How to Buy a Wedding Band
A wedding band comes with a delivery date, and production, resizing, and engraving each add days to that schedule. Waiting until the month of the wedding can leave little room for those steps.
Some of the choices you make now are hard to change later. The metal and the setting affect how easily the ring can be sized if your finger changes, and how it wears against an engagement ring next to it.
Working Backward From the Wedding Date
A band already in stock at a jeweler can be taken home within days. Ordering from the maker’s existing stock usually takes 1 to 2 weeks, while a made-to-order band takes closer to 4 to 6 weeks. Custom work, including a band made to fit a particular engagement ring, can take a month or two, and sometimes longer.
If the band needs both sizing and engraving, the sizing should come first. Taking a ring down a size removes metal from the shank and can take part of the inscription. Adding metal can distort the lettering or leave gaps. Resizing is commonly quoted at a week to 10 days, though some jewelers take 2 to 3 weeks. Hand engravers may have waiting lists during wedding season.
Count backward from the ceremony and add the production time for the route you picked. A band that is being engraved should be with the jeweler at least a month before the wedding. That leaves room to size it first and to correct anything that needs adjusting.
Getting the Size Right
Your finger is not the same size all day. Warm weather and exercise can swell it, and cold can tighten the fit. A salty meal or dehydration may change the number as well. Hands can be swollen right after waking. A measurement taken late morning or early afternoon is closer to your usual size. Take it more than once, at different times of day.
Two bands marked with identical sizes can fit differently. The inside of the ring is not always flat. A standard fit band has a flat interior, like the inside of a pipe. A comfort fit band is domed on the inside, with its narrowest point at the center and wider edges. Comfort fit is usually recommended at a half size below the standard fit measurement, and wider rings can need a different adjustment.
A wider band covers more of the finger. A quarter to a half size up is usually recommended for bands 8mm and wider. Standard sizing rings are narrow, so ask to be measured with a wide sizer in the width you are buying.
Metal, and What It Costs You Later
Karat measures how much gold is in the metal, with 14K containing 58.3% gold and 18K containing 75%. The higher gold content gives 18K a deeper yellow, and it can also cost 25 to 30% more.
White gold is usually finished with a rhodium plating. That plating wears away, often within a year or two, and the gold underneath looks more yellow as it goes. Replating is a routine job at a jeweler.
Gold and platinum can both be cut and soldered, so the metal itself does not prevent resizing later. Stone coverage and band design can, regardless of the metal. Tungsten cannot take that work without breaking. Titanium allows only slight adjustment. A band in either metal usually has to be exchanged or replaced when the fit changes, though a liner can improve a loose one.
- Which gold takes daily wear better? With more alloy and less pure gold, 14K resists denting and scratching better than 18K.
- Does a scratched band lose metal? With gold, a small amount comes off with each scratch and stays on whatever caused it. Platinum behaves differently because a scratch moves the metal around the mark and leaves it on the ring, so the band can take a deeper line without getting thinner.
Band Width and Outer Profile
Width is the measurement across the band from one edge to the other. It is commonly offered at 1.5mm, 3mm, 4.5mm, and 6mm, with other measurements available on request. Profile is the band’s outline from the side, inside and out. The outer profile changes how a band looks at the same width. A flat band has straight outer faces and square edges, making it appear wider than its measurement suggests. Its straight sides can also lie flush against another band. A domed band has a curved exterior and a softer, rounder look. Shallower versions, called low domes, most often appear on bands from about 1.5mm to 3mm. A knife edge goes the other way. The outside peaks along the center line, and the angled surfaces on either side catch light as the hand moves.
Pairing the Band With the Engagement Ring
A straight band meets an engagement ring along a straight edge. A gap can open wherever the engagement ring’s outline does not follow that edge. It comes up with low-set solitaires, halos, east-west settings, and elongated cuts such as pears and marquises, though it depends on the ring.
Contour bands are cut with a curve that matches the engagement ring they go with. You can then wear the two closer together. Curved bands follow a smooth arc. A chevron uses a defined V. Straight bands can also rub against the prongs or the basket of a low-set ring, and a curved band is made to avoid that contact.
Metal colors do not have to match between the two rings. You can wear a platinum band with a gold engagement ring. That choice affects how the two wear against each other.
Two rings worn on the same finger rub against each other, and the friction wears metal where they meet. A thin spacer band between them keeps the two from meeting directly, and alternating which rings you wear cuts down the hours they spend in contact. A periodic check at a jeweler catches a thinning shank or a loosened prong while it is still small.
Diamonds on the Band
A full eternity band has stones set the whole way around. A half eternity band sets them across the top and leaves plain metal underneath, keeping the part against the hand smooth. It also uses fewer stones and costs less.
A channel setting seats the stones below the surface between two walls of metal, with nothing raised to catch on a sweater. A shared prong secures two neighboring stones at once. With pavé, little metal surrounds each stone, so more of the surface is diamond.
- Can a full eternity band be resized? It depends on the setting and the space between the stones. Complex settings or tight spacing can rule out resizing. Cutting the shank of a channel-set band can also compromise the channel and loosen stones.
- Does a channel setting need special cleaning? Channels trap dirt and lotion between the walls, so a channel-set band needs regular cleaning to stay bright. Warm soapy water and gentle brushing can remove the buildup.
- How do you avoid losing a stone? Check pavé stones periodically for movement because some pavé settings are less secure than other band settings. If a stone seems loose, have a jeweler inspect it before wearing the ring again.
Two Bands, One Budget
Two bands means two sizes and two sets of preferences on a single deadline. One person may want a plain band and the other a band set with stones, and those two choices have different lead times and different limits on resizing later. If one is in stock and the other is being made, the schedule follows the slower option.
Neither band has to look like the other. A matching pair shares metal, finish, and design. A coordinated pair shares only some of that, such as one metal in two colors or one design in two widths. Engraving or an edge treatment can link two bands that look otherwise unrelated.
There is no rule about who pays for the bands, and the two do not have to cost the same. A diamond-set band and a plain one can differ substantially in price.
After the Ring Is Bought
Read the service policy before buying. A policy usually covers cleaning, prong tightening, and minor stone replacement. The center stone is rarely included, and neither is loss or theft. Some retailers require the ring to come in every 3 to 6 months for inspection. A missed appointment can void the coverage. Ask how often the ring must be seen and what happens if you miss a visit. GOODSTONE offers free resizing and repairs.
A plain band can usually be engraved later. An inside-band inscription fits roughly 15 to 30 characters including spaces.
Insurance is separate from any of that. A written appraisal gives the insurer a detailed description of the ring, photographs, and an estimate of its current retail replacement value. The appraiser’s business letterhead provides contact information if the insurer has questions. Replacement values change, so an appraisal every 2 years helps keep the insured value up to date.