Today article is all about rings; we discuss what ring works well on what finger, the symbolic meaning of each finger, as well as the history behind it and rules to wearing multiple rings at the same time.
Women have enjoyed wearing rings throughout decades, for men, it has been a little bit outdated in the last few years but recently, they’ve come back into fashion and so men wear rings again.
Now, it’s not always clear what statement you’re sending when you’re wearing your ring on your thumb or your index finger but as you may have noticed, I’m a big fan of rings and I wear them all the time so it’s a topic dear to my heart. My fascination with men’s rings actually started in 2015 when I was in Berlin, Germany.
German rings are very famous in the world market of rings.
At the flea market, I spotted this malachite sterling silver ring which cost just 10 euros and I liked the look of it and that started it all for me. So what do rings on different fingers mean? First of all, let’s start with the ring finger. Interestingly, before medical science was established, people thought that there was a direct vein from your ring finger to your heart, it was called the vena amoris or the vein of love.
Because of that, it was the natural finger to wear a wedding ring on.
Now that being said, wedding rings on the ring finger haven’t actually been super popular until sometime in the mid 20th century. Western men going to war in the early 20th century often had a ring that made them think about their loved ones at home. As such, wedding rings became more and more popular as it became more affordable for people to buy rings.
Nowadays, a married man going without a ring may elicit suspicion in the right circumstances. I was at a bar the other day, I saw a man sitting there discretely removing his ring and putting it in his jacket pocket when he noticed that there was an attractive one sitting right next to him.
Ironically, he had a tan line on his ring finger so it was still quite obvious and women often look on the hand of a man to determine very quickly if they’re married or not. Wedding rings are traditional in all parts of the world, however, traditionally, wedding bands are more on the simpler side and more elaborate rings are typically not a wedding ring but they could be the engagement ring for women which is not something that is worn by men.
So what hand should you wear your wedding ring on? Well, it depends on the culture. For example, in the former British Empire in the US and in certain countries in Europe, it is worn on your left ring finger.
On the other hand, in more southern and eastern European countries in south and in central America, the wedding band for men is originally worn on the right hand. For example, in Germany where I’m originally from, men would wear their wedding band on the left hand while they were engaged and then they would switch it to the right hand once they got married. While that was a traditional rule and probably in the 1950s, every man would abide by it, today, I think they’ve relaxed a little more and some would wear it on their left hand.
Since I live in the US now, I wear a wedding band on my left hand because that’s the traditional way to wear it. Of course, if you’re not married, you can also wear rings on your ring finger that could be something with a stone, it could be something like a signet ring, even though they’re more traditionally worn on your pinky finger.
This brings us to our next finger. The word pinky is derived from the Dutch word pink which means as much as the little finger.
The earliest recorded use of the term pinky goes back to Scotland in the year 1808. Wearing a pinky ring for men has a long history of symbolism. For example, in Victorian times, men including Prince Albert would wear their wedding band on their pinky ring.
Sometimes, it was also stacked underneath their signet ring which was also worn on their pinky finger. On the other hand, in the US, pinky rings were sometimes associated with criminals and thugs. For example, if you watch the movie “The Godfather”, you can see them wear pinky rings.
Today, pinky rings are worn by all sorts of men in the US and the symbolic meaning is mostly limited to a few things. Professional rings, for example, in engineering is usually worn on the pinky finger.
Of course, the pinky is also the chosen finger for a signet ring and you can see many famous men today still wear them. Prince Charles, for example, wears his pinky ring stacked with his wedding band. Americans adapted to that tradition in homage to the British.
For example, FDR wore it in the same fashion and to learn more about pinky rings please check out this guide and if you want to learn more about Signet rings this video is right for you. Next up is the middle finger, also known as the long or the tall finger.
It’s most well known for the obvious gesture you can make with it and because of that, very few men choose to wear a ring on this finger. If you ever put a ring on your middle finger, you can notice that it gets in the way of things and it feels odd on your hand. A ring located at the centre of the hand is said to symbolize responsibility and balance.
