Elena's Wedding Rings & Jewelry Guide

How To Choose The Wedding Ring Of Your Dreams

You've chosen the engagement ring of your dreams as well as the person of your dreams, now you have to choose a ring that compliments these choices. Selecting a wedding ring that matches your style and tells the world..."I'm taken and this rings proves it!" is no easy task. Especially since there are so many different choices for wedding rings today. To add to the challenge is the need to find a ring that looks just as beautiful as your engagement ring.

For the Gals

Once you've received your engagement ring you'll have much time to stare and daydream about a wedding band as equally beautiful as the ring he professed his love for you with. Our experience tells us that brides are very concerned about finding a perfect match and won't settle for anything that will detract or overpower the engagement ring. So it is crucial that a ring is chosen that has similar design elements as your engagement ring and fits nicely against it. Today's engagement ring designs can be quite elaborate which is great but it creates the problem of finding a nicely matched engagement ring. Unfortunately many jewelers don't have matching wedding rings available for their engagement rings although, you should always check with the jeweler your ring came from first to see if they have one available. What we've seen most is the difficulty in finding a ring that looks like it was made for your engagement ring and while not having spaces between the wedding band and the engagement ring. There are 3 approaches to solving these problems when choosing your wedding ring.

First Approach - Choosing a band that looks good with your ring but not alone

If you've received a ring that has multiple diamonds or has an intricate and unique design you may have experienced a problem finding a band. In an effort to get your wedding ring to fit together you may choose a contoured ring, or a wrap. A contoured ring is a band that has been specially designed to gently curve to the contoured profiles of today's most popular engagement ring styles. Unfortunately, a contoured ring will not look good on its own and if you plan on wearing your wedding ring on it's own you may be displeased with the way it looks by itself. If you are most concerned about a perfect fit against your engagement ring and won't wear the wedding band alone then a contoured ring may be best for you.

If you have a solitaire engagement ring and you would like to spruce it up with your wedding ring then a wrap could be great. A wrap is designed to fit nicely around your diamond and over the top of the sides of your ring. Most designs have a series of diamond or gemstone accents set with rounds, princess cuts and baguettes. There are many choices to choose from and most people are successful at choosing a wrap that works will with their ring. There are 2 important things to consider with a wrap; most wraps won't fit perfectly out of the case, and wraps can't be worn by themselves. With slight adjustments to the wrap most of them will fit nicely on your engagement ring. Make sure you choose a jeweler who has a skilled jeweler in house to do the work for you.

Second Approach - Choosing a band that looks great alone but does not have an exact fit

Some solitaires have an area on the side where the head meets the ring that protrudes out and prevents the wedding ring from resting against the engagement setting. If you choose a traditional straight band because you want to wear it alone you may have problems with the band hitting against the head. This will create spacing and between both ring and you may become annoyed with that. It's a trade off at this point, you'll have to decide what is more important to you and only you can make that decision. You can circumvent that by Choosing A Wedding Ring that has a low profile to it and allow for the wedding ring to rest slightly below the head minimizing spacing. Channel bands are a great choice in this situation because they generally have a low profile to allow for a proper fit. A channel band also looks fantastic when worn alone.

Third Approach - When all else fails make a custom ring

In some situations you'll never find a wedding band that looks good with your engagement ring. When this happens some people elect to have a custom designed wedding ring made. Custom work allows you to have a say in what the wedding ring will look like and ca give you the best of all worlds. Most custom work begins with you describing to a jeweler what it is that you want out of a wedding ring. You then have the opportunity to share the things that you like about your engagement ring and the jeweler can explain to you how he will compliment those features on your ring. Some jewelers will sketch a concept for you then create a prototype to see as a wax model. More advanced jewelers will use a computer aided design tool to create an image for you to see on a computer screen. The wax model will demonstrate the fit and accuracy of the wedding ring with your engagement ring. It can also be altered with great ease and without incurring added costs. You should be very careful when choosing a jeweler to make you a custom ring because as with any craft there are skilled experts and there are hacks. There is nothing worse than investing hard earned money on something that is poorly made or that improperly interprets your desires. A good rule of thumb is to ask to see a portfolio of the jewelers work or ask to speak to the goldsmith personally to get a feeling of his aptitude for custom work.

For the Guys

Men are not used to wearing rings or jewelry for that matter so the thought of wearing a wedding ring scares them. For some men it is uncomfortable and other men are concerned the ring may look girly or not masculine enough. If careful consideration takes place there should be no problem in finding a wedding ring that works with your active lifestyle and fits with your personality. Today there is a wide array of metals choices and styles available and you are sure to find a wedding ring that will satisfy all your needs.

One option you may consider is ordering your ring with a comfort fit. This will provide a soft smooth feel when wearing the ring while making the ring more durable. Creating a slight dome using metal on the inside of the ring where the finger is placed forms a comfort fit. This dome softens the edges of the ring so nothing digs into the finger; it also prevents much of the metal on the inside of the ring from coming in contact with the finger.

Your lifestyle should be taken in account when choosing a metal type for your wedding ring. If you work with your hands and don't plan on taking your ring off then you may choose the harder metals available like titanium or tungsten. Titanium is very lightweight, comfortable to wear and holds up well over time. Tungsten is the hardest metal on the planet and is basically scratch proof. The finish should also be considered when finalizing your decision; most Wedding Ring Styles are available in multiple finishes. Some finishes hold up better than others under harsh conditions. A heavy brush or stone finish will show less wear and most scratches will not be easily seen. On the other hand a satin finish or a sand blasted finish will highlight even the smallest of scratches. Have your jeweler demonstrate the different finishes to you before you make your final decision.

If you don't work with your hands or you don't think you'll damage the ring then you make want to consider some of the more precious metals available. White gold, yellow gold, platinum, and palladium offer a much richer look than the hard metals. You'll also find a much greater selection of wedding ring styles to choose from in the precious metal family because they are more malleable and easier to craft. You'll also have the added benefit of owning a ring that is more valuable because of the precious metal content.

Take care when selecting the finger size to order your wedding ring in. Many people lose their wedding rings in the ocean while on their honeymoon. This occurs because men are not used to wearing rings so they go with a more loose fit because they think it will feel more comfortable. The ring is too big and then it slips off in the surf. The truth is that a ring will bother you less when it fits more snug then when it is too big. When the ring is too big it will constantly be turning on your finger and this will bother you. If the ring is snug you will notice less turning and the snug fit will prevent you from loosing it. To determine the proper finger size use a ring sizer that is the same width as the ring you are ordering. If you use a finger sizer that is 2.5mm wide and your wedding ring is 7mm there will be a difference in the type of fit. This will cause you to pick an incorrect finger size. Remember that a little tighter is always better than a littler looser.

About the Author

Andy Moquin has spent 20 years in the jewelry business buying and selling over $20,000,000 in diamonds, engagement rings and custom designed jewelry. He as traveled to Belgium and Israel to work with international diamond dealers and works as an advisor for
http://www.dbcdiamonds.com
, an international consortium of diamond dealers. His experience in jewelry business has become invaluable to consumers and business owners. He can be contacted at andrew@andrewsjewelers.com or
http://www.andrewsjewelers.com

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Tags: band, gifts-kelly, nonpandora, ring, thumb, wedding

7 Feb 2009
Tags: band, gifts-kelly, nonpandora, ring, thumb, wedding
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