I'm really not interested in jewelry (I reluctantly wear a dress watch for special occasions) so need a little advice on sourcing an inexpensive wedding ring for myself.
My SO has recommended me a £100 'basic' ring which sounds sensible, though I think the ERE community can do better. Basically, I want a material that will not discolour with wear and harsh chemicals (white gold, looking at you!), ideally I don't want to spend £100 if it is going to cost me 7 hours of my life working to buy that ring. Other than that, there's not really any specification, just something that's durable and won't melt
I know nothing about the materials used in the sub <£100 price bracket, though Tungsten and Titanium Carbide seem to come up in searches, what are the married ERE men here wearing? (If anything at all???)
You and your SO need to sit down and browse through Etsy. There are some amazing alternative wedding bands there. Hand crafted wood, leather, unusual metals, etc. You should be able to find something you both like the look of for a great price.
We purchased our rings from Etsy. We got a meteorite filler...the external band was stainlees steel I believe. We bought something a bit outside your budget range, but you can find stainless steel on there for under $60 or so.
Even better is if you know anyone with a forge within driving distance. You could probably comission a custom ring made; maybe made out of some (shared with your SO) sentimental metal object.
edit: and of course you could watch some youtube videos to figure out how to make your own small forge and how to make a ring could be a good project if you have some free time... otherwise I would search some forge forums/etsy and try to find someone willing to take the commision.
My Wedding Band is 3mm Yellow Gold. I also got the "Lifetime Service Plan" which covers a lot of services (which is great because I have had it re-sized twice since it was purchased. If the services were purchased separately it would have cost more than the plan.) Total cost was around $200 CAD. I thought this was a reasonable price to pay for a lifetime investment and which gold arguably holds its value quite well. I like the simplicity and modesty of this style of ring and I like the yellow gold color. (Paying more might require insurance perhaps, paying less you can't get gold (as far as I know) and I wanted gold.)
My wife got a similar size and color wedding band, and a similar size engagement band with a modest diamond. The cost of her set was around $500 CAD. We are very happy with our purchase. It looks elegant and modest which is what we were going for, and the modesty of the set matches my wife's slim, longer fingers. (we purchased all 3 rings at the same retail outlet.)
I was very intimidated and naive and jaded before I set foot in a jewelry store to begin the process of us selecting our rings. It gave me a lot of anxiety. I thought we were walking into shark tanks to get taken by professional sales people or to get judged etc, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. (Side note: A lot of things in life I have pre-judged this way, but if you allow yourself to learn and grow and be patient and be not be so idealistic, accept there may be some frustration and struggles, you can find that you can actually do ok in some life areas you may otherwise just dismiss otherwise. -- This is advice that I should regularly refer back to for myself!) -- After deciding on a budget and shopping around we gained knowledge of what was available and why rings cost the amounts they do. (Our local mall has a handful of jewelry stores, must be a good business to be in, margins-wise). After you visit a few stores you'll know which retail experience and prices will suit your needs and make you feel ok with the process of the purchase. We talked out our decision after coffee, it was not made impulsively but with careful consideration of what was important to us.
Also, my wife and I looked at the rings together. This was right for us. I had a budget from the beginning and was very committed to it. Some men may want to buy the ring(s) as a "surprise" for their wife. I would never do this. Too many variables at play and I think men will spend more money doing it this way in fear of looking too "cheap" if they don't spend what is commonly expected. Plus, what if the size is wrong? An unnecessary inconvenience to go through. Plus, I'd prefer to go into the store with my ally (wife) so it evens the numbers out. Going in alone to a jewelry store you are going into the dragon's backyard and I think that is a position with less leverage. Or at least bring someone with you who shares your outlook and values. A purchase like this is a personal decision that is best not to compromise yourself on.
I would also recommend going to a physical retail outlet instead of an online outlet because what kind of service or know how or security do you get with an online purchase? I don't know. I personally feel there are a lot of variables and what ifs and insurance uneasiness when it comes to online ring purchases. I could be mistaken but I'd rather not chance it personally. It was nice to deal directly with the retailer and have the rings in my hand instead of through the mail.
