Wedding band material (the ring, not cover songs)

So with our wedding about 6 weeks away SWMBO and I are trying to pick out wedding bands. I want a fairly simple 6mm ring. But I am really having a tough time deciding on the material since most designs are available all any metal.

Titanium: cheapest, scuffs easily, cannot buff out scuffs
Tungsten: good price, hardest material available, cannot be resized, cannot be cut off if my finger swells
Gold: more expensive, may need to be re-coated if rhodium coating wears off
Palladium: more expensive than gold, will not need to be re-coated

There is a company that makes tungsten that offer lifetime re-sizes (they replace the ring), but the price pushes it up with the gold.

I am not necessarily looking for the cheapest ring, but I want to make a good decision that won't end up costing me more in the future.

For all you married guys, what did you go with? Anyone else have a similar decision to make? Any ideas?

Beerrific said:

So with our wedding about 6 weeks away SWMBO and I are trying to pick out wedding bands. I want a fairly simple 6mm ring. But I am really having a tough time deciding on the material since most designs are available all any metal.

Titanium: cheapest, scuffs easily, cannot buff out scuffs
Tungsten: good price, hardest material available, cannot be resized, cannot be cut off if my finger swells
Gold: more expensive, may need to be re-coated if rhodium coating wears off
Palladium: more expensive than gold, will not need to be re-coated

There is a company that makes tungsten that offer lifetime re-sizes (they replace the ring), but the price pushes it up with the gold.

I am not necessarily looking for the cheapest ring, but I want to make a good decision that won't end up costing me more in the future.

For all you married guys, what did you go with? Anyone else have a similar decision to make? Any ideas?

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Gold. I used to get it re-polished every year but, now my fiongers are too fat and I stopped wearing it a couple year ago. Never been much for jewelry anyways and the wife could care less.

I was once told- silver is for suckers, gold is for gangsters, but platinum is for purveyors.
the choice is really hers isn't it.

SWMBO and I went with Platinum after her White Gold engangement ring snapped when she went hit it on the edge of a counter. Shop we purchased from took one look at the ring and said we had free rein to pick a replacement, no added charges.

I have a 6mm white gold comfort fit band and I am very happy with it. The comfort fit makes it quite a bit thicker but it is very comfortable. I wear it when I am working on the car or house and it has never bent or deformed on my. I do take a burnishing tool to it every couple of years and it looks brand new again.

We went with plain yellow gold.........her engagement ring was a heart-shaped mount and a heart-shaped stone. I guess I'm a sucker for romantic stuff.

(To celebrate our 25th coming up in July, I arranged for a evening plane flight over the shoreline of Lake Michigan......swapping homebrew for the ride!)

Simple 6 mm 14k gold band. Been wearing it since August 1985. It's the only piece of jewelry that I own. Get the date engraved on the inside. It comes in handy.

EdWort said:

Simple 6 mm 14k gold band. Been wearing it since August 1985. It's the only piece of jewelry that I own. Get the date engraved on the inside. It comes in handy.

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This is what I am really leaning towards. Can get a decent price and won't have to wait for a special order.

And 8-8-08 shouldn't be too hard to remeber, right?

I went with tungsten. The lady I purchased it from said it was a newer type of tungsten that could indeed be cut off if something happens, but I usually take it off before playing any sports just to be on the safe side. I don't have any complaints at all about it; and would definitely pick it again because the price was right.

I picked it up from jared; its made by benchmark:



But, I've always been partial to the tire ring.....

Wow, you seem to have done a lot of research. I was unaware of some of those options and did not know that gold was sometime plated with Rhodium. I honestly don't know if mine is or not. I can tell you that mine still looks great and has not been babied at all.
I have a tapered 6mm band that is yellow gold on the edges and a whiter gold in the middle. The scuffs it has accumulated over 12 years have just given it character. It could be buffed to newness fairly easily i believe.
I thought titanium was more expensive than gold. Not that I am keeping up with commodities lately. Would platinum be a possibility?
When I looked on Wikipedia to see what you were talking about with the Palladium, I noticed that it reacts with strong acids. Don't forget that StarSan is strong acid.

I am all about the yellow gold. I got a band with some braiding on it that will look cool when it is all worn down and what not. If you are set on silver I would go with the coated gold. The "newer" metals just don't look like a wedding band to me. This is all personal opinion though. A wedding band is a very important and personal thing, it should say something about your character. After all, you will be wearing it for the rest of your life.

