Wedding anniversaries are special occasions that mark the milestones of love and commitment between partners. A beautiful meaningful way to commemorate these moments is through fine jewelry. Each wedding anniversary is associated with a specific gemstone much like birthstones for birth months, and symbolizes the journey and unique characteristics of each year of marriage. Isbell Jewelers created this guide to discover the significance and beauty behind wedding anniversary gemstones along with some jewelry inspiration to help you find the perfect wedding anniversary gift!
First Wedding Anniversary Gemstone – Gold
The first year of marriage is represented by gold, a precious metal symbolizing strength, wealth, and prosperity. A gold medallion or gold cross pendant would be a lovely gift or a set of gold bangle bracelets. Remember gold does not have to be yellow- white gold is an option if yellow gold is not her favorite. A set of gold bangle bracelets pictured below would be a lovely first anniversary gift!
Second Anniversary Gemstone – Garnet
Garnet, a deep red gemstone, symbolizes passion, commitment, and enduring love. It’s believed to bring luck and protection to the couple. Garnet gemstones can be part of a beautiful right-hand ring, earrings, or necklace. To make garnet gemstones shine, choose a setting with garnets surrounded by diamonds- the contrast is stunning!
Third Anniversary Gemstone – Pearl
The third wedding anniversary is traditionally celebrated with pearls, representing purity, wisdom, and beauty. Pearls are timeless gems that signify the growth and maturity of a relationship. You can choose an elegant and traditional strand of white pearls to go around her neck or go with a colored pearl pendant necklace. Maybe pair the necklace with a pair of matching pearl studs?
Fourth Anniversary Gemstone – Blue Topaz
The Blue Topaz gemstone is associated with communication, loyalty, and trust. It reflects the calmness and clarity essential for a strong marriage. Blue-hued gemstones pair well with both warm yellow metals or cool-toned silver metals. A pendant featuring blue topaz is a perfect and memorable gift or consider a vintage ring with a blue topaz!
Fifth Anniversary Gemstone – Sapphire
Sapphire, known for its stunning blue color, symbolizes loyalty, trust, and commitment. It signifies the strength and stability of a five-year marriage. Sapphires come in a wide variety of colors so don’t feel like you have to stay with blue. Choose a sapphire in her favorite color to celebrate the momentous 5th anniversary!
Sixth Anniversary Gemstone – Amethyst
Amethyst, a beautiful purple gemstone, represents peace, tranquility, and spirituality. It symbolizes the deep bond and understanding between partners after six years of marriage. Amethyst gemstones are beautiful in both warm and cool-toned metals. Consider a vintage amethyst ring or pendant necklace as a wedding anniversary gift- the charm and uniqueness of vintage jewelry is a perfect reflection of your spouse!
Seventh Anniversary Gemstone – Yellow Sapphire
Yellow Sapphire embodies optimism, prosperity, and joy. It symbolizes the bright future ahead for the couple. Yellow sapphire gemstones are stunning! Their sparkle and vibrant hue bring a smile to anyone’s face. We love mixing warm-colored gemstones like yellow sapphire with cooler-colored metals like white gold, platinum, or silver. The contrast between the two makes the gemstone pop!
Eighth Anniversary Gemstone – Tourmaline
Tourmaline gemstones come in a wide variety of colors, symbolizing creativity, inspiration, and love’s diversity. It reflects the ever-evolving nature of the relationship. This is a fun wedding anniversary gemstone because it comes in so many wonderful colors! Choose one you think she would just have fun wearing or a color similar to the birthstone of the month you were married! There is also a beautiful “watermelon tourmaline”: that is a bold green on one side and moves to a bright pink on the other side!
Ninth Anniversary Gemstone – Morganite
Morganite is a beautiful pink to orange-pink gemstone. Its beautiful pastel pink hue symbolizes femininity, softness, romance, and love making it a perfect gift for a 9th wedding anniversary. This gemstone is stunning with rose gold or yellow gold and we love it with white gold or platinum also! Below is a custom designed morganite ring in yellow gold.
