There’s no substitution for your gut instinct when shopping for wedding rings – after all, it’s your finger that it will be on for the rest of your life. But there are a number of factors you should consider when looking at wedding rings, to ensure you’re making the right long-term decision. High amongst those considerations should be comfort, quality and whether or not a particular ring is expressive of your style and taste, and represents your personality in some way or other.
Platinum wedding rings – wide selection essential
Plain gold wedding bands will forever be in style, and often the uncomplicated nature of a simple band represents exactly what the wearer feels about their character and their marriage. But for those wanting a more complex design that reflects specific aspects of their relationship, or even a shared interest or theme, there’s no harm or shame in being a bit more adventurous - the old adage ‘different strokes for different folks’ is particularly relevant when it comes to choosing wedding rings. There are no wrong answers.
Wedding rings – the most popular metals
- Platinum – the premium choice. Not only stylish, but also incredibly strong, which brings with it the symbolism of enduring love and long-lasting commitment. And being so pure, it’s popular amongst the many people who suffer from allergies caused by the lesser metals often mixed with gold. Such purity and strength comes at greater expense, but again the commitment to more expense is also symbolic for many.
- Yellow Gold – the traditional choice, for many it’s seen as representative of traditional values, love and warmth. The type of gold you choose needs to be decided not simply in terms of expense or quality, but also on practical grounds. For example, if you use your hands a lot for work, then a soft, higher carat gold such as 24k might prove to be too soft, as it will scratch and bend more easily than something like 18k or platinum. It’s not all about the value of the material – suitability of material is often equally as important.
- White Gold – an increasingly popular choice, owing to how perfectly it sits alongside both silver and platinum jewellery. Although nothing like as striking as platinum, it can be slightly cheaper, making it a particularly appealing option at the moment as the financial squeeze gets ever tighter. A compromise on platinum.
Platinum wedding ring with gems
As with the practical soft vs hard factors to consider when choosing the quality of gold, gems also need to be decided on partly in terms of suitability to your lifestyle. If you intend to wear the ring every day for life, then a softer gem might not be the right choice.
The Mohs scale of hardness will tell you how well a stone will resist abrasion and impact, but as a rough guide for people who use their hands a lot at work and who intend to wear the ring every day, then sapphires, rubies and diamonds are probably the only sensible options open to you.
Wedding rings are a long-term investment, so for those people governed primarily by financial constraints and who wish to wear the ring all the time, a balance may need to be struck between metal/stone quality and frequency of wearing, as the most sensible solution to ensuring the longevity of their wedding rings.