The milestones

For this occasion

Not every year gets a party. In Britain the list runs annually to fifteen and then jumps in fives, so the anniversaries people gather for are the ones carrying a name: silver, pearl, ruby, gold, diamond. Find the material for the year you're marking below, and what's worth doing about it.

The names come from Debrett's: silver at twenty-five, pearl at thirty, ruby at forty, gold at fifty, diamond at sixty and platinum at seventy. One difference matters more than the material. GOV.UK lists the King's anniversary message for the 60th, the 65th, the 70th and every year after the 70th, so the golden wedding at fifty does not get one. The pages below say which is which.