Tenth Anniversary Gemstone – Diamond
The tenth wedding anniversary is traditionally celebrated with diamonds, symbolizing enduring love, strength, and commitment. Diamonds are a testament to the couple’s unwavering bond of over a decade of commitment! Diamonds are always a welcomed gift no matter how they are styled- consider an orange brown diamond (shown below) or a yellow canary diamond for an extra wow factor!
Eleventh Anniversary Gemstone – Turquoise
Turquoise is a gemstone associated with protection, healing, and good fortune. It symbolizes the renewal of vows and the strength of the marital bond. Because of its opaque nature, turquoise has a strong contrast when paired with other gemstones. Some turquoise gemstones may be polished smooth for a cabochon cut and others are left more organically cut to highlight the dark veining sometimes present in the gemstone. The ring pictured below is a 14 K Vintage Turquoise ring.
Twelfth Anniversary Gemstone – Alexandrite
Alexandrite is a beautiful gemstone symbolizing good luck, good fortune, and balance. “Emerald by day; ruby by night” is the phrase coined for this gem because it has amazing color-changing properties under different lights. This unique gem is a wonderful gift for the 12th wedding anniversary. It is a versatile stone that pairs well with both warm and cool metals.
Thirteenth Anniversary Gemstone – Citrine
Citrine, with its warm golden hues, represents positivity, success, and abundance. It symbolizes the prosperity and growth experienced in thirteen years of marriage. Choose a beautiful citrine ring or pendant or a pair of earrings for your love. When citrine is surrounded by diamonds its beautiful warm hue is enhanced and sparkles even more!
Fourteenth Anniversary Gemstone – Opal
Opal is a gemstone associated with passion, creativity, and inspiration. It signifies the uniqueness and depth of the relationship after fourteen years of marriage. Opals are usually oval or pear-shaped cabochon cuts to show off their beautiful iridescent sheen. They pair nicely with both metals but warmer-toned metals add to their warm glow.
Fifteenth Anniversary Gemstone – Ruby
Ruby, with its deep red color, symbolizes passion, love, and romance and appropriately so for a couple who has been together 15 years! It signifies the fiery and enduring love shared between the two of you! Any kind of ruby jewelry will make her heart sing!
Sixteenth Anniversary Gemstone – Peridot
Peridot, a vibrant green gemstone, represents renewal, growth, and vitality. It symbolizes the rejuvenation of the relationship and the journey ahead. The green hues of the peridot gem pair well with both warm and cool-toned metals.
Seventeenth Anniversary Gemstone – Amethyst
Amethyst represents peace, wisdom, and spiritual growth. It symbolizes the deep understanding and connection between partners after seventeen years of marriage. Also the 6th wedding anniversary gemstone, consider a pendant or pair of amethyst earrings for your gift or better yet- a set that includes both! Pictured below is a beautiful vintage amethyst bracelet!
Eighteenth Anniversary Gemstone – Cat’s Eye
Cat’s eye gemstone is associated with intuition, protection, and good fortune. It symbolizes the guidance and support that partners provide each other. With many colors ranging from a gold honey tone to grays to mint greens, this unusual stone is named for its chatoyance, a phenomenon of light moving through the stone creating a vertical line much like a cat’s eye.
Nineteenth Anniversary Gemstone – Aquamarine
Aquamarine symbolizes tranquility, clarity, and inner peace. Its beautiful blue color signifies the calmness and understanding that define the relationship after nineteen years of marriage. Cool-colored metals like silver and platinum enhance the natural sparkle of aquamarine jewelry but it also sparkles brightly with rose gold shown in the ring below. Aquamarine gemstones also look gorgeous paired with freshwater pearls!
Twentieth Anniversary Gemstone – Emerald
Emerald, with its lush green color, symbolizes love, loyalty, and devotion. It signifies the deep connection and cherished memories built over twenty years of marriage! What a regal gem to gift on such a special occasion! Emeralds are beautiful in any shape or form so have fun choosing the jewelry and know she will love it! Pictured below is a 7 carat emerald and diamond ring we custom designed for a special gift!
Twenty-First Anniversary Gemstone – Iolite
Iolite, also known as the “Viking’s Compass” (because Vikings used thin pieces of it to help them navigate on sunny days) and “Water Sapphire” (because of its similarity to blue sapphire), symbolizes direction, vision, and inner strength. It signifies the couple’s ability to navigate life’s challenges together and stay true to their path. This stone color ranges from a deep ink blue to a lighter washed-out blue. The color is greatly influenced by the cut of the gemstone. The beautiful blue hues pair well with both warm and cool-toned metals.
