When we think of wedding rings, most of us see them as being made of gold. This is due to the western historical tradition of gold being the metal of choice for wedding rings. There are, and have been, numerous other metals used in wedding rings, such as platinum, silver, and even iron. However, no other metal has had as long and popular a use in wedding rings as the precious metal gold.
For most of us, gold is gold is gold, and any gold will do for our wedding rings. While this is true for the average person in their choice of the precious metal for their wedding rings, it is not the case for some royalty and the celebrated wealthy. For some of these elites, in their wedding rings and some other jewelry, only Welsh gold will do. Yet using Welsh gold for wedding rings may not be an option available much longer for even this group of people.
A recent article in the Times Online from December 29th, 2006 reports that not many more wedding rings will be made with Welsh gold as Welsh gold is running out. The main producer of Welsh gold, Welsh Gold plc, states in the article that they have only one mine remaining open, and that it will be closed in the next six months as the gold deposits in their mine, and all mines throughout Wales, are almost completely depleted. This is the gold that has been one of the primary gold sources of choice for the Royal Family of England in their wedding rings and other jewelry for centuries. In recent years, the royals Princess Diana and Camila Parker Bowles have had their wedding rings made with Welsh gold, as has film celebrity Catherine Zeta-Jones.
The Royal Family may not need to worry about having to have wedding rings made of a different gold for quite a while, however. The director of Rhiannon Welsh Gold Centre in Tregaron, West Wales, Ifan Evans, states in the article that it is his understanding that the Royal Family was given a solid kilogram of pure Welsh gold sometime in the 1980s. Such a quantity of pure gold could supply enough gold for quite a number of wedding rings.
For the rest of us, however, the ability to purchase pure Welsh gold wedding rings may never be an option. Still, even if fresh deposits of Welsh gold are found and economically viable in the future, this may change little for most in regards to their choice of gold for wedding rings. For most people the symbolism of the commitment and love contained in their wedding rings is far more important than the particular geographic location of the mine from which the gold for their wedding rings came from.
Contributing Abazias Staff Writer
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