A traditional puzzle ring is a type of finger ring made up of four, six, eight, or twelve interconnected rings. Contemporary designs include rings of three, five or seven bands. Puzzle rings often appear to be endless knots. Many think this points to Celtic heritage. Reassembly is a form of mechanical puzzle

Mechanical puzzle

A mechanical puzzle is a puzzle presented as a set of mechanically interlinked pieces.- History :The oldest known mechanical puzzle comes from Greece and appeared in the 3rd century BC....

. Many are Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 or English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 from the Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

 period, although they are becoming more common in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

.

They were developed from gimmal ring

Gimmal ring

A gimmal ring, or gimmel ring, is a ring with two or three hoops or links that fit together to form one complete ring. The name gimmal comes from Latin gemellus, twin, via Old French....

s, which derive their name from the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 gemelli, meaning "twins." Gimmal rings were mainly used as wedding ring

Wedding ring

A wedding ring or wedding band is a metal ring indicating the wearer is married. Depending on the local culture, it is worn on the base of the right or the left ring finger. The custom of wearing such a ring has spread widely beyond its origin in Europe...

s, because the wearer could not cheat on his or her spouse without taking it off first and then putting it back together afterward.

They are also sometimes called Turkish Wedding Rings or Harem Rings.

In 'The Puzzle Ring', a children's time travel adventure written by the Australian author Kate Forsyth, the heroine Hannah must search for the four lost loops of a puzzle ring in order to break an ancient fairy curse upon her family. The puzzle ring in the book is forged in the shape of a rose.

External links

• Downloadable Puzzle Ring solutions video
• Largest Puzzle Ring Solution Library
• 4 band puzzle ring instructions
• 6 band puzzle ring instructions
• 7 Band Snake Puzzle Ring Video Solution* Puzzle of the Turkish Puzzle Ring
• "The Gimmal Ring", From William Hone
  William Hone
  William Hone was an English writer, satirist and bookseller. His victorious court battle against government censorship in 1817 marked a turning point in the fight for British press freedom.-Biography:...
  
  's Table-book, part II, p 1
• Joe "Jose" Grant's story