Traditionally, a man won’t spend a lot of money on his own wedding ring. Just take a look around; you’ll see that most men’s wedding bands are stripped-down gold circles, barely noticeable unless you look for them. Now, some people will claim that this is because guys would rather spend money on beer than a romantic ring, but it’s not that at all (at least, not usually). Although elaborate men’s wedding rings do exist, most men tend to avoid them because a) they’re not traditional; b) they’re too showy; and c) they’re eager to spend lavishly on their fiancee’s ring, not their own.

In this day and age, though, you have lots of choices — so tradition can go out the window if you want it to, without tossing away more money than you need to. If you put a little thought into it, you can find a perfect, eye-catching ring that won’t cost you any more than a traditional gold band. In fact, it might cost a good bit less.

Instead of reaching automatically for those plain gold rings, take a close look at titanium wedding rings first. Titanium is a light, lustrous metal that’s surprisingly inexpensive; you can easily get a beautiful titanium ring for less than $200. Second, titanium is incredibly tough, which is ideal for any man who works or plays hard. In fact, its physical characteristics are such that it’s used extensively when strength and lightness are especially valued, such as in the aerospace industry.

If cost isn’t so much of a worry, then consider platinum wedding rings. Unlike its cousin silver, which it’s often found with in its raw state, platinum never tarnishes — and it’s much, much tougher. Even office paperwork, which is so abrasive that it can ruin gold and silver jewelry over time, won’t bother platinum much.

If you can’t bring yourself to pick something really fancy, you can always stick with a gold or silver ring, but it hardly has to be plain. A few diamonds won’t make a man’s wedding ring any less masculine. So why not go for something out of the ordinary? There’s a huge selection of men’s wedding rings to choose from out there, and they don’t have to break the bank.

Wedding Rings - Celebrate Your Anniversary With A New Band

Celebrate with a new band? You mean the latest musical group? Er, no. Your marriage was made to last. You made it that way. Celebrate your achievement and your undying devotion by giving the perfect gift: a wedding anniversary ring.

Whether it’s your 10th anniversary, your 25th or your 50th, your loved one will appreciate the symbol and the fact of reaching the pinnacle of success. Forming a bond that endures takes dedicated effort. Celebrate that bond with a band, an anniversary band.

Traditionally, paper, silver and gold represent the 1st, 25th and 50th wedding anniversaries. Yet an anniversary band of platinum and diamond is appropriate in any year. Where else can you break tradition and respect it at the same time?

Imagine an antique anniversary band that is newly made. A paradox? This classic design may be studded with dozens of small oval-cut diamonds set into a band of 14kt gold. At the same time, it speaks to the modern heart that wants a special symbol to celebrate the glorious progress toward a lifetime goal.

A sloping pipe-cut band of yellow gold can be crowned with a series of baguettes. The superb clarity and color of these diamonds need not be reserved for the 75th wedding anniversary, or even the 10th. Because an item of jewelry such as this is perfect on any year.

Men, too, are equally deserving of an anniversary band. Success in marriage is a two-way partnership. The ring choices open for them are as wide as those they face everyday to sustain a loving relationship.

Picture a platinum wedding band inlaid with a central cable of titanium. Or, consider a titanium band inlaid with a central strip of sapphires. However you mix and match these materials, the anniversary band at which you arrive will be informed by the finest design. That’s the perfect symbol for the fine undertaking that supports you both through the years.

Every one of those years is equally deserving of a celebration. Mark them all, because dividing the years evenly by five is just a convention. Be unconventional and go for the tungsten ring that traditionally represents the 16th year.

Tungsten? Light bulb filaments? Think again. True, this metal melts at 6,000 degrees so it can never be destroyed in a home fire. True, it’s incredibly strong, durable and scratch resistant. But practical attributes are a small part of the reason to select one of these. They are stunning.

Polished to a high sheen, these lightweight anniversary bands have the look of fine silver. Carved with a contemporary design and topped with square-cut ruby they are not merely a fine piece of jewelry. They are the embodiment of all you have striven to protect and enhance through the years.

Anniversary wedding rings are more than just a fine piece of jewelry. It’s a promise of a memory to come.

Wedding Bands - Hand Crafted Wedding Bands

Today, millions of products are machine made. That includes many fine wedding bands. There is often some input by a superb craftsman to select and set a stone, for example. But much of the process is carried out by highly sophisticated systems.

But there remains no more sophisticated system than the skill in the mind, eye and hands of a master jewelry maker. That skill is much the same as it was centuries ago, but now brought to new heights with modern tools. Yet the careful focus, the precise direction and other attributes of the craftsman are still the essential elements when these master craftsmen design a wedding ring.

