Wedding rings

I have been off surfing around the Internet reading through assorted books that have fallen into the public domain, just general browsing of cookbooks and bookbinding books and books that show where traditions started etcetera and so on, and I came across an entry on wedding rings from the Appleton's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art - July of 1869.

It seems that according to the entry in the journal, in the year 996, a ring was given by a jeweler from Jerusalem to a lapidary of Clusium who was making purchases for the wife of a marquis of Etruria. The jeweler told the lapidary of an onyx (or amethyst - it's vague which it was) ring said to be used by Joseph and Mary as a symbol of their love and commitment to one another. Apparently a miracle revealed to the lapidary the ring's genuineness and the ring was placed in a church, where it was said to have worked many curative wonders.

In 1473 the ring was stolen and ultimately resurfaced in Perusia, where a church was built for it. The ring was said to have performed miracles there, however, it seems that the ring existed in different churches in Europe at the same time. From what I can tell it is unknown which, if any, is the true ring and each ring is seen by the devote honoring it as being the genuine ring.

It could be an interesting tour of vacations some day to go and see all of the various rings that are attributed to being the one believed to have been in the possession of Joseph and Mary.