Wearing a ring on your middle finger is a very bold choice that gets you noticed and maybe it can even be a conversation starter. Personally, I don’t like the look of it and I don’t like the feel and because of that, I don’t wear one.
Next up is the index finger, also known as a trigger finger or pointer finger. It’s a most dominant finger, only second to the thumb and because of that, it symbolizes power or authority and leadership, maybe even more so than the middle finger.
If you want your ring to get noticed, wear it on your index finger. For many men, the index finger is the biggest which often means you need a bigger ring so it looks proportional. When my daughter plays with my ring collection, she often puts it on her index finger, of course, it’s way too big and it’s more play than anything else for her.
Personally, I’m not a big fan of the look of a ring on my index finger. It also gets in the way of things. Clever, if you look at older pictures of powerful men, they often wore rings on their index fingers.
Now last but not least is the thumb. It is probably your most used finger and it’s usually associated with softer gestures such as the thumbs up which are less harsh than the index finger where we point at things.
In my experience, the thumb is the key to any kind of a grip position so having a ring really restricts your movement and it’s just awkward.
Probably because of its impracticality, wearing a ring on your thumb symbolizes wealth and influence because you don’t have to do any practical work with it. In my opinion, it’s definitely the boldest choice you can make for a ring and your thumb is quite thick so you need something substantial that still allows you to move your hand. Because of that, it’s most typically chosen in a fashion setting. That being said, there are different ring cultures around the globe.
So wearing a single ring is easy but what about putting multiple rings? Should you wear them together? How many rings should you wear? Should they be next to each other or not? What colours should they have?
These are all questions that are a little more tricky to answer. First of all, how many rings can you wear? The simple answer is that’s up to you. There have been men who’ve worn rings on every finger, sometimes even stacked on the same finger.
Others wear six rings or four.
Personally, I’m a big believer in less is more and so I usually go for one or two rings maximum. Typically, I have my gold wedding band on my left hand and then I combine it with a gold, rose gold, or silver ring on my right hand.
Typically, they are worn on my pinky finger or on the ring finger. Now, someone who wears a lot of rings at the same time is the English author and dandy, Nick Foulkes and I think it works really well with his eccentric style, however, it wouldn’t work for me. Now someone may wonder, isn’t wearing rings effeminate?
In fact, it isn’t! Yes, women wear rings but also men have been wearing rings historically, especially men in power, so if you as a man wear a ring today, it’s not effeminate at all.
It is actually very manly. Just think of the Pope, for example, who has a lot of influence and he always wore rings. Honestly, I suggest you just wear what feels right to you and make sense.
For example, my dad used to work as a surgical assistant at a hospital and so he would always wear latex gloves because of that, wearing rings was inconvenient at work so he wouldn’t wear them during the week. Now if you wear more than one ring, should you mix and match your metals? Personally, I think it looks best if everything is matched. That being said, it never keeps me from wearing the rings I like.
My wedding ring, for example, is gold and I never exchange it, it would be too bothersome for me to get a second wedding band in silver or maybe the third one in rose gold so I always stick with my gold wedding band and then I just choose the ring I like that maybe works with my cufflinks and overall, it creates a harmonious look.
What about wearing two or more rings in the same hand? The most traditional way is probably to stack your wedding band and your pinky ring all on your pinky finger. Now, what if you want to wear rings right next to each other, let’s say on your pinky and your ring finger? Personally, I’m not a big fan because the metal touches and it just feels awkward on my hand. A classic traditional safe way for men to wear rings is to have a single one on their ring finger.
If you want to add two, you can put them on a different hand, either on your pinky or on your ring finger or you can stack them on your pinky.
At the end of the article I say, it’s each to his own but now I’m curious to learn how you wear your rings how many you wear what finger you wear them on and if you mix and match metals and stones or not.
