What Are The Best Wedding Ring Bands?
When it comes to selecting a wedding band, it is important to be prepared for the process to be incredibly personal and potentially emotional. Your wedding band is something you will wear every single day and treasure for years to come, so it is imperative that your chosen ring suits both your personal style and your lifestyle.
Platinum Wedding Bands
One of the most popular options for both engagement and wedding rings, platinum benefits from a white sheen that won’t discolor or fade. Platinum is also a hard-wearing metal with a pleasant weight to it, which ensures each piece radiates quality. Its inherent hardness makes it an ideal choice if you want to have some intricate embellishments or engravings added to your wedding band as these additions will look precise and sharp. Platinum wedding bands are easy to care for, and its gleam can be easily restored by a jeweler if it is lost over time.
Palladium Wedding Bands
Despite being a markedly more affordable option than platinum, palladium shares many of the same properties. In addition to being renowned for its white sheen, palladium will not need to be re-plated. Palladium wedding bands are also easy to care for as they won’t tarnish and can be easily refinished at any point to restore their original luster or matte finish.
White Gold Wedding Bands
When pure gold is alloyed with white metals such as silver and palladium, white gold is created. White gold wedding bands are typically plated with rhodium, which provides a covetable gleaming white finish. Rhodium plating is strong and durable, but it will wear away as time passes. Re-plating is very simple and can be undertaken to restore the original finish of your wedding band at any time. White gold provides a supreme base for glimmering diamonds, which makes it a popular choice for wedding bands.
Yellow Gold Wedding Bands
Widely regarded as the most traditional wedding band option, yellow gold rings are created by combining pure gold with silver and copper. The warmth of yellow gold rings is unparalleled, and its durability and precise color will depend on its purity, which is measured in karats. Did you know that jewelry is required to be at least 10K if it is to be sold as gold in the U.S.?
Rose Gold Wedding Bands
Also sometimes referred to as red gold or pink gold, rose gold is a contemporary and romantic choice for those looking for a traditional wedding band with a distinctly modern twist. Rose gold also looks particularly beautiful in bi-colored rings as it has the unique ability to perfectly offset both yellow gold and white gold.
Sterling Silver Wedding Bands
One of the most popular precious metals, silver rings have a certain simplicity and subtlety about them that makes them ideal wedding bands for those who favor elegance and sophistication. Sterling silver wedding bands are available in a selection of different hues, from a gray all the way through to a brilliant white. They can also be given a lustrous or a matte finish, making silver wedding bands a remarkably versatile option. As with white gold, silver can be plated with rhodium to provide an additional layer of durability. Notably, sterling silver is required to be comprised of at least 92.5% silver and will be stamped with a .925 mark accordingly.
Titanium Wedding Bands
Despite its lightweight properties, there are few metals that are as durable and as strong as titanium. Known for its characterful depth of color, titanium is hypoallergenic and therefore ideal for those who don’t want their sensitivities to jewelry prevent them from wearing a wedding band. Titanium wedding bands can have either a satin or a highly polished finish and can be inlaid with other metals to give a slightly different overall hue.
Stainless Steel Wedding Bands
Increasing numbers of alternative metals are being used to create contemporary wedding bands at affordable prices. Stainless steel is a particularly durable option and can be polished in myriad ways to give a selection of finishes, including shiny chrome and matte pewter. Opting for a simple band with a stainless steel base and precious metal plating, like this Stainless Steel Comfort Fit Unisex Ring is an excellent, affordable wedding band option that will look effortlessly elegant when worn alone or alongside an engagement ring.
Regardless of which metal is most suited to you and your lifestyle, it is important to take care of your wedding band to ensure its longevity. If you want to remove your ring for any reason, be sure to store it in its own pouch to avoid unnecessary scratches.