Poesy rings, the first commonly given wedding bands, originated in the Middle Ages. These first matrimonial bands typically feature a "poesy" - a poem, motto, or declaration of love - along the outside of the hoop. The sayings were most often written in French (French being the language of love even way back then) and rendered in Lombardic script. In the late 16th century, the poesy began to appear as a hidden message engraved in English, Latin, French, etc, on the inside of the hoop. These were private, sentimental words not meant to be shared with the rest of the world. For most people, these early wedding bands were made in gilt silver, or perhaps in gold for those a little better off. For the wealthy, a ring set with a precious gem was favored as a wedding band. This spectacular early 17th century poesy ring must have belonged to someone very well to do. The ring is made in high carat yellow gold (tests as at 22k) and is set with a clean, bright approximately .40ct table cut diamond. The poesy engraved in Latin reads: "Erunt Duom Carne Una", which is a quote from the Bible (Mark 10:8) and translates as "They Shall Become One Flesh". Generally speaking, we wouldn't recommend sizing a ring of this age. However, there is a break in the script along one side of the band that could could accommodate a minor size adjustment.