised by royalty since antiquity. Lapis Lazuli symbolises the truth and wisdom gained through years of marriage.
10th Anniversary Gift: Diamond
Diamond is the hardest mineral on earth. Natural diamonds are rare and unique and deserve their status as an unchanging symbol of love and fidelity. A diamond eternity ring is a popular choice for a tenth wedding anniversary, but any piece of diamond jewellery can be a beautiful expression of the decade you have shared.
12th Anniversary Gift: Jade
Jade represents protection, purity and longevity. It symbolises the love and understanding refined over 12 years of marriage. Historically, Jade was believed to ward off evil and has been called the “Stone of Heaven”.
13th Anniversary Gift: Citrine
Citrine is associated with optimism, happiness, and prosperity. It was popular in Ancient Greece and loved by Queen Victoria. Jewellery with this attractive yellow/ orange gemstone make lovely, affordable gifts for celebrating your life together.
14th Anniversary Gift: Opal
The Romans believed that opal symbolised love, hope, and passion. Opal is loved for its enchanting kaleidoscopic effect, displaying different colours that change with movement. It represents the evolving nature of your relationship over fourteen years of marriage.
15th Anniversary Gift: Ruby
Congratulations on reaching another important marriage milestone. Clearly, your lives together are bringing you enduring joy, love and respect. Ruby represents the love, passion, and vitality that keeps your love thriving through fifteen years of wedded bliss.
16th Anniversary Gift: Peridot
Ancient cultures have long prized Peridot, which forms inside volcanic lava deep in the earth’s crust. Peridot symbolises strength and balance and is believed to bring peace, health, and harmony—all valuable traits to appreciate in sixteen years of marriage.
17th Anniversary Gift: Carnelian
Carnelian has been prized throughout history. It is a stone of courage, endurance, energy, leadership and motivation. It represents the commitment and belief in each other that has sustained you through seventeen years of marriage.
19th Anniversary Gift- Aquamarine
Aquamarine, the Latin for seawater, is the name given to this light greenish-blue gem from the beryl family. Legend has it that it brings happiness to marriage and calms stormy waters – so it’s an appropriate gift for an eighteenth wedding anniversary.
20th Anniversary – Emerald
Congratulations on this fantastic personal milestone. Emerald embodies growth, renewal, and unconditional love, making it a perfect gift for couples celebrating two decades of married life!
22nd Anniversary – Spinel
Natural Spinel is believed to encourage great passion, devotion, and longevity, making it an excellent gem for celebrating a twenty-second wedding anniversary. It is a rare gem that has surged in popularity in recent years. Take care to source natural spinel, as many inexpensive synthetic (artificial) spinels exist in the marketplace.
24th Anniversary – Tanzanite
Like Tanzanite, your spouse is one in a million. This rare royal blue gem is only found in a 20-square-mile area known as the Merelani Hills in Northern Tanzania, near Arusha and Mount Kilimanjaro. Tanzanite jewellery makes beautiful gifts to celebrate twenty-four years of marriage.
25th Anniversary – Silver Jubilee
Silver jewellery may be a more appealing gift option than silverware, especially if regularly polishing silverware fills you with dread! This white, lustrous metal is the most popular choice for jewellery because of its affordability and versatility. Quality silver jewellery can last and be handed down to future generations when cared for properly. View our unique silver jewellery collections if you want a special twenty-fifth-anniversary gift.
30th Anniversary Gift: Pearl Jubilee
We see pearls again for the 30th wedding anniversary. The beauty of a pearl takes time to form, endurance and strength to grow. Pearls are a reminder of the actual value in the shared experience of three decades together.
35th Anniversary – Emerald
Congratulations on this amazing personal milestone. From pharaohs to Inca kings, emeralds have enchanted royalty. Cleopatra, for example, reputedly had a passion for these gems. Called the “Stone of Successful Love,” emerald embodies unity, compassion, and unconditional love, making it the perfect gift for couples celebrating their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary.
40th Anniversary Gift: Ruby
The Sanskrit word for ruby is Ratnaraj or “king of precious stones,” so it’s a meaningful 40th wedding anniversary gift for the queen (or King!) of your heart. Ruby is one of the most prized and pricy gemstones due to its hardness, brilliance, and rarity. It is a perfect gem to represent forty years of cherished memories.
45th Anniversary Gift: Sapphire
Sapphire symbolises the deep understanding, loyalty, and love that have been cultivated for four and a half decades. Ancient Greek and Roman royalty believed the gem protected them from harm. In the Middle Ages, the clergy thought blue sapphire symbolized heaven, and the faithful thought it attracted blessings.
50th Anniversary Gift: Golden Jubilee
Gold symbolised the sun and the power of life to our ancestors. It has been used in decorative objects since 4000 B.C. Many of these items still survive today. The endurance and beauty of gold represent the precious relationship nurtured through half a century together. Faller has 18ct gold jewellery to suit everyone, with or without diamonds or gems.
60th Anniversary Gift: Diamond Jubilee
Diamonds are formed under immense heat and pressure deep within the earth. Each stone is rare and unique, taking billions of years to form. As an unchanging symbol of love and commitment, diamonds make the perfect gift to celebrate a lifetime of unwavering dedication and love.
70th Anniversary Gift: Platinum Jubilee
Platinum is a noble metal. It is denser and more resistant to wear and tarnish than gold. Platinum is the best material for safely securing precious gemstones in jewellery. It is also the ideal metal for representing the rare achievement of a seventieth wedding anniversary.