Wedding Rings
Time was when a wedding ring was just a hole with a bit of gold around it and going out to buy one was the work of half an hour (or hopefully rather less if you’re a man).
The decision came down to 9ct or 18ct, and finding a suitable width.
These days choices are rather more complex and you’ll find endless variations and enhancements out there which can make the whole process a little fraught.
I’ll try and simplify things here by categorising the options into three groups: Plain bands, integrated bands and enhanced bands.
Plain Bands
If you’re looking for a straight forward plain wedding band then you just need to consider three elements: Section, Width, and metal.
Section
The section of a ring is the shape that you will see if you cut a chunk out of it and look at the cut end.
You can see the normal range of sections that I supply on my Plain Rings page.
In choosing a section, you should consider that it’s going to be on your finger for a long time and so it’s going to need to be comfortable and compatible with your lifestyle.
Width
Traditionally, ladies went for a 3mm band and gents a 6mm but, of course we don’t need to be constrained by tradition do we!
As a rule of thumb, a gent’s ring would look good in a 5mm width up to about a size P, a 6mm width up to about a T and you should maybe consider an 8mm for anything above that.
For ladies, what will fit well with the engagement ring is probably going to be the major consideration.
Metal
For guidance on metals, please visit my Precious Metals page.
You’ll need to decide the colour first, whether you want yellow, white or rose gold or a combination.
Gold comes in a variety of carats each of which has a different purity, colour and cost.
For white metals you have a choice of the various white golds, palladium or platinum and, again, each of these has different characteristics and costs. None of them are white for a start, so it’s about choosing a colour that you’ll be happy with at a price that you can afford.
Don’t dismiss sterling silver rings – a plain band – especially now that Argentium silver is available. I’ve send some grooms away £600 in their pocket to spend on the honeymoon as a result of buying a silver ring rather than the platinum that they came for.
Integrated Bands
I make a number of wedding and engagement ring sets in which the wedding band is an integral part of the design rather than an afterthought tacked on. You’ll find many of these in my Gold Rings section, a good example being the Celeste engagement ring and wedding band set.
Clearly I’d be delighted if you were to buy one of these sets but chances are that you have an engagement ring already and are looking for a ring that will fit in with it.
Over the years I’ve made a variety of bands with cut-outs or curves that will flow around different engagement ring profiles and, if one of these won’t fit, I can certainly make up something that will.
Enhanced Bands
If you don’t want a simple plain wedding band then you can go to town these days – unusual silver jewellery and use of other metals give me plenty of scope. You can monkey around with different combinations of metals or set the band with diamonds or other gem stones.
I make a lot of two tone jewellery and, in fact, my whole silver and gold range is based on this principle, so I like the combination of yellow and white metals.
The possibilities are endless so, if you don’t have a firm idea of what you want, then look around on the internet and find some ideas that you like. I can then, either make you up something similar or find something suitable within the trade that I can then hopefully offer you at an advantageous price.
Commissioning a ring
I’d really like to be able to help you to create a set of wedding rings that will provide you with pleasure for the rest of your lives. Although I am seldom beaten on price, I always say that if you can find what you want at a good price in a local jeweller then just go ahead and buy it. If you want me to make you something a little bit different or a bit more personal then you can either contact me with an idea of your requirements or, if you’re just starting the whole process, you might find my Commissions page useful.
I make a lot of wedding rings these days, and generally we can complete the process with email and post but, if you’d like to meet to discuss your requirements, then I’d be very happy for you to come and see me.
Satisfied Customers
As if to illustrate my point above, I received this email from a wedding ring customer today. I never met them but we arrived at the design that they wanted and completed the whole process within a couple of weeks.
Hi Jez
We received the rings this morning and we really like them! Thank you !
Paul is really pleased with the cross-cut design on his ring, and I love mine. We are very pleased with them.
Thank you for providing such efficient service! It was all very easy and straightforward! We will definitely be recommending you (in fact I have already!)
Many thanks
Amelia & Paul