Wedding band material (the ring, not cover songs)

[adx]

I have a titanium with a platinum insert. The titanium was always a brushed finished so you can't even see the scratches in it. I like it because it's nice and light. All platinum is pretty heavy.

 

[DUCCCC]

Platinum for SWMBO, white gold for me.

I manged to somehow tweak mine a bit out of round, but since it was gold the jeweler was able to easily repair is. It polishes up easily. I'm told that if it was Titanium it wouldn't be easily repaired or polished, but that could very well be FUD from the jeweler.

 

[kornkob]

And even if the titanium ring wasn't easily fixed, it's so cheap it hardly matters. If it gets broke, replace it. In fact that could be used as an excuse to renew vows.


+1 on 'it shouldn't be about money'
If a wedding ring was still a way for a new couple to have a little ready cash for 'just in case' then having an expensive band made would make sense. But it isn't that-- its a symbol and there's no reason to spend exorbitantly on rings. Frankly, you're probably better off dropping a few hundred on rings and bumping the other stereotypical '3 months salary' in an IRA or a high yield investment so you can retire that much sooner.

 

[Neomich]

I've got a titanium ring, it's the only piece of jewelery I can wear. It's very light. I don't even have to take it off during martial arts classes either since there's not much of a chance of it getting damaged.

I've actually seen someone almost get their fingers smashed with some concrete. Luckily, they were wearing a titanium/tungsten ring and it saved their fingers. You can still cut the metal off, it just takes longer and someone with some patience to do it. You've also got to make two cuts since you can't bend the metal apart but seriously, how likely are you to be in a position to need it cut off? I'd probably have other problems if I was in that bad of a situation.

 

[Professor Frink]

And even if the titanium ring wasn't easily fixed, it's so cheap it hardly matters. If it gets broke, replace it. In fact that could be used as an excuse to renew vows.


+1 on 'it shouldn't be about money'
If a wedding ring was still a way for a new couple to have a little ready cash for 'just in case' then having an expensive band made would make sense. But it isn't that-- its a symbol and there's no reason to spend exorbitantly on rings. Frankly, you're probably better off dropping a few hundred on rings and bumping the other stereotypical '3 months salary' in an IRA or a high yield investment so you can retire that much sooner.

My buddy has lost his titanium ring a couple time. Last time he lost it, he just ordered 3 on Ebay.

 

[Buford]

Really it all boils down to "what do you like" and "can you afford it". It's just a symbol and doesn't have to be expensive. Some people like gold, platinum, etc. My wife is incredibly pale (it's all that Irish) so white metals like silver look good on her but yellow ones don't. It's not the metal, but what it represents. We went the claddagh route because of the Irish connection (although I'm not Irish myself), and silver because we're incredibly cheap

 

[Baron ken]

...Titanium: cheapest, scuffs easily, cannot buff out scuffs.....

That is a common misconception. I have had a polished titanium ring for 5 years now. Yes, it seems to scuff easily and after several months it may start looking like it's brushed (depending on how much abuse of it), but I just take it in and tell the jewelry shop to buff it up for me. They give me the old "you can't buff titanium" line and I tell them, "yes you can, I have it done all the time." 3 minutes later they come out with my ring all shiny new-looking again.

I used to have it buffed about once every 6 months. It's been almost 2 years since the last time though, definitely time to get it done, though it's still fairly 'polished'.

 

[Beerrific]

Update...
I went with the 6mm 14k white gold comfort fit band. She got the same but smaller. It has scuffed up a little, but that dosen't really bother me. Not completely used to wearing it, but getting there.

 

[mcaustin]

+1 on the Tungsten. Mine's by Artcarved, and (like the others previously mentioned) they replace it with a different size if my finger gets fat. Plus, they replace it if it gets scratched. I can open beer bottles with it, and all that happens is that it gets a very slight scuff, which I can just rub off with my fingers. Plus, it's a cooler color than than most of the other rings I looked at - darker than silver and more distinct.

 

[JVD_X]

Get one that feels comfortable on your fingers... you will be wearing it a long time. Excellent choice on the white gold comfo-fit - that is what I got and I now don't even feel it anymore.


Personally - I think too much emphasis is put on the material and not enough on the workmanship and design. I went with a Hawaiian design since my wife grew up in Hawaii.