That craft, handed down generation after generation, may be less visible today. But it is still just as vital to making a fine wedding band as it ever was. The most sophisticated computer programs can barely begin to simulate even elementary human movements. And none come anywhere close to duplicating the creativity of expert jewelery makers.

Those skills are nowhere more evident than in the hand crafted wedding bands that are available today. For those looking for a truly unique engagement ring or wedding band, one that will never be found anywhere else, a hand crafted ring is your guarantee.

Imagine the delicate, complex scrollwork evident on a classic white gold band. The master’s hand is everywhere evident. The unique sworls, the individual petals and other touches could only have been created by that unique person. At the same time the level of skill is so high, that it might seem as if the ring was made by machine. That’s the mark of a true expert.

Picture a titanium ring in a contemporary design. The subtle sheen is the result of the master’s attention to detail. The dark cable running down the center was selected by careful thought with an eye to the design of the whole. This two-tone masterpiece could only have been made by a single person striving to create their best work just for you.

An 18kt yellow gold comfort fit band sports a delicate wave of rose gold down the center. Asymmetrically at one top corner is a small round-cut diamond. It was cut by the hand of one who has trained for decades to acquire the needed skill. It was mounted with equal care and attention to this unique creation.

A braided tri-color band shows clearly the hand of the artist. The design could only have been conceived by someone concentrating on the task at hand. It could only have been executed once. To create the same ring over again would violate the canon of artistic principles.

The result in each case is a one-of-a-kind work of art to be displayed as proudly on the hand as a fine sculpture is on the table. Consider a hand crafted wedding band and design a wedding ring that lifts the soul of the wearer as it did the artist.

Comfort Fit Wedding Rings

A wedding ring is typically worn all day, every day. Wouldn’t it be neat if that wedding ring was as comfy as your favorite slippers? Although most rings are just that, it helps to seek that additional feature if you desire that extra degree of comfort. Comfort fit wedding rings to the rescue!

That comfort is accomplished in many ways, each a little differently thanks to the inventiveness of designers. One method is to round or bevel the edge along the inside of the ring. Another is to render a smooth arc that blends the outer and inner parts of the engagement ring or wedding band. This is in direct contrast, for example, to pipe cut rings that have keener edges.

The net upshot is an enhanced degree of comfort, thanks to the absence of those unpleasant angles. Since ring material is hard metal, that edge can bring about discomfort when worn over time. Defining the ring, which can be done more precisely nowadays than ever before, creates the ultimate in relaxed fit.

Comfort fit designs interplay with another aspect of engagement ring or wedding band selection. Sizing plays a role.

Comfort fit wedding rings might be as slim as 2mm or as large as 8mm. A millimeter is about the lower limit distance the average person can hold the thumb and forefinger apart. It’s approximately the width of a fine pencil lead. For smaller sizes, a comfortable fit is easier to accomplish. But as the ring width increases, it can help to adapt the sizing.

An extra-wide band, such as 7mm, might call for a comfort fit ring that is 1/4 size larger in diameter. Allow that finger size can and will change, from such obvious but long term changes as weight loss or gain to hourly fluctuations in temperature or fluid intake. Wedding ring alloys are fashioned to change only very minutely over the normal range of temperatures a band is worn.

That sizing is particularly significant in titanium rings, for example, as they’re very awkward to adjust after ordering. A small amount can be trimmed from the interior to expand them slightly. Reducing their size is virtually impossible due to the hardness of the metal.

Luckily, a comfort fit can be attained in a wide array of stylish choices. Comfort fit wedding rings are not confined to a plain, rounded or domed edge by any means. The external portion can sport any number of choices and still reach the designer’s comfort goal.

Envisage, for example, a two-toned band in yellow gold and platinum. The inside is shaped to flawlessness with comfort in mind. The outermost portion is peaked and can be grooved, or even display gems. Because a portion of the ring does not contact any surface, the designer has just about a third on which to exercise further creativity.

The carefully contoured interior mixes seamlessly with the stylish design of the more obvious portion of the ring. Comfort fit wedding rings are the very definition of win-win in jewelry.

Wedding Rings - More than a symbol.

There are numerous styles of wedding rings available today. All the same, what is symbolized by these treasured metal and gem rings remains what it has ever been. A wedding ring says: you are the one, and deserve nothing less than the best possible.

Plain wedding bands can articulate that every bit as well as the most detailed design. Classic styles remain the choice of millions since they need nothing beyond themselves. With the lustre of gold and little or no ornamentation, they can carry the same message as any other ring. They adorn with simplicity and bond a couple together as powerfully as the most perfect diamond.

