TEHRAN – For millennia, metalworking is practiced in the Iranian plateau. And traditional ring making is amongst those. 

There are different opinions regarding the history of wearing rings but what is certain is that the habit of wearing belongs to ancient times. 

It seems that Egyptians were the first nation to make rings, but according to Iranian legends and the book “Norouz Nameh”, the first human who created a ring and wore it was Jamshid, the fourth Shah of the Pishdadian dynasty of Persia, according to Visit Iran, the official travel guide to the country. 

Undoubtedly, change of religion has gradually affected the designs and styles of jewelry making. One example is that before the Islamic era, the rings were decorated with symbolic signs, but during the Islamic era wearing rings gain religious usage, too, because it is an Islamic tradition and there are many hadith that encouraged it. That is why from the Islamic era the designs of the rings changed into religious motifs.

Today various kinds of rings are created with diverse designs. Some of the most important designs are “Shabakeh” or latticed, Fili, Safavid, Shirazi, or Zanjani. Each of them is ornated with many motifs and many different names. 

For example, some kinds of latticed rings are “Do Gol” (two flowers), “Seh Gol” (three flowers), and “Lalehi” (tulip). Fili rings can be found in different lattice and incrustation (a step in making jewelry that is consisted of both gems and metal is inserting the gemstone). 
Safavid rings are created in both simple and lattice designs. A traditional jewelry-making workshop can only make a few numbers of rings per day and that is why most of the rings are unique and limited. 

AFM/