You and your other half will be wearing your wedding rings for the rest of your life — at least, that’s the idea — so it’s important to select a durable, beautiful metal which will hold up to years of wear and those little bits of inevitable, accidental abuse to which the ring will be subjected.
Gold isn’t your only choice, however. Rings are being made from a range of metals, but which is best for your ring? Perhaps there’s no bad choice, but as you learn all about the metals available, some could seem like better choices than others.
Here is a brief look at some of the metals available for wedding rings and their characteristics:
Yellow Gold. It is not surprising that yellow gold is still a truly popular wedding ring metal. It is the conventional choice, and it’s available in a large range of carats that each have different traits — including a slightly different appearance and various degrees of hardness. Hallmarks determine the carats, ensuring you get what you are paying for.
White Gold. Naturally, white gold is also a conventional choice for rings of all sorts. Since it’s less expensive than yellow gold and available in reasonably-priced alloys, it’s accessible to a wider range of ring customers than yellow gold. In many cases, white gold is plated onto a harder metal to give it added strength & durability.
Platinum. Already a very popular choice for wedding rings for a few years, platinum is quickly gaining popularity. It’s hard, moderately rare and has an appearance unlike any other metal. It’s certainly not an inexpensive metal, but it is obviously opulent look and durability make it perfect for rings intended to last a lifetime.
Palladium. A comparatively new option, palladium is much more durable than white gold although less hard-wearing than platinum. Since it does not need plating onto another metal, it’s taking over some of white gold’s popularity. And since it is a hard metal, it’s taking some of platinum’s popularity as well.
Silver. Silver is another traditional choice for jewelry, but it has declined in popularity lately because it’s now thought to be too soft to last a lifetime. Still, many families have handed silver wedding rings down thru the generations, so its decline in popularity won’t be entirely justified. More common and cheaper that other white metals, you cannot disagree with the value of silver.
Titanium. Lightweight and more resistant to scratches than just about any other metal, titanium is also prized for its unique appearance. It’s a bit more grey than other white metals, making a titanium wedding ring stand out from other rings.
As well as these favored metals, wedding rings are also made from many other metallic elements and compounds. For example, tungsten carbide is among the toughest metals available for rings and has a stunning dark appearance unlike any other metal. Zirconium & black zirconium are also rising in popularity because zirconium looks and performs like titanium but is available at a better price.
When having a wedding ring made exclusively for your spouse, you’ll need to choose which metal is right. Fortunately , you can’t go wrong. All the metals on this list — and some others — make great wedding rings that will become conversation pieces for years to come.
Petra Bierberg is owner of Petra Jewellery Design and manufactures wedding rings.