What is the appropriate gemstone to give, on which anniversary? 

We want to remember the best memories!

We don’t want to remember the week we had the flu and stayed in bed.

Or the long-ago upset with our spouse.

Or tough times at work…

Instead, we want to remember the good times. Memories of accomplishments, adventures, smiles, and life milestones.

We want to have celebrations. Any celebration is important! We need to find many reasons to celebrate, to take pictures, and to make it a special day.

Celebrating your wedding anniversaries is meaningful 

There is one celebration that has a deeper meaning… and that is celebrating your anniversary! It’s the unity of two people who decided to create a future together; which is not always an easy thing to do!

I know a couple that celebrated their anniversary once a month with a date night! This is so romantic, and over and above that, it keeps the original purpose of being together close to heart. It wipes away all the little upsets of the previous month. It’s doing a deep clean to the not-so-clean days of the previous weeks.

It is the special higher purpose of this one-of-a-kind commitment that makes an anniversary so important. And therefore, with each year passing, the wedding anniversary is deeper and even more important. It is also for this reason that traditionally, the anniversary gift is a more expensive year by year. Not only because usually, the couple can afford more, but also because it is more appreciated and signifies the accomplishment of your beautiful commitment. Think of how incredible it is to see a couple married 50+ years!

The official list of wedding anniversary gifting!

By the twentieth century, a list was compiled of specific materials to give as gifts for each major milestone anniversaries:

• Fifth - Wood
• Tenth - Tin
• Fifteenth - Crystal
• Twentieth - China
• Twenty-fifth – Silver
• Thirtieth - Pearl
• Fortieth - Ruby
• Fiftieth - Gold
• Sixtieth - Diamond, and
• Seventieth- Platinum

So the idea would be that, for year 5, you would give something made of wood, the tenth of tin, etc… Could be anything, as long as the gift was fully, or heavily included, that material.

But what about the wedding anniversary jewelry? 

This idea did not satisfy me, because from my viewpoint jewelry is the perfect gift. Any item, small or big, expensive or cheaper can represent and be a sentimental gift for years to come. 

I, therefore, decided to search a bit and find the perfect jewelry gift for each year, to find some wise advice.

I then found out that some people had better ideas then the wood, tin, or crystal ideas, and they had the same thinking as I did.

Some industry leaders have taken it a step further by compiling a list of gemstone jewelry for each anniversary year, including:

• The American Gem Society
• The Gemological Institute of America
• The American Gem Trade Association
• Jewelers of America
• The International Colored Gemstone Association 

Jewelry gifts have been the tradition for wedding anniversaries for a very, very long time. It was a natural tradition because jewelry is forever. It is not a pair of socks, or flowers, or a book. Jewelry is lasting, jewelry is precious, and jewelry is valuable.

The gemstones listed are based on the belief that the couple’s growing commitment to each other reflects their investment in the marriage. The list allows for each anniversary to be symbolized via a precious, unique gemstone to last a lifetime.

The gemstone can be given in a tiepin, keyring, jewels, lighter, ring, or any other item of your choice; of your design, no matter the gender. This can remind you every day of that special wedding day and your unique commitment.

Anniversary Gemstone Gifts By Year:

1-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Mother of Pearl.

The Mother of Pearl signifies faith and charity and is associated with protection and wealth.

2-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Garnet.

Garnet attracts love and soulmates. It is the precious stone of commitment and dedication. It also embodies trust and honesty.

Here is this gorgeous stone in a setting, below. Also, you can check our Garnet Collection. 

3-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Moonstone.

Moonstone brings good fortune and passion. It is the gemstone of intuition, inspiration, and inner growth. 

4-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Blue Topaz.

Blue Topaz is the stone of truth, wisdom, and communication - all of which you certainly need in a marriage!

You can check our Blue Topaz Collection.

5-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Rose Quartz.

Rose Quartz is the stone of universal love and a divine way to bring this into your marriage.  It represents harmony, trust, and peace. 

7-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Onyx

Onyx is good for general happiness and prosperity. It is the stone of strength and support, bringing stability and a feeling of ease to a marriage. 

Would you like to check our very special and original lady's Onyx Ring? Click Here.

8-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Tourmaline

Tourmaline enhances tolerance and understanding, and Tourmaline can be found in a wide variety of colors so there is a range of choice here.

We have a pendant with a Red Tourmaline stone and another with a green Tourmaline set in a ring.

9-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Lapis Lazuli

Lapiz Lazuli promotes harmony in relationships, along with self-awareness, self-expression, and creativity.

10-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Crystal

Crystal fosters patience and tranquility. It also brings a balancing quality, enhancing any good feelings, and helping to lower the negative ones.

11 Year Anniversary Gemstone: Turquoise

Turquoise protects from negative energy and brings good fortune. It is a very stabilizing stone and will help to bring calm into your marriage. 