Modern-day styles show the restless imagination of the world’s best jewelry designers. Experimentations with tungsten, titanium and other alternate metals have all proven highly successful. These rings comprise the latest ideas in ring making, but are bound to become new classics themselves.

Gold wedding rings continue a popular choice, beyond the impetus of tradition. White, yellow or rose, they are strong, beautiful, and last forever and a day. That makes them the ideal representative of a relationship that’s shooting for for the utmost.

Platinum wedding bands favored by many. No better selection could be made. Some metals are called ‘precious’ for more reasons than their rarity in the Earth. This silvery metal is ultra-durable, heavy and stunning to the eye. Its heft betrays the gravity that the engaged couple feel when approaching their commitment. Its beauty symbolizes that of their devotion.

Add to that platinum ring a single or set of diamonds. You’ve now arrived at the pinnacle of wedding rings. A single stone could form a centerpiece of stellar clarity and dazzling color. Whether pure white or deep yellow, or any of the hundreds of different colors available, a diamond set in a platinum band says it all.

All of these possibilities can be expressed to the limit by the master crafter who produces a hand crafted wedding band or engagement ring. With designs as individualistic as the artist and the ultimate recipient, these pieces of jewelry become superior works of art to wear.

But there are practical facets to the selection of an engagement ring or wedding band, as well. Beyond the need to scratch resistance, durability of shape and surface, and other properties they still need to wear well.

Size is a basic element to meet this need, of course. But the design itself can greatly help in achieving that end. A comfort fit ring assists the wearer to want to wear it always. With beveled interior and exterior edges, rounded arcs and additional features integrated in the ring one can in truth want never to take it off.

All these features are equally true of men’s rings as they are of women’s. Men want a selection of styles, superior wear characteristics and a ring that is really fine to look at. They desire something distinguishing. Contemporary rings exceed these ends easily.

But the engagement and wedding ceremony do not end the possibilities in ring choice.

Anniversary wedding rings fete the well-deserved success of continuing that long-term commitment. Whether observing the 1st, the 10th or the 100th anniversary of a wedding, there’s a ring to suit.

A lot of couples  would like to increase still further the celebration of their devotedness to each other. Renewing their vows - whether after five years or fifty - is a brilliant way to do exactly that. And for for each one of those possibilities there’s an anniversary wedding ring to help them do so.

Picking out wedding rings is one of the most blissful of occasions. The intention that drives the selection is one of joy. The choices on hand to accomplish that choice are as limitless as the feelings they stand for.

Platinum and Diamond Wedding Rings, Perfect Partners

Is it true that even a wedding ring can display both beauty and function? Function? All right, it’s not a great idea to use your wedding ring to spin off bolts, that’s true. But a symbolic representation of love and commitment emphatically has a function, a role in our lives.

Both those properties are excellently attended to by a band compiled of two of the most treasured substances - platinum and diamond. Their superior hardness, their brilliant white color and sensational sheen are all evidence of that they’re born partners.

The higher cost of platinum diamond wedding rings or engagement rings is familiar… and well justified. For in that combination the wearer has attained the plateau of adornment. The struggle to arrive at the top carries a price… and a high reward: perfection.

A lot of pairings are naturally perfect. Wine and cheese, feathers and flight. Others are arrived at  by the most beautiful craftsmanship, such as a platinum and diamond wedding ring. The designer has at his or her disposal the sought-after  heaviness of this magnificent precious metal. The design can encapsulate the world’s most coveted stone, indestructible and full of splendid glints of light.

Thanks to these characters, there are a thousand conceivable designing variations for platinum diamond wedding rings, each one as pleasing as the next.

A conventional design might use a platinum ring with a uncomplicated, yet refined milgrain scroll along the edges. A central 1/2 ct stone might form the centerpiece of a design that’s backed up by short rows of smaller stones on either side. Grandmother’s ring stays a thing of great beauty all these years later.

Or, envisage a scroll design with echoes of ancient Rome. A full carat of Princess-cut diamonds line the edges like a crystal clear moat around a castle. The wearer becomes royalty.

A more modernistic design could seek brand-new horizons. A narrow band of 950Pt platinum shines like a strip of white beach. Studding that shoreline at regular intervals lie a row of diamonds around the entire band. Irrespective of how the ring turns, the lights sparkle off the stones like sunlight through stained glass. Simple, ingenious and truly lovely.

Yet, exquisite as they are, platinum diamond wedding bands are functional, too. Scratch resistant, never necessitating replating, with strong settings and hypoallergenic, they will wear for generations without any loss of shape or appearance.

As such, they can carry on to serve as a symbolic representation of the long-lasting love and devotion for which a wedding ring is designed. An engagement ring of platinum and diamonds will carry on to shine as a promise of that loyalty long after the ceremony.