Once you’ve accepted his proposal, your thoughts will be turning to your wedding day. There’s a lot of planning ahead to make sure that everything runs smoothly. It’s a lot of fun, although it’s hard work and stressful at the same time. Friends and family will help you with some of the decisions that have to be made, but the decision on your wedding ring will be yours and his alone.
Your wedding ring is for life, so you will want it to look good, feel comfortable and be hardwearing. Whether or not you have any firm idea of the type of wedding ring you would like, there are a number of points you need to consider before making a final decision.
The type of metal
Wedding rings endure a pretty tough life. They can be scratched and will always gradually wear away. For this reason metals used in wedding rings is hard and durable. Yellow and white gold is a common metal – it is usually used in the 9 to 22 carat range (i.e. not pure), as pure gold is too soft. Platinum is a white metal that is becoming more common. It is usually around 95% pure and is very tough.Palladium is also gaining popularity as a white metal with similar characteristics to platinum but with a much smaller price tag.
Profile
The traditional profile for wedding rings is the court profile, which is essentially an elliptical shape that is very comfortable to wear, as they have no sharp edges. Most profiles are a variation of the court with perhaps flattened edges, a flat outside surface or with the ellipse tending to a circle, for example. Flat profiles make the ring look more bulky but give a good fit.
Finish
The finish of a wedding ring has a considerable affect on its look. A highly polished finish is very reflective and is probably the most traditional of finishes, particularly for plain court bands. For a more textured finish, you might consider a matt or satin look or else a hammered finish. Sandblasted rings also look great – they look similar to a matt finish but are more reflective. You can, of course, combine different finishes on the same ring. Also, for dramatic effect, you can have a diamond cut pattern on your ring.
Gemstones
A modern trend in wedding rings is to have gemstones set in the band. Many women like to match the stone with that in their engagement ring, though on a smaller scale, so that the rings complement each other when worn together. Often a single stone is used or else small stones might be set around the band.
Matching with his ring
If your other half is going to wear a wedding ring to, you might want to consider buying matching rings. The rings do not have to be identical but can be a matched pair in other ways that your jeweller will be happy to help you with.
Sarah Heeley is currently planning her dream wedding for summer 2014!
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Platinum is the hardest metal; 18K gold is the next hardest. Gemstones should be fully cut and set properly or you risk have one pop out. As far as color, D,E,F,G,H,I are colorless to near colorless diamonds, I’d be more concerned matching color to engagement ring or you may risk appearance of a yellow-ish tint in your diamond if the grade is J or lower. I’d go to a trusted jeweler who stand behind their product like Tiffany & Co. http://www.tiffany.com/Expertise/Diamond/The4Cs.aspx plus, nothing better than that little blue box ;)
Thanks!