Viewed as a symbol of eternity, the wedding ring is believed to date back over 6000 years ago to ancient Egypt, where bands of reeds or braids were exchanged by wedding couples.
Today the trend expands to solid bands of precious metal or eternity rings with small ‘melee’ diamonds embedded into the ring.
While wedding rings are generally less expensive than engagement rings, there can still be a bewildering number of decisions to make, including choosing the metal, colour, width, style and the extent to which personalised options like engraving are added.
In this guide, we’ll talk you though each of the choices to consider before you arrive at your perfect wedding ring.
1. Choosing the Right Metal for your Wedding Ring
The first thing to know when choosing a wedding ring that will be worn next to an engagement ring is that it should be the same metal as the engagement ring.
This is because each metal has its own individual hardness rating, and wearing a softer metal next to a hard one with mean that the soft metal becomes scratched.
In general, white gold is the hardest metal because it is covered with a thin layer of rhodium, which is very scratch-resistant. Platinum can therefor
If you have a yellow gold engagement ring, it’s important to match the purity of the engagement ring ie. if you have an 18k gold engagement ring, choose an 18k gold wedding ring.
Rose gold is a beautiful addition to the wedding ring family with its copper content giving the lustrous pink/red hue. Although not Hypoallergenic and widely available like its white and yellow counterparts it can be more durable and offers an eye catching alternative with a vintage appeal.
2. Choosing the Right Ring Profile
Wedding rings come in a variety of different profiles, which is the shape of the ring if cut through the middle:
Each profile has a different look, style and feels a little different on the finger.
- The traditional ‘full court’ with the curve on both the inside and outside is the most commonly chosen profile in the UK.
- The ‘D court’, or ‘Slight Court’ is a slighter flatter but more contemporary version of the Traditional Court. It still maintains some curves and has become very popular over the last several years.
- The D-Shape is totally flat in the inside and heavily rounded on the outside which looks high on the finger. This is more popular with gents compared to ladies.
- Flat Court is the opposite of D-Shape – flat on the top and rounded on the inside for complete comfort but still giving a contemporary look with the flat surface.
- Flat profile is totally flat on all sides with 90 degree angles, which can give a solid appearance to the ring.
For men, the right profile will depend on your lifestyle, personality and personal taste. If you tend not to wear much jewellery a light to medium weight ring should be fine. However, if you are accustomed to wearing rings, consider medium to heavy.
For Ladies it’s always best to choose the same profile as your engagement ring as you are used to wearing this style; it will feel comfortable and match your engagement ring.
3. Choosing the Right Width for your Wedding Ring
The width and depth of your wedding ring will determine its weight and therefore its cost.
Thinner rings are often worn by women due to the smaller finger sizes, with men being in favour of the wider ring covering more of the finger and offering a more comfortable fit.
The thicker the wedding ring the more hard wearing it will be. Thinner rings are harder to engrave with deep patterns or set with precious stones. The width of a ring is the measurement from one side to the other, however the weight of the ring can also be determined by its depth. Deeper rings will often weigh more as it uses more metal.
If you’re comparing rings across jewellers, it can be a good idea to ask abut the weight of the ring in grammes as two rings which are the same width may be different depths, with the lighter weight ring having less precious metal in it.
4. Engraving Options and Patterns
There are a number of ways that your wedding ring can be personalised to make it eye catching, unique and interesting.
Options such as metal finish e.g polished or brushed can have a dramatic effect along with patterns and personalised engraving to make it truly special or an added surprise, including touches like fingerprint engraving, a matte texture or a machined pattern.
5. Consider Diamonds and Accents
Diamonds can be a perfect way of enhancing your wedding ring to provide that added sparkle and complement your engagement ring.
Popular setting styles include channel set or ‘rubover’ designs, which ensure that the small diamonds are held securely. One thing to know with wedding rings with diamonds set all the way round the ring (“full eternity”) is that that they can’t be resized. It’s therefore important to ensure that you are 100% sure if you are choosing a full eternity ring.
Textured rings have proved hugely popular in anything from a simple satin finish to more adventurous patterned designs. We’ve also found our new sparkle-cut pattern has been embraced by customers who want a little glitter in their ring but can’t wear a diamond-set band for lifestyle reasons. We are finding vintage style patterns, such as milgrain are still going strong, and these can be a beautiful option for people who want a balance of romantic and classic style.”
Textured rings can also add some sparkle to a ring for those who can’t wear a diamond-set band for lifestyle reasons. Other options can be vintage style patterns, such as milgrain to give a balance of romantic and classic style.
6. Bespoke & Designer Wedding Rings
If you want something truly individual, or a ring set that has been designed to fit perfectly together, then working with a designer or specialist in designer engagement ring sets is a great option. A ‘flush fit’ wedding and engagement ring combination means that the wedding ring’s features perfectly fit with the engagement ring’s contours:
When designing wedding rings, I always think about how the complete set will look when worn together. The wedding ring can change the look of your engagement ring, changing the set from vintage to modern or delicate to chunky. The perfect wedding ring in my opinion is the right ‘visual weight’ to compliment and enhance yet not overpower the engagement ring.
This can be important because a wedding ring can change the look of an engagement ring – making it feel more vintage, more modern, more delicate or more chunky. It’s important to consider the ‘visual weight’ or a wedding ring, to ensure that it compliments and enhances, rather than overpowering the engagement ring.