Twenty-Second Anniversary Gemstone – Spinel
Spinel is a gemstone known for its brilliance and durability. It symbolizes the enduring sparkle of love and the strength of the marital bond after twenty-two years of marriage. Spinel can be easily mistaken for rubies and because of this were often incorporated into royal jewelry. Besides a beautiful red, spinel is found in a variety of colors such as lavender, violet, blue, green, brown, or black. With such a variety, choosing what she would love should be easy!
Twenty-Third Anniversary Gemstone – Imperial Topaz
Imperial topaz represents luxury, passion, and creativity. It symbolizes the opulence and richness of the relationship after twenty-three years of marriage. This stone is a yellow-orange or pink hue and is mined in Brazil. This beautiful gemstone pairs beautifully with warm or cool tone metals and looks especially striking in rose gold metal. Choose a beautiful imperial topaz ring or pendant to celebrate 23 years!
Twenty-Fourth Anniversary Gemstone – Tanzanite
Tanzanite, with its striking blue-violet hues, symbolizes transformation, spiritual growth, and deepening affection. It reflects the couple’s evolving love and shared journey over twenty-four years of marriage. It is only found in one place on earth- near Mt Kilimanjaro. The deep violet-blue gemstone will show 3 different colors when viewed from different angles. It is gorgeous paired with both cool-toned and warmer-toned metals.
Twenty-Fifth Anniversary – Silver Jubilee
Silver, a precious metal known for its brilliance and purity, symbolizes the twenty-five years of love, laughter, and memories shared by the couple. A jubilee means that it is a milestone event and a silver jubilee means you give silver jewelry in celebration. This tradition dates back to medieval times in Germany where a silver wreath was gifted to wives on their 25th wedding anniversary. Your anniversary gift could include a beautiful silver set of earrings, pendant necklace, and ring or you could choose a favorite gemstone set in silver.
Thirtieth Anniversary Gemstone – Pearl Jubilee
Pearl, with its timeless beauty and elegance, symbolizes thirty years of love, loyalty, and cherished memories shared by the couple. You could choose a pearl pendant necklace with diamonds to celebrate this anniversary, a beautiful pair of pearl earrings, or to really wow her, a set of both!
Thirty-Fifth Anniversary Gemstone – Emerald
Emerald, known as the gem of Venus, symbolizes love, loyalty, and devotion. It represents the thirty-five years of cherished memories and enduring commitment shared by the couple. A beautiful emerald gemstone ring or a pendant necklace would be the perfect gift for celebrating 35 years together!
Fortieth Anniversary Gemstone – Ruby
Ruby, with its fiery red color, symbolizes passion, love, and romance. Ruby gemstone jewelry signifies the forty years of cherished memories and enduring commitment shared by the couple. A beautiful ruby ring, a vintage ruby pendant, or a matching set of ruby earrings and necklace would be great gifts for this momentous anniversary!
Forty-Fifth Anniversary Gemstone – Sapphire
Sapphire, with its deep blue color, symbolizes loyalty, trust, and fidelity. It represents the forty-five years of shared experiences and unwavering commitment between the couple. Choose a delicate sapphire pendant necklace. Sapphires are traditionally in blue but come in many other colors. Pick a sapphire in her favorite color!
Fiftieth Anniversary – Golden Jubilee
Gold, a precious metal symbolizing strength, wealth, and prosperity, represents fifty years of enduring love, commitment, and cherished memories shared by the couple. Shower her with gold for the beautiful life you have lived together for half a century! Yellow gold is a traditional option but white gold is appropriate also!
Isbell Jewelers is Your Source for Wedding Anniversary Gemstones
Each wedding anniversary holds its own significance, marking another year of love, commitment, and shared experiences between partners. The tradition of celebrating with gemstones adds depth and meaning to these milestones. Isbell Jewelers has been serving the Birmingham area for over 40 years and would love to help you celebrate that special wedding anniversary. Stop by our showroom and speak to a knowledgeable jeweler. We can help you choose the perfect jewelry for your love!