The traditional and modern gift for every wedding anniversary, from paper to diamond. Enter the wedding date to see which anniversary is next and what it stands for, or type a year.
| Year | Traditional | Modern |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Paper | Clocks |
| 2nd | Cotton | China |
| 3rd | Leather | Crystal or glass |
| 4th | Fruit and flowers (or linen) | Appliances |
| 5th | Wood | Silverware |
| 6th | Sugar (or iron) | Wood |
| 7th | Wool (or copper) | Desk sets |
| 8th | Bronze | Linen or lace |
| 9th | Pottery (or willow) | Leather |
| 10th | Tin (or aluminium) | Diamond jewellery |
| 11th | Steel | Fashion jewellery |
| 12th | Silk (or linen) | Pearls |
| 13th | Lace | Textiles or furs |
| 14th | Ivory | Gold jewellery |
| 15th | Crystal | Watches |
| 20th | China | Platinum |
| 25th | Silver | Silver |
| 30th | Pearl | Diamond |
| 35th | Coral | Jade |
| 40th | Ruby | Ruby |
| 45th | Sapphire | Sapphire |
| 50th | Gold | Gold |
| 55th | Emerald | Emerald |
| 60th | Diamond | Diamond |
| 65th | Blue sapphire | Blue sapphire |
| 70th | Platinum | Platinum |
| 75th | Diamond (or gold) | Diamond |
The traditional list runs from fragile to lasting on purpose: paper for the first year, when everything is new, cotton and leather as the marriage toughens, wood at five, tin and steel at ten and eleven, then silver, ruby and gold for the anniversaries most couples throw a party for. The idea is that a marriage that has lasted fifty years is as durable as gold.
The traditional list is the one people quote (“the paper anniversary”), and its materials make for more inventive gifts. The modern list, American and drawn up by jewellers, leans towards things you can buy in a shop: clocks, china, appliances, watches. For the big round numbers (25, 40, 50, 60) the two lists agree.
Whatever the material, what gets kept is the line that names one real moment from the year. The button under the result opens the card maker on an anniversary card with the year and its material in the message. Set the date and time, and the card stays behind a countdown until the morning of the anniversary. The anniversary cards page has the designs, and the anniversary card messages guide has words for every stage.
The silver (25th) and gold (50th) anniversaries go back centuries in Central Europe. The longer traditional list grew in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and in 1937 the American National Retail Jewelers Association published a list for every year to 25, which became the basis of the “modern” list.
Because there is no official list. The 4th is fruit and flowers on some lists and linen or silk on others; the 6th is sugar on some and iron on others. Pick whichever you like the sound of.
After the 15th, the lists only name every fifth year. For the years between, use the last listed material, the modern list, or nothing at all: a card that names what the year was like is never the wrong gift.
Traditionally ivory. Real ivory is banned in most countries, so the usual stand-ins are something ivory-coloured or the modern gift, gold jewellery.
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