Wedding & Eternity Rings
Price
Ring style
A universally acknowledged symbol of commitment and union between two people, wedding rings are a beautiful and sentimental way to express your love. They’re also sometimes referred to as an eternity ring or eternity band. When considering your wedding ring design, there are a few design elements to consider from metal type and design style to band width and texture to whether to go for a diamond band. Each can have a subtle or striking effect on the overall appearance of your wedding ring.
Wedding ring metals
Platinum
Platinum–known for its beautiful, cool white sheen and its hypoallergenic properties, platinum wedding rings are the most popular choice for bridal jewellery. This metal requires a low level of maintenance, with almost 60% of our customers opting for platinum wedding rings.
White gold
18 carat white gold appeals to modern brides and grooms who desire the feel of gold with the colour and brightness of platinum. Almost identical to platinum in appearance, white gold is plated with rhodium to give it a bright white appearance. This means that with normal wear, white gold will require replating every 1-2 years, unlike platinum.
Rose gold
Synonymous with warmth, 18 carat rose gold is a soft, blushy metal choice and notably looks excellent on all skin tones. Rose gold wedding rings are the second most popular choice amongst our customers. While rose gold wedding rings are traditionally associated with femininity, rose gold men’s wedding rings are seeing an increase. Finished with a brushed texture or paired with some black diamonds, rose gold designs can offer an edgy take on a traditional design.
Yellow gold
18 carat yellow gold is likely famed for being the most traditional of precious metal options. Yellow gold wedding rings appeal to those who desire its rich appearance and strength, whilst retaining a sense of tradition.
Metals
Wedding band widths
The width of a wedding band impacts the overall presence of the ring. Our classic collections range from 1.6mm to 3.4mm for ladies designs, and from 3mm to 6mm for mens designs–but that doesn’t mean you can’t wear whatever width you want.
While these widths don’t sound very large, when scaled on a finger, it provides a substantial amount of coverage. If you’re into bold, chunky designs, go with a thicker band. If you love dainty, subtle jewellery, stay under 3mm.
Widths
Profiles
There are a variety of wedding band profiles available. The profile refers to the shape you would see if the band of the ring were cut at a cross-section.
Court
Perhaps considered the most traditional profile, a court band has a soft rounded curve on the inside and outside of the ring. It’s often referred to as ‘comfort fit’–as it’s name suggests, it’s a very comfortable ring profile.
D-shape
The outside of a D-shape profile is identical to a court ring. However, the inside of the band is flat and sits flush up against the finger, creating a ‘D’ shape to the band’s profile. This ring profile is often recommended to wearers who are particularly active or work using their hands.
Flat
Flat profile rings are almost the opposite to a court profile. They feature flat edges on all sides of the ring, creating a more geometric, sharp silhouette.
Bevelled
Bevelled ring profiles have a contemporary finish–the inside of the band is flat, but the outer edge has angled edges.
Knife edge
A knife edge profile features a sharp (not razor sharp, of course!) edge that runs along the band and divides the ring into two slanting parts that meet at the centre ‘knife point’.
Concave
A concave ring has the smooth interior of a flat profile, with a softly dipped curve on the ring’s exterior.
Wedding ring textures
We’re used to seeing wedding rings with traditional polished metal, however, there are a whole host of metal finishes you can add to your design with each finish achieving a totally unique look.
Polished
This is the finish we see most often–the classic jewellery finish. The surface of the ring is reflective and shiny.
Florentine
This features an intricate lattice pattern onto the surface of the ring, creating a bold, textured feel.
Soft brushed
These rings have a non-shiny soft texture to them with small brush-like marks.
Wire brushed
Wire brushed, also known as simply “brushed” rings are not shiny either. They feature deep brush-like marks that resemble fine hairs. This finish and ‘soft brushed’ as the most popular choice for those who don’t want a polished finish.
