The British and American tradition for the first wedding anniversary was paper, which could mean a poem, or an origami crane constructed for your loved one. The modern tradition, however, is to give a clock, perhaps as a symbol of eternal love.
The fifth anniversary used to mean wood, probably in some sort of woodworking ornament, but now it means silverware. Nothing says I love you like dishes.
For the tenth anniversary, the British tradition is tin, while the American tradition is tin and aluminum. In modern times, diamonds have taken the role of the tenth wedding anniversary gift.
Fast forward ten more years, and a gift China would be the anniversary gift in British and American traditions. However, Platinum is now the gift of choice for the 20th wedding anniversary.
The quarter-century marker brings silver for the American, British and modern traditions. This is not silver as in silverware, but silver ornaments or jewelry.
The half-century wedding anniversary is another one that has not changed from the American and British traditions, which both gave gold as the gift for that anniversary, most likely in the form of a ring.
The 75th wedding anniversary traditional present is diamond, as is the modern one, which as we saw, had diamonds as the gift of choice for the 10th wedding anniversary.
For the 90th, if by some amazing chance you actually get to that point, then you give both diamonds and emeralds as the anniversary gift. The British and American traditional gifts are granite.
Of course, to get to that point you would need to get married around 20 years of age and leave to near or beyond 110.
Other modern anniversary gifts include appliances (fourth), desk sets (seventh), watches (15th), porcelain (18th), jade (35th) and star sapphire (65th).
Further traditional gifts include sugar (sixth), lace (13th), tungsten (16th), turquoise (17th), coral (35th) and oak (80th).
Certain traditional gifts have obviously changed over time, due to various reasons including societal acceptability. Ivory, once the hallmark of the 14th wedding anniversary, is no longer acceptable in present-society due to the near extinction of elephants because of the ivory trade.
