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Wedding anniversaries are the perfect time to celebrate the years you’ve shared together. Many anniversaries are traditionally linked with a specific gemstone, metal or material, each symbolising the strength and milestones of a marriage as it grows over time.
From blue topaz for a fourth wedding anniversary to modern materials such as stainless steel for the eleventh, anniversary gemstones and metals offer a meaningful way to mark each year together. Discover the wedding anniversary gemstone or material associated with each year below and find jewellery that makes a thoughtful anniversary gift.
The tradition of giving jewellery to mark wedding anniversaries dates back centuries. In medieval Germany, husbands would present their wives with a silver wreath for their 25th wedding anniversary and a gold wreath for their 50th anniversary, symbolising strength, prosperity and the lasting nature of a long marriage.
Over time, the tradition expanded beyond these two milestones. By the early 20th century, jewellers and gift guides began assigning gemstones, precious metals and modern materials to many anniversary years, creating the anniversary gift lists that are widely recognised today.
Each gemstone or material was chosen for its symbolic meaning. Diamonds represent enduring strength, pearls symbolise beauty and wisdom gained over time, while coloured gemstones such as topaz, sapphire and ruby reflect love, passion and loyalty.
Today, wedding anniversary gemstones and jewellery gifts by year remain a popular way to celebrate a relationship and its milestones. Whether you are searching for a meaningful gift for your partner or a special piece to mark your own anniversary, these traditional stones provide inspiration for jewellery that celebrates love, commitment and the years you have shared together.
There doesn’t seem to be one single universally official list of wedding anniversary gemstones, but the list below reflects a widely accepted view of the gemstones and metals (that we offer) by wedding anniversary.
| Year | Stone/metai | Mohs Hardness* |
| 2 | Garnet | 7 – 7.5 |
| 3 & 30 | Pearl | 2 – 4 |
| 4 | Blue topaz | 8 |
| 5 & 45 | Sapphire | 9 |
| 6 | Amethyst | 7 |
| 8 | Tourmaline | 7 – 7.5 |
| 11 | Stainless steel | |
| 11 | Turquoise | 6 – 6.5 |
| 13 | Citrine | 7 |
| 14 & 24 | Opal | 6 – 6.5 |
| 14 | Ruby | 9 |
| 16 | Peridot | 6.5 – 7 |
| 19 | Aquamarine | 7.5 – 8 |
| 20 & 55 | Emerald | 7.5 – 8 |
| 25 | Silver |
This ordinal scale from 1 to 10 characterises the scratch resistance of various minerals. It was created in 1822 by German geologist and mineralogist Friedrich Mohs.
It works by seeing which out of two natural minerals would scratch the other mineral visibly. Talc is at the softest end of the scale (1) and diamond at the hardest (10).
Using this scale is useful when creating pieces of jewellery that need to be more durable or to keep harder gemstones from scratching softer gems and metals used to set the pieces.