I also was never a "ring wearer" throughout my life, but I enjoy wearing my band and it adds a degree of purpose to my personal narrative which I feel I am mature and ready for at my age (early 30s). Prior to this I felt nearly 180 degrees different about the whole wedding rings process but age, maturity and finding a good partner may change one's feelings and open-minded-ness as it happened to me.
I have a titanium ring that looks like [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Ring]The One Ring[url]. Being as it is made out of titanium, it can NOT be stretched/resized, so I can never get fat fingers lest I buy a new ring. I think it was $90?! Initially, I didn't want to wear a ring at all since I had never worn one before and I figured that it'd be annoying to have it dangling on my finger. Turned out that it's mostly not a big deal and so I wear it most of the time except when lifting weights or being sweaty/hot. I bought it anyway since $100 isn't a big deal given the extensive amortization schedule!
It's about 0.5 cents a day!!
We didn't get a matched set since whatever looks good on DW looked terrible on me and vice versa. Her skin tone goes well with gold. Mine goes well with greyish---even silver looks odd. So we just tried to match the form-factor.
The most interesting story I ever heard about wedding rings was from a physicist who procured a new ring each year made out of a new element... as long as it's solid at room temperature that is.
Sometimes the lab suppliers would ask him exactly how many 100-lots he wanted of the spec'ed ring
That's what I have. Like it so far. I think the tungsten tends to break rather than deform under pressure, so maybe better for industrial environments (I wouldn't take my word on this), but a lot of my friends have this type. My wife also has a sub $100 gold band also from Amazon. I think. Maybe sub $200.
I don't understand why you guys wouldn't invest in a piece of real jewelry? A platinum or gold band would increase in value over time. Last time I had our rings appraised, they had tripled in value since we bought them.
Doesn't counting the ring as a financial asset sort of go against the idea of marriage? If you don't sell it, what does it matter what the price does?
Mine is white gold. I hadn't even heard of white gold before DW suggested it. It was €380 for two rings and they look great after 2 years. I sometimes take it off to wash hands or for sports or something and then forget to put it on. People notice!
Several years ago I needed to resize my wedding ring. Since I worked with my hands a lot, I decided to archive the original and purchase an inexpensive replacement ring that I wouldn't be afraid of damaging or losing. I went with a simple gloss black ceramic ring. It's lightweight, scratch-proof, and never needs cleaning. And it's very striking -- I get way more comments on that ring than I ever did with the original gold band.
henrik wrote:Doesn't counting the ring as a financial asset sort of go against the idea of marriage? If you don't sell it, what does it matter what the price does?
I guess I see it as avoiding 'spending' on such an item. I consider some precious metals to be a good store of wealth, so when a person buys jewelry like that, they're not really spending/'consuming so much as transferring the wealth from one category to another. I'm not going to buy a consumable just because it's romantic. IMO, the best option is buying an estate piece, since that will hold value and has a recycling aspect to it as well.
I wasn't trying to imply though that anyone's choices were wrong aesthetically. I was just surprised that people weren't interested in buying investment grade pieces (like forumites aim for with most other purchases).
Resale jewelry is definitely sold at a discount compared to the retail market. Buyers expect a discount when buying resale, but that doesn't negate the appreciation. If I sold my jewelry, it would sell for less then the appraised value for insurance purposes, but it would still sell for significantly more than what I paid for it. I'm only talking about high-end jewelry like gold, platinum, pearls (only VERY high quality), diamonds, and other precious stones, not silver or semi-precious stones. Simple jewelry like a plain gold wedding band will sell for a price closer to the melt value unless it has an established provenance.
If a person is uncomfortable with visiting auction houses or jewelers, they could try a site like I Do, Now I Don't . Edited to add: pawn shops can be a good source, too, especially for simple gold or platinum jewelry.
could be a good project if you have some free time... otherwise I would search some forge forums/etsy and try to find someone willing to take the commision.