Sandblasted
A noticeable coarse finish. It’s grainy to touch and it’s perfect for those seeking a textured, almost poured concrete-like finish.
Satin
Satin finished wedding rings are smooth to the touch like polished rings, but you wouldn’t be able to see your reflection in the metal’s surface. Rather, these rings have delicate brush marks, creating a surface similar to a fogged mirror. This metal finish is excellent for those who like the smoothness of polished metal, but don’t want the shine.
Matte
This finish is similar to satin, but the brush marks are even less visible, despite still appearing as a fogged mirror.
Hammered
Popular with those who prefer a shiny finish, a hammered texture provides a dimpled look as if a hammer was used to pound each dimple on the surface of the ring.
Pebbled
This finish is similar to a hammered finish, but instead of a shiny, polished finish, it is matte and has a low reflective surface.
How much is a wedding ring?
The cost of an engagement ring is typically most impacted by the choice of diamond or gemstone, as this is where the majority of the budget goes. This isn’t the case for wedding rings. The majority of a wedding ring’s price is made up by the cost of the metal used.
Metal is charged by weight, so the wider the band, the heavier the design, the more expensive the ring will be. For a narrower, daintier band, the price point will be lower.
Most people opt for a platinum or 18ct gold wedding band, not exclusively for their appearance, but also because your ring needs to be durable enough to withstand everyday wear. Based on the cost of these metals, your wedding ring is likely to be over the £500 mark if you’re choosing a platinum or 18ct gold band. This price of a diamond wedding ring or gemstone wedding ring will be higher than a plain wedding band.
What's the difference between a wedding ring and an engagement ring?
The clue’s in the name! An engagement ring is typically given and received during a proposal, and usually features a band with a centre diamond or gemstone. This person wears the engagement ring as a symbol of their upcoming nuptials.
Wedding rings are exchanged between two people during their wedding ceremony. Worn on the fourth finger on their left hands, wedding rings are often the only tangible symbol of their union. However, some people redefine tradition and choose to wear their ring on any of their fingers.
Some people choose to wear only a wedding ring, some just an engagement ring, some both and some neither–as with most jewellery, it’s personal preference.
Do you wear your engagement ring on your wedding day?
Typically the wedding ring is worn closest to the palm of the hand, said to be “closest to the heart” and the engagement ring will sit next to it.
So this begs the question – do you wear your engagement ring during your wedding ceremony? There are a few easy options to ensure your ceremony runs smoothly.
The first is that you keep your engagement ring on, place the wedding ring on top during the ceremony, and then switch the rings around after the ceremony.
Alternatively, you could slip your engagement ring onto your right hand for the duration of the ceremony and place it back onto your left hand when it’s over. Or you could give your engagement ring to a member of your family or wedding party for safekeeping for the duration of the ceremony.
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Should wedding rings match?
As with most jewellery choices, it’s totally up to personal preference! You can choose to have a matching wedding ring set with your partner, or have a wedding ring that matches your engagement – or none of the above!
There are two ways of thinking about how wedding rings “match”. The first is whether to match both wedding ring designs and the second is whether to match the wedding ring to the engagement ring design.
Many couples choose to match their designs in some way, be it an almost identical design, or a small engraving or gemstone that symbolises the two wedding rings are a pair.
Actress, Blake Lively, wears an engagement and wedding ring set that does not “match” or sit flush up against one another. We don’t know whether this was a style or logistic based choice, but either way, it’s safe to say that the engagement and wedding ring have a beautiful overall finish.
However, if you want your wedding ring to match and sit flush up against your engagement ring you have a few options:
Most classic engagement ring designs will be designed in a way that allows other rings or wedding bands to sit flush up against one another.
Or if you have a particularly custom design, you can choose to have a shaped wedding ring designed that will curve or hug the shape of your existing engagement ring design, that acts as a ring sleeve or jacket, or that doesn’t hug it at all, but serves as almost an additional part of the ring. The possibilities are endless and entirely up to you!
