A golden wedding anniversary marks 50 years of marriage. The name links the day directly to gold, which since ancient times has stood for something lasting and durable, and which has therefore become the symbol of half a century of togetherness. When two people have been married for 50 years, it is a golden wedding anniversary - no more, no less.

The number itself is easy to remember, but around the golden wedding anniversary there is a whole series of other milestones with their own names, and they often get mixed up. Below we go through what a golden wedding anniversary is exactly, how the Danish wedding anniversaries fit together, and why gold has come to be associated with the 50-year mark in particular.

50 years of marriage and the name of the day

The golden wedding anniversary is celebrated on the 50th anniversary of the wedding. It is the same date the couple were originally married, just half a century later. In Denmark, the golden wedding anniversary is one of the most widely marked wedding anniversaries of all, and the tradition of celebrating it is still very much alive.

It is worth keeping things straight when talking about gold in this context. A golden wedding anniversary is about the number of years - 50 - and not about gold necessarily being given as a gift. Even so, the connection between the day and the metal is so strong that many people choose precisely a piece of gold jewellery to mark it.

How the Danish wedding anniversaries fit together

The golden wedding anniversary does not stand alone. It is part of a longer tradition in which the larger round years have each been given their own name, often linked to a material or a gemstone. The series builds up towards the rarest anniversaries, where gold and diamond are among the most distinguished.

The best known of the major milestones are the silver wedding anniversary after 25 years, the golden wedding anniversary after 50 years and the diamond wedding anniversary after 60 years. Some couples go even further, but the further along the series you get, the more rarely it is celebrated, quite simply because it takes a very long life together to reach that point.

As the table shows, the golden wedding anniversary sits in the middle of the row of the very biggest anniversaries. The 50 years form a transition from silver to the rarer milestones, where both ruby and diamond take their place.

Why gold is linked to the 50 years

The choice of gold for the 50-year mark in particular is connected to the metal's properties. Gold does not tarnish and hardly reacts with its surroundings, and a piece of gold jewellery therefore keeps its appearance for generations. That durability is exactly the quality people have wanted to highlight for half a century of marriage.

At the same time, gold has always had a special status as something valuable and enduring, and that makes it a natural image of a long life together. In Longvé's range, 14K gold and 14K white gold are the core metals, and they recur across rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

Gold jewellery as a gift for the day

Because the golden wedding anniversary is so closely connected to gold, many people choose a piece of jewellery in precisely this metal to mark the day. Here there is a big difference in how discreet or striking a piece should be, and the choice depends both on taste and on what the recipient already wears.

A classic option is a ring with diamonds all the way around the band. A medium eternity ring in 14K gold gives a uniform look, while a large half eternity ring has diamonds halfway around and therefore a slightly lighter look. Longvé carries both lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds, often in the same design, so the same piece can be chosen in both variants.

If you would rather give something for the neck, there are solitaire pendants with a single diamond. A solitaire pendant in 14K gold is sold without a chain, so the chain is chosen separately and can be adjusted for length and look. For the ear there are close-fitting hoops such as a pair of medium huggies in 14K gold, which can be worn daily without taking up much space.

Gold and diamond on the same day

Although the diamond does not truly get its own anniversary until the 60-year mark, it also plays a role at the golden wedding anniversary, where many gold pieces are set precisely with diamonds. In that way, a piece such as a tennis bracelet unites both the gold and the stones in one item.

A tennis bracelet in 14K gold consists of a row of identical brilliant-cut round diamonds in settings all the way around, and it is one of the designs where gold and diamond come across most clearly together. For those who want a single distinct stone, a round solitaire ring with one centre stone in a prong setting can be an alternative. The diamond is the hardest known material and sits at 10 on the Mohs scale, which makes it well suited to a piece meant to be used for many years.

Whether the day is marked with a discreet pendant or a piece with several diamonds, it is the 50 years that lie at the heart of the golden wedding anniversary. The name is a reminder that gold stands for the same thing as the marriage it celebrates: something that lasts.