Congratulations! Have fun and try not to stress out, you are almost there!

:EDIT: Germey, the "white" gold in the center of your ring is Rhodium plated gold. That's what makes it look white.

nealf said:

I went with tungsten. The lady I purchased it from said it was a newer type of tungsten that could indeed be cut off if something happens, but I usually take it off before playing any sports just to be on the safe side. I don't have any complaints at all about it; and would definitely pick it again because the price was right.

I picked it up from jared; its made by benchmark:

But, I've always been partial to the tire ring.....

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We went to Jared today and lady said it could not be cut off, weird. That was the one I was looking at and Benchmark will replace it if you need a new size.

I actually have a friend who broke his tungsten ring. They are the hardest metal out there and can not be cut, but they can be shattered by hitting them with a hammer... Just something to think about.

I went with a simple white gold ring as well. Fits well and haven't had any issues with color changing. I know some white starts shading yellow after awhile but mine hasn't.

Oh... the other thing I wanted to mention, is that the jewelery trade is one place in the US where bargaining is still fair game. Most of the larger stores won't play the game, and just say they already give you the best price (they don't by a long, long, long shot). Shop around then find two rings at two different stores that would make you very happy. Get a feel for what you could offer as a starting point, and bargain your way to a final deal. You WILL save a ton of cash if you do this, and it is fun. Go to the store with the ring you maybe don't like quite as much first, then say you will think about the final price. Go directly to the other store and bargain for the best price you can get there. Then weigh your two options and purchase the ring that works best.

IMHO I would rather give my business to a local goldsmith than a massive company. I should note my bias, after ring shopping for my wife's engagement ring, and seeing the scandalously high prices of Kessler's etc. I have a sizable disdain for them, especialy Kessler's.

Good luck with the ring!!!!

We went with platinum. It's the classiest IMHO.

I just replaced my yellow gold with Tungsten. I really like it. On a side note - checkout - http://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Watches/Mens-Tungsten-Carbide-Fancy-Band-7-mm/2105033/product.html?

I know it's OS but the prices really are great - I went to the jewelry store and tried them on and then ordered from OS - saved over $100.

BTW - Congrats on the marriage!

I have titanium. I love that it looks kinda grey and industrial. Wife's got platinum (they don't match).

Mine's platinum. I'm too tough on jewelry to have something so nice, and it's scratched up pretty badly. If I had it to do over again (or if we ever decide on a replacement), I'd go with tungsten.

I have a simple gold one. dunno the size, BUT...I wrecked it a couple weeks ago shoveling mulch...for the neighbor

cut my finger pretty good and havent had it on since. Not cuz i dont wanna wear it, but rather I forgot where it is and havent had a chance to get it looked at/ fixed.

i think that I spent about 75-100.00. never did anything to it (resize, recoated etc.) until now

im in similar boat, interested in tungsten but concerned with the hard to cut off story.


i also really liked a hammered copper ring i saw on ebay, but i think it only costed $17 so not really suitable for a wedding ring but....

amishland said:

im in similar boat, interested in tungsten but concerned with the hard to cut off story.


i also really liked a hammered copper ring i saw on ebay, but i think it only costed $17 so not really suitable for a wedding ring but....

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Nice try, but can't you see he's from Georgia?

I'd recommend Skoal! :rockin:




j/k

In all truthfulness you guys are starting a partnership. Tell her she can pick out the style, but you'll decide on the price.

does price really matter that much for a wedding band?


I wear a titanium mostly cause i think yellow gold is kinda gaudy and not gonna pay for platinum but it is cool.

alsoo check out bidz.com for jewelry i paid like $20 for mine there(ya i'm a cheap a$$ so what? i'm the one wearing the ring aint I).

my wife's and my rings dont match....i went with titanium cause i thought it was neat not to mention cheap compared to gold.....she went with white gold and some channel set diamonds......actually i only wore it for a few weeks, decided wearing a ring could be a liability if god forbid my hand ever got sucked into the printing press rollers and i never remembered to put it back on after work so i put it up and quit wearing it cause the wife doesnt really care if i wear it so long as i keep track of it....

I went with 6mm yellow gold, comfort fit because it matches my wife's and we are pretty traditional. I like the simple style, but unfortunately my watch has no gold in it and it clashes with my ring. This could be remedied with a new watch band, I just haven't done it yet.

