You’ve heard the "4 Cs" of smart diamond
buying - cut, color, clarity, and carats. But what about the wedding
band? Wedding bands are not the most expensive wedding purchase you
will make and you may not spend a lot of time researching your wedding
band purchase. But many people end up wearing their wedding band more
often and on a day to day basis compared to their engagement ring.
Make an informed decision when
purchasing your wedding band.
· Do you prefer a traditional, plain wedding band or a design
wedding band?
· Do you want to budget in for a designer name brand or do
you prefer to forgo the brand name and opt out for essentially
the same ring without the "name", thereby significantly reducing
costs?
· Pricing Your Wedding Band.
Plain Wedding Bands
You may want to consider a plain
band if you prefer a simple design or are not a big "jewelry person".
As a jeweler, I often get women shopping for their husbands wedding
bands who are considering a plain band because their husband "does not
like jewelry". I usually recommend a narrower plain wedding band, such
as a white gold or yellow gold 4mm wide band. Although a wider 6mm,
7mm, or 8mm band is standard for most men, someone who does not wear a
lot of jewelry may feel more comfortable in a narrow band. (Wedding
bands are usually measured in millimeters. A 4mm band is approx. ¼"
wide).
If someone is looking for something
with a little more of a design, but still wants a simpler band, I may
even steer them towards a more subtle design, such as a hammered
wedding band. Hammered bands are still understated, but a little more
exciting than a traditional plain band.
Design Band
There are many types of design wedding
bands to choose from, such as braided wedding bands, hammered design
bands, paisley bands, and other unique designs, such as a Celtic
wedding band.
The type of design band wedding you
choose is a personal choice. There is nothing scientific or practical
in selecting a design wedding band other than primarily deciding what
type of design you simply like.
The only practical considerations that
you may want to make in selecting a wedding band with designs is in
understanding that trends come and go and you will be wearing and
looking at the design hopefully forever. The other consideration is in
deciding whether you will wear your ring on a daily basis and what
kind of wear and tear your ring can safely sustain. This usually
depends on the type of work or career or regular hobbies.
Do you work with your hands a lot? Do
you do construction work or do you have an office job that is not
taxing on your hands? In purchasing a design band, if you are planning
to wear your ring to a job that is physically demanding you may want
to consider a hammered design band or a similarly rugged design that
can withstand wear and tear. You may want to stay away from a braided
wedding band, for example, if you are a police officer and want to
wear your ring on the job! If you are "outdoorsy" and rugged, you may
want a more wedding band with less design that could get damaged.
Keep in mind these are extreme cases.
Most braided wedding bands are tougher than they appear and will be
fine under most conditions. And if not, they can easily be repaired
(we offer a one year warranty and inexpensive repair service after the
warranty period). Out of the thousands of braided wedding bands we
have sold, not even 1% have been returned for repair and often only by
people who are tough on their jewelry.
Design Band or Designer Name Brand
Most wedding bands that are on the
market today are actually not designer name brand rings, yet they are,
in my opinion, the same quality as most designer name brand rings. The
difference with a designer name brand and a generic version is mainly
the price. Most design bands range between $300-$350, for example, at
http://wedding-band-ring.com
vs. $600-$800 for the exact ring made by a known designer name.
However, if paying 2-3 times more is
not a significant difference to you, you may want to consider a name
brand simply for the security or status that the name you purchase may
give you. In shopping for a wedding band, whether it is a designer
name or not, make sure you understand your wedding or jewelry store’s
policies, warranties, and guarantees. Often, the generic brand will
offer you the same security, quality, and warranties. So why spend the
extra?
Yellow Gold, White Gold, or Two-Tone
This too is mostly a personal choice,
but there are a few things to consider in selecting your wedding
bands’ color or metal type.
White gold is often more suitable for
those who are not normally big jewelry wearers. White gold is also
somewhat more contemporary, although trends suggest that yellow gold
may be coming back strong into fashion. Ultimately, whether you choose
yellow or white gold should depend on your personal preference, rather
than following any trend, since trends come and go and you plan to
wear your ring forever!
You may also want to consider two-tone
gold. Two-tone wedding rings are an excellent compromise between
subtle and rich tones and they serve one additional purpose that
people tend to overlook.
Two-tone wedding bands give you the
flexibility of both yellow and white gold colors so that you can match
a variety of other jewelry with your wedding jewelry. If you buy a
white gold wedding band, all of your future jewelry purchases will
tend to be white gold. Wearing yellow gold or two-tone with your white
gold ring may clash. The same can be said of pure yellow gold. But
with a two-tone wedding band, you can wear an all yellow gold bracelet
or watch, for example, and interchange jewelry and colors. This adds
great versatility to your jewelry line-up.
Price Benchmarks
Use the below benchmarks to assess if
your selected jeweler is charging you too much or if their prices are
reasonable.
Expect to spend between $100-$150 for
a plain, traditional wedding band.
Expect to spend approx. $300 for a
standard, but high quality design wedding band.
Expect to spend between $600-$800 for
a designer name brand.
Remember, you may not want to dish out
the additional cost for a designer name brand when you can find
virtually the same ring without the "name". Above all, this should be
a choice that you make yourself or with your spouse. Forget about
trends and think long-term. $300 over 50 years of your life is less
than a penny a day! Don’t get caught up too much in the price. Opt for
the ring that you really want. You plan to wear your ring forever.
