Back in your father’s day, the idea of spending a significant amount of time choosing a wedding band barely existed. Unlike the women’s engagement ring and wedding band industry, which has seemingly always been overflowing with a wealth of choices, men’s wedding bands have historically been fairly simple affairs: white gold, yellow gold, or silver. Maybe a simple pattern. And for the especially flashy, perhaps a small diamond or two.
But times have most certainly changed. While men still might not have as many wedding band choices as women, the possibilities today are more plentiful than they were even 20 years ago. There are both precious metals and alternative metals to choose from, not to mention the various designs and levels of quality that each metal offers.
How Long Will It Take Me to Choose a Ring?
But trust us: There’s really no need to become too overwhelmed. You won’t need more than a brief bit of online research to understand the basics of what’s available in men’s wedding bands. Once you have that covered, you’ll want to spend some time looking into what each type of band offers, and which one will work best given your lifestyle and your overall image. And that’s about all there is to it.
You can start your wedding band buying journey by reading through the following tips and suggestions. If you have any questions or feel that you need further guidance, come pay the highly experienced and friendly team at Doylestown Gold Exchange and Jewelers a visit. Click here for details about contacting us, or requesting an in-person appointment.
Precious Metals vs. Alternative Metals
Gold, platinum and palladium are your main choices where wedding bands made from precious metals are concerned. Most everything else falls under the catch-all term of ‘alternative metals,’ which we’ll look at next.
Precious metals, as the name implies, are generally a bit more expensive, and the styles in which they’re offered tend to be simpler and more conservative than those available in alternative metals such as titanium, cobalt chrome, or tungsten carbide.
Why might you want to consider choosing a band made of a precious metal? There are a few different reasons.
Do You Have a Sentimental Feeling?
Let’s say you’re the sentimental type. A precious metal band might be more your flavor, because it’ll last your entire life. Alternative metal bands, meanwhile, scratch and break a bit easier than those made of a precious metal. Because of that, an alternative metal band will be replaced by a jeweler—not repaired, as in the case of a precious metal band—if something happens to it. Understandably, many men aren’t thrilled with the idea of potentially having to replace their wedding band.
What’s Your Line?
When you’re looking at rings, you may need to consider the line of work you’re in. A lot of blue collar guys who work with their hands choose to go with alternative metal bands because they can be so lightweight. Cobalt chrome, for instance, is particularly light. Tungsten carbine, meanwhile, is the least flexible and most scratch-resistant of the popular alternative metals, which is why it’s popular with mechanics, carpenters, and other guys whose hands take a beating on a daily basis.
Do You Want Bling, or a Regular Ol’ Ring?
If you’ve ever seen an unusual wedding band, it was almost certainly made of an alternative metal. In fact, do a Google Image Search for “men’s alternative metal wedding bands,” and you’ll know right away if the styles you see are, well … your style. Essentially, if you can dream up the design, it probably already exists as alternative metal band. So if you’d prefer something classic, simple and understated—a ring like the sort your father and grandfather probably wear—you’ll likely want to stick with a precious metal band.
Picking a Men’s Wedding Band to Match Your Bride’s Ring
Choosing a wedding band that best fits your personal style and your lifestyle is all well and good. But given that a wedding is meant to be the union of two people into one lifelong couple, it makes sense that many couples like their rings to have at least some sort of matching element. If this sounds like the sort of thing you and your bride-to-be might enjoy, you may want to consider shopping for rings together. True, that goes against tradition somewhat. But this is jewelry you’re going to have for a very long time. Shouldn’t it be both meaningful and exactly what you want?
If you and your fiancée like the ‘matching rings’ idea, but can’t agree on a style, consider picking just one simple matching element. Some couples choose to have a gem of the same sort embedded in both their rings, while others might decide to have a matching engraving or a subtle pattern element added to both their bands.
Just remember: Take your time, talk it out, and don’t spend a cent until you’re both happy with the decisions you’ve made. In the end, it’ll be worth all the effort.
At Doylestown Gold Exchange, we offer everything from custom diamond engagement rings for women to both classic and modern wedding bands for men. Our staff includes a graduate gemologist, and we’re always more than happy to talk gems, custom diamond engagement rings and wedding bands in Pennsylvania with our customers.
Stop by our store at 812 N. Easton Road, and see for yourself why we’re different from any other jeweler you’ve visited.