As to cost, my ring was only $200, a drop in the bucket by comparison to the engagement ring.

I have a simple white gold (5mm I think?) band ... it used to bother me that it got scuffed up, now it doesn't bother me. +1 on Ed's suggestion to get the date engraved.

And btw, congrats! Let us know how long it takes until it no longer feels weird to have something on your finger (I think it took me a month)

JustDave said:

And btw, congrats! Let us know how long it takes until it no longer feels weird to have something on your finger (I think it took me a month)

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about three wks before i stopped playing with it but it still feels weird (4mo)

eriktlupus said:

about three wks before i stopped playing with it but it still feels weird (4mo)

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This quote is just begging to be put in someone's sig.


We also got ours engraved with the date...we were told the story of one customer who had her husband's ring engraved with "put it back on."

+1 on the 6mm 14k white gold comfort band. It took me a few weeks to stop playing with it (especially since I didn't where any jewelry before it), but it's stood up to me working at the track, electronics, brewing and everything else.

homebrewer_99 said:

Tell her she can pick out the style, but you'll decide on the price.

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I wish. She wouldn't let me get off that easy.

Got SWMBO platinum, but white gold for this guy. Looks the same (to me), makes a clanking sound when I grab the shower door handle...I like to call it my "reminder". If the type of metal is important to you or you really see a difference in the types of metal then get what you like. I didn't care one way or the other and went white gold.

I have the yellow gold comfort fit band, as well. It gets scratched and scuffed, but it still looks fine. I had to get it resized a couple years ago, and they polished it. Within a couple months, it looked just like it had after ten years of wear. In other words, it looked fine.

Titanium does look nice, but it feels like plastic. I do not like that. Then again, it's not my ring.

And, do like Ed said. Get the date engraved. I don't think I will ever spend all the points I've earned for knowing the date when SWMBO didn't.


TL

Titanium. Lightweight. cheap, and as bird said, it looks manly with all the scuffs on it.

n.b. It seems fingers swell/shrink with temperature so they may be a big snug in the summer/loose in the winter. Maybe not a big problem in GA but something to consider for sizing.

PEWTER!!!!!

Seriously, the OP's "con" with regards to titanium only applies IF you get it polished. I got mine brushed, so now I just take some super-fine (#0000) steel wool to it every couple months, it looks like new.

And I think I paid all of $80 for it, and it looks super-badass.

I have a simple titanium band and love it. It's so light weight it's ridiculous and yeah it will scratch, but if you go with brushed, the scratches all just blend together and you don't even see them unless you're looking up close and personal. I haven't tried the steel wool on mine yet, but might give that a shot.

Beerrific said:

I wish. She wouldn't let me get off that easy.

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It should never be about the money......if she wants you she'll take a cigar band and be happy...

My friend spent $12k on a custom ring to match the heirloom engagement ring (his great grandmother's I believe) he gave his wife. She said he could pick any ring he wanted for himself, so he grabbed a titanium ring with some cool engraving. She picked it up and said "it feels like plastic, you're not getting it." He's now wearing a 8mm platinum comfort band with yellow gold inlay she picked out that cost like 5x what the titanium would have.
As for me simple white gold. SWMBO has a white gold channel set that matches her engagement ring. She also has a plain silver one that matches mine she wears when she deploys.

+1 to the 6mm Comfort Fit plain 14K gold band. I didn't even look at any rings made out of other metals. It is exactly what I have always thought of as a wedding ring for a man. I didn't want any fancy designs or engraving, although getting the date engraved in the inside does sound like a great idea for the next time around. The Comfort Fit style band is very comfortable to wear. Mine held up great for the 5 years we were married. I wore it all the time including on the job working with hand- and power tools, never had a problem with it. Yeah it picked up some scuffs and scratches, but like Germey said it just adds character. Never had to have mine resized, though I did notice times when it was tighter than other times. The main thing about the sizing is if your lifestyle is such that you maintain the same general weight, you shouldn't have to have it resized at all if it was sized properly in the first place.

Congratulations on the marriage!

C'mon, we're a bunch of homebrewers, and no one has proposed stainless steel yet?

Ours are sterling silver claddagh rings. They were engagement rings first, just worn reversed. They cost about $40 each. If they get damaged or lost it's no big deal to replace them.