12 Year Anniversary Gemstone: Jade.

Jade is used to draw love, prosperity, protection, and healing. Jade also calms the mind and helps with clarity of thinking. 

13 Year Anniversary Gemstone: Citrine.

Citrine will give joy and love to the owner. It brings motivation and inspiration as well, along with the desire to promote the same in others. Just what a marriage needs! 

Have a look at our Citrine Collection.

14-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Opal.

Opal is the stone for faithful lovers. It is known to stimulate intuition and insight and bring in a more open-minded, cosmic awareness.

15-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Rhodolite.

Rhodalite builds up confidence and love, it is warm, sincere, and energizing. 

16-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Peridot

Peridot is the symbol of undying love and admiration. It brings passion, good cheer, optimism, such wonderful qualities to bring into any relationship! 

You can look at our Peridot Collection.

17-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Carnelian. 

Carnelian gives your energy a boost and helps to keep a sense of humor.

18-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Chrysoprase

Chrysoprase encourages hope and joy. It has metaphysical properties of abundance and prosperity.

19-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Aquamarine.

Aquamarine brings courage, tolerance, and will protect against gossip. 

Check our Aquamarine ring in here. 

20-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Emerald

Emerald is the sacred stone of the goddess Venus and is said to preserve love. It carries the energy of loyalty, unity, and family love. 

Check out our Emerald items within this collection here.

21-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Lolite.

Lolite takes you on the journey of enlightenment, bringing wisdom, truth, and spiritual values. It also helps with money and debt, which is a great bonus! 

22-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Blue Zircon.

Blue Zircon stands for love, luck, happiness, and prosperity. It cleanses any negative energy and is said to be the perfect travel stone. 

Check our ring with Blue Zircon. But within our Zircon collection there are some other blue shades of blue Zircon. Click here.

23-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Yellow Topaz

Yellow Topaz draws love to its wearer. It is a stone of positive change, and the manifestation of confident action and expression. 

24-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Tanzanite.

Tanzanite promotes compassion and links your mind with your heart. It is a gemstone imbued with many deeper aspects of life, like intuition and expression.

As you may know from visiting our website, we have a large selection of Tanzanite in pendants, earrings, and rings. Click to see the full collection. 

25-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Tsavorite.

Tsavorite is a stone of vitality and vigor, prosperity and benevolence. It encourages self-awareness too, which is always a commendable quality in any spouse.

30-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Pearl.

The lustrous pearl is the symbol of purity and elegance. It enhances the moon, the symbol of femininity, motherhood, and family love. 

Explore our Pearl collection.

35-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Emerald.

Emerald brings good fortune and youth. Emerald was presented as a gift on the 20th year anniversary and it comes on the 35th anniversary too. It is because Emerald is a very special gemstone. Also, green, as a color is the color that is most pleasing to the eye.

Therefore, check the Emerald items within this collection.

40-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Ruby.

The Ruby is filled with love and brings friendship and love. It strengthens courage and leadership, imbuing the wearer with deep strength and loving actions. 

Check the Ruby Collection.

45-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Sapphire

Sapphire is the stone of loyalty and fidelity. Click here to our Sapphire Collection.

 50-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Gold.

Gold promotes good health and success. Chances are that you gave your spouse a lot of Gold in the previous years. Nevertheless, another gold item will always be welcome. 

55-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Alexandrite.

Alexandrite stimulates pleasure and love. It makes the intuition stronger, and also opens up creativity and imagination.

60-Year Anniversary Gemstone: Diamond.

Diamond symbolizes everlasting love and strength. After 60 years of being together, the diamond can be a nice symbol but over and above that - the mere fact that the two are alive, together, healthy and happy is remarkable and noteworthy with or without a gift of any kind. This is something that must go into the Guinness Book of World Records ;))

Of course, LOVE is the best gift on any wedding anniversary! 

With this in mind, no matter if you are married, in a new relationship, or even if you are single, I hope this helps you to figure out that next step. Please remember that I always recommend staying within your budget. It makes buying a gift more fun than stretching your budget to the max and beyond. We don't want you to remember it as a painful purchase! 

Congratulations in advance and best wishes for another year of love! 

You are welcome to ask questions below or to just comment.

You can also contact me directly aviva@capediamondexchange.com

If you are in Cape Town, pop into our gorgeous shop, on St Georges Mall, or peruse our extensive window displays. Call for an appointment at  021 4222 350 / 021 424 6125 or out of office hours call or what's app +27613387544. 

You might be interested to get more viewpoints on diamonds in some of our articles on our blog page. Click Here

Hoping you brighten your life with the sparkle of your desired diamond!

 We are always here for you. 

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Credit for the compilation of the gemstone by year goes to www.gemrockautctions.com