Metal, I swear, is by now far more a literary device than a phenomenon. I recently was perusing some marvel comics and I love the mythical attributes attributed to adamantium and vibranium. Now possessing a modicum of metallurgical knowledge, I find a lot of advertisements and popular culture sources funny in their perception of the stuff. Man's fascination with metal is rightly justified. For tens of thousands of years, the greatest technological advancements were made in metals, archaeologists dividing eras by which metals were being smelted at the time. In the modern age of plastics and advanced ceramics, metal still plays by far the largest role in terms of what mankind makes, but nowadays it plays a behind-the-scenes type role, cased in plastic. All this has only contributed to metal slipping from an everyday reality to a symbol. This doesn't really bother me, what does is the fact that despite amazing progress in metals, metallic symbolism is still rooted in what is very old news.
No metal is attributed more symbolism than gold. This metal had been arbitrarily been equated with wealth itself for millennia, but gratefully has been replaced by good old fiat money, despite recent and comedic efforts to the contrary. But, more relevant to the current post (from the topic of which I tend to digress [sic]) gold has become a symbol of marriage. And why not? Tons of its attributes make excellent symbols.
Gold is an extremely noble metal, meaning it reacts very little with anything, making it virtually impervious to tarnishing and rusting. Gold is precious, rare, valuable and unchanging. All of these make excellent idealized symbols of love, hinting at eternal fidelity. It shows financial stability(or used to, before the days of buying things on credit) and a willingness to sacrifice. Spending that much money on something with no practical application shows a certain elevation from the mundane. Yet, wherein lies the symbolism of something that lots of money can buy and then requires no maintenance afterward? Gold is indeed noble, but I think for a wedding band a more romantic metal would be appropriate: copper.
Ah, copper. Bright red and highly reactive, this metal embodies passion. Copper conducts heat and electricity better than any other metal, symbolizing complete and total connection. In a world where marriages break apart because of lack of communication, wouldn't the metal that carries the communication of the world be appropriate? Copper is more ductile than almost any metal, it can stretch and bend large amounts without breaking. Unlike gold, copper is pretty cheap money-wise, but expensive in terms of maintenance. It needs to be polished often, a constant reminder that young love is cheap, but requires diligence to maintain the shine. Alternatively, you can let it oxidize to produce the shades of blue, green and black that make it popular in architecture for its timeless feel, a patina unique to each ring, representative that love must change in mature, adapting to circumstances without compromising structural integrity. This green oxidation will stain the skin of the wearer (a friend of mine who wears a copper ring recently told me she actually likes the way it looks). Now, there is some symbolism, a wedding ring you can't take off, a love that marks you.
And don't get me started on titanium.
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