What is the 7th anniversary gift material?

Copper is the traditional 7th wedding anniversary material. Belle and Southern hand forges recycled copper jewelry in Ball Ground, Georgia, including bangles, hoops, bar earrings and hair sticks. Copper deepens in color as it is worn, which many people consider part of its appeal.

What is the 9th anniversary gift material?

Pottery is the traditional 9th wedding anniversary material. Belle and Southern makes one of a kind pendants cut by hand from vintage plates sourced at auctions, thrift stores and estate sales.

What is the 20th anniversary gift material?

China is the traditional 20th wedding anniversary material. The Timeless Fragments necklaces from Belle and Southern are made from reclaimed vintage china plates, cut down by hand, priced at $39.95. Each is one of a kind because each comes from a single plate.

What is the 25th anniversary gift material?

Silver is the traditional 25th wedding anniversary material. The Swanky Sterling Silver Bangle Set from Belle and Southern is solid .925 sterling, hand forged, at $141.95. Sterling and argentium silver earrings start at $19.95.

What is the difference between the traditional and modern anniversary gift lists?

The traditional list assigns a natural material to each year, such as paper for the first, copper for the seventh and silver for the twenty fifth. A modern list exists and differs in places, often substituting household items or precious stones. Most American gift guides follow the traditional list.

Why does copper jewelry change color?

Copper reacts naturally with air and skin, deepening in tone over time. It is not tarnish damage and it is not a defect. A soft toothbrush with a drop of Dawn dish soap and warm water will brighten it again. Avoid lemon, vinegar and jewelry dip.

Anniversary Gifts by Year

Every anniversary has a material behind it. Paper the first year. Copper the seventh. Silver the twenty fifth. The tradition is older than any of us and it still makes gift buying easier, because it takes an impossible question and narrows it down to one word.

Here is the whole list. Four of these years we can help with.

The traditional list, year by year

1 Paper
2 Cotton
3 Leather
4 Fruit or flowers
5 Wood
6 Iron
7 Copper
8 Bronze
9 Pottery
10 Tin or aluminum
11 Steel
12 Silk
13 Lace
14 Ivory. Most lists now suggest gold jewelry instead, and we think that is the right call.
15 Crystal
20 China
25 Silver
30 Pearl
35 Coral
40 Ruby
45 Sapphire
50 Gold
60 Diamond

You will find a modern list out there too, and it disagrees in places. The one above is the traditional American list, which is the one most gift guides follow.

Year 7. Copper.

Copper is what we make the most of. Hand forged right here in Ball Ground, Georgia, from recycled copper.

Here is the thing nobody tells you about copper. It changes color as it is worn. It deepens, it warms, it picks up the shape of a life. That is not a flaw and it is not damage. Seven years in, a marriage has a patina too.

Bangles, hoops, bar earrings, hair sticks and hand forged French pins.

Shop Nothing but Copper | Shop copper hair accessories

Year 9. Pottery. And year 20. China.

These are the ones we are proudest of.

Tanya finds the plates herself at auctions, thrift stores and estate sales, then cuts them down by hand. Every pendant is one of a kind, because there was only ever one plate. No two will ever match, and we could not make you a second one if you asked.

A twentieth anniversary gift made from actual china. Once it sells it's gone forever.

$39.95. Shop the Timeless Fragments collection

Year 25. Silver.

Twenty five years earns something solid.

The Swanky Sterling Silver Bangle Set is solid .925, hand forged, and the heaviest piece we make. $141.95.

If that is more than you had in mind, we have sterling and argentium earrings starting at $19.95. The Rock Me A Stone range pairs natural gemstones with sterling, and every one is different.

A note on the years we cannot help with

Leather at three, wood at five and pearl at thirty, we have a few pieces. Bronze at eight we do not really do. We would rather point you somewhere good than sell you something that only half fits.

Looking after it

Copper keeps best with a soft toothbrush, a drop of Dawn and warm water. Rinse it and dry it completely. Skip the lemon, the vinegar and the jewelry dip.

Everything else is in the Copper Care guide and the Jewelry Care guide, material by material.

Handcrafted in the USA. Every one an original.