What to look for when buying a traditional wedding band

By -

First, we are using the word "band" to mean a simple ring which has little or no adornment. Like, for example, our traditional high-polish (shiny!) Gold Domed Wedding Bands, which are also available as genuine Domed Platinum Wedding Bands. A simple rule of thumb: When you buy a plain wedding band, you are paying for the weight of the gold or platinum. So how can you compare wedding bands when you don't know the weight? You can't! That is why we always tell you the weight of the precious metal in our jewelry--many Internet stores don't even tell you how much gold or platinum is in your ring, so it makes it impossible to tell if you are getting a cheap, thin ring. Even if their price is similar to ours, and the rings look similar, there is no guarantee that the ring is the same weight! And, remember that the weight will increase with the size and width of the ring, so you should expect to see a different weight as those factors change.

What about the style of the ring--you have probably heard about domed "half-round" and "comfort-fit"--what does all that mean? You can read more about that in my earlier post called "Wedding Band Basics", but basically the "comfort fit" slides over the knuckle easier because the inside is slightly rounded rather than flat, and this makes the ring a little thicker. Our 14K Gold Domed Comfort Fit Wedding Bands are available in Yellow or White gold, as well as genuine Platinum.

Then, you need to decide on the ring width, which is always specified in millimeters (mm). Most of the time, the groom's ring is wider than the bride's, such as 6mm and 3mm. If you want the rings engraved, it's best to not go any lower in width than 3mm so that the engraver will have room to place a readable inscription! How much is a millimeter? A good comparison is the US Nickel--it is 1.95mm thick. So, three nickles stacked would be pretty close to 6mm. A US Penny is 1.55mm thick, so a stack of two would be about 3mm. This enlarged photo of our #1213 Platinum Wedding Bands shows a 4mm and a 6mm ring, both in finger size 10.

You might see some rings described as "tapered". This means that the ring is not the same width all the way around, so it might be 6mm on the upper portion of the ring, and 3 mm on the lower portion, meaning that it will look funny if it rotates on your finger--this photo shows a tapered band, the left of the picture is the "bottom", or narrow portion of the ring. Tapered works best on rings that have stones mounted on their top, that is, they have a defined "top" and "bottom", but a simple band's elegance is in the fact that it is the same all the way around.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tri-Color and Two-Tone Gold, what are they?

By -
Image
A recent email from one of our visitors asked me to explain what " Tri -Color Gold" means (as in our Flower Hoop Earrings shown here), and it occurred to me that a lot of folks may wonder about that, as well as "Two-Tone Gold". So here is an overview of what these terms mean--but first, an overview of gold colors. Pure 24K gold is of course a beautiful deep gold-yellow color. But, pure gold is too soft to be used in solid form for most kinds of jewelry--for instance, a ring made of pure gold would be too soft to hold up under continued wear on your finger. It would easily get squashed and scratched in everyday use. In addition, with pure gold trading at around $900 to $1,000 per ounce (the highest prices in history), pure gold jewelry is too expensive for most folks. All gold jewelry is therefore mixed with other metals to make it stronger and more economical--mixing metals together is called "alloying". When alloyed, the deep yellow of pure gold can be c
Read more

Hollow/Tubular, v.s. Solid Wedding Rings

By -
Image
Because the price of gold has gone up so much in the last 5 years, we are seeing more gold jewelry that uses techniques to reduce the gold content of the piece, and thereby lower the cost.  One recently resurrected concept is the manufacture of wedding bands which are hollow on the inside.  So, your ring will look exactly like a solid ring, but it will weigh much less, and therefore cost less!  But.... Hollow rings, sometimes referred to as tubular, or "Silk Fit Ⓡ", cannot be re-sized like a solid ring.  And, because they are hollow, they can be easily dented in normal use.  Once dented, they cannot be easily repaired, if at all.  And, they may not even cost less... For example, I found a size 10, 14K white gold "Silk Fit Ⓡ" band on eBay, listed for $170.  The gold weight is listed as 1.2 grams.  Our 14K White Gold Comfort Fit Gold Band in a size 10 is shown on our website today as $239.00, and the gold weight is 3.1 grams, over two and a half times more gol
Read more

Determining Spacer Bead Size

By -
Image
Many people use spacer beads to separate charms on bracelets, necklaces and charm holders, but figuring out what size to purchase can sometimes be challenging.  At Viridian Gold, we carry a selection of spacer beads, and each bead is available in several different sizes (see:  http://www.viridiangold.com/charms.html ) When determining what size spacer bead to purchase, first take into consideration what item of jewelry the bead will be added to - will it go on a chain necklace or bracelet, or a charm holder?  Next, figure out the millimeter width of the item on which you want to add the bead.  If it's a chain, how wide is chain?  How wide is the clasp?  If you are unsure, reach for the nearest ruler.  Rulers frequently have millimeter measurements opposite the inch measurements, and millimeters are what are needed for a chain width measurement.  Place your ruler on a flat surface in a horizontal position, and then place your chain across the ruler in a vertical position.  Make
Read more