 The first tension ring, called the „Niessing Spannring®", was created in 1979 by the German company Niessing.However, the general concept of tension settings has been around for over 40 years as it was developed in the late 1960s by a Niessing employee named Friedrich Becker.The original Niessing tension ring was constructed out of 18 karat gold (75% pure gold and 25% other alloying metals) and weighed 35 grams.