Men's wedding ring (hard wearing). Feedback req

Nine_Lives

So tomorrow, or actually today as its AM now, we're off to look at wedding rings.

I have a manual job & would like something quite hard wearing - something that doesn't scratch so easily. I would also like for it to be able to be engraved on the inside, so if a metal doesn't allow that then its probably going to be no good.

I've been told that tungsten while hard wearing, can't be resized or even cut, so if you need it cutting off your finger for whatever reason, then you can expect to lose your finger. This tale puts me off tungsten.

I don't like traditional gold or silver. I like the darker brushed steel sort of effect.

What sort of metal would you advise in this case?

The missus is after something similar (I think) although her job isn't so manual - dental nurse (vs handling building materials), and she's considering palladium.

Any advice welcome. Thanks.

4nnabella

My husband chose a titanium ring (and with a 'brushed steel' type finish) for the same reasons, he wanted something hard-wearing due to the manual element of his job. We've been married a year now and his wedding ring still looks as good as new. I don't know for sure about the engraving though, but I think you can engrave titanium.

4nnabella

With regards to your OH's ring, it should be the same metal as her engagement ring or otherwise whichever is the harder metal of the two will rub on and wear down the other ring.

welshgirl78

My oh got brushed palladium, engraved inside and it looks great 18 months later.

I have palladium for both rings but shiny ones, as usual they could do with a polish but still look good

meeps

my husband's ring is titanium, barely looks any different 13 years down the line after it lost a little new shine, mine is platinum.

cuthbert_the_octopus

Titanium is good for men....... try John Greed online as the choice will be much better than in the shops - they will also send you out a sizer so you can order the correct size.
http://www.johngreedjewellery.com/en/uk/page/home


However, I am not sure that you can engrave titanium - but you could have a silver coating / lining which could be engraved. My hubbie has a half silver inlay on his wedding ring and to be honest still looks better than my white gold after 3 years - but he does work in an office!

Edit: I have just be surfing on the John Greed site and see that it is possible to have titanium rings engraved - so much so they are actively advertising it on plain titanium wedding rings.

AS to the tungsten, if they need to cut it off, they can 'squeeze' it, and the ring breaks into pieces - so no need to cut off your finger!!!

If, you wanted his n hers titanium I would use this Aussie site - however you will have to pay import duty and VAT - so they look quite cheap, but you need to remember you may need to add 20%. I wanted titanium and there isnt such good choice in the UK compared to Gilett's and you can customise their rings.
http://gilletts.com.au/

Hope this help!

Desperado99

When you say a manual job, what do you mean? My dad didn't have a wedding ring because he was working with heavy machinery and if you caught a ring by accident it meant losing a finger. (of course you could take it off for work).

If you choose gold, have 9ct rather than 18 or 22ct as it's more hard wearing - the more gold the softer the metal.

Nine_Lives

Thanks a lot guys. Very helpful replies there.

Went to the Trafford Centre today to have a look see. Bit of a mistake. I expected it to be busy, but not THAT busy. It was almost as bad as last Easter. I started getting a bit irate & we decided to leave. We checked most of the jewellers except for Earnest Jones - it was the busiest one & there was always someone stood being served where we wanted to look.

So we came home & looked in our local Earnest Jones which is tiny compared, but the missus was able to pick up her Palladium ring.

Just me left now.

I can't decide between Palladium & Titanium.

I think i'd rather a dull finish - which would be titanium, but we also saw dull looking palladium rings. Titanium rings are soooo much cheaper, but then i don't mind too much paying for the palladium ones.

I'm toying right now with:

* plain -vs- slight pattern (by slight, i mean plain but with thin bands at the top & bottom edge of the ring if you get me?)
* dull -vs- shiny ... although leaning towards dull. I think i prefer the look & think it'd suit my skin tone better (i'm not tanned-tanned, but i'm not pasty white. As i work outside i've a bit of colour).
* Palladium -vs- Titanium.

As both metals offer shiny/dull & both metals offer plain/slight pattern .... why would you select one over the other? Palladium is like an extra £200-£300, so why pay that much extra over Titanium?

Genuine question. I'm wondering if there are any advantages. Or is it because they're more desired?

Desperado99 wrote: »

When you say a manual job, what do you mean? My dad didn't have a wedding ring because he was working with heavy machinery and if you caught a ring by accident it meant losing a finger. (of course you could take it off for work).

If you choose gold, have 9ct rather than 18 or 22ct as it's more hard wearing - the more gold the softer the metal.

By manual job i mean handling cement bags, paving flags/bricks kerb stones etc. I do wear gloves when doing these jobs, but still, i'd rather something hard wearing.

Also, i'm not really a fan of gold. I'd rather something of a silver shade. Decision to make is which shade.

Pitlanepiglet

My OH has a titanium ring, it's not highly polished and it's quite thick. He does a lot of manual work similar to yours and it still looks fine after five years. He really likes it and it was incredibly cheap!

Nine_Lives

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

He really likes it and it was incredibly cheap!

That's the thing - i was really surprised at how cheap they are. I know money isn't everything, but i'd feel a bit of a tightwad going for such a cheap ring. LoL.

smithyjules

Hi there,

Got goose bumps remembering shopping for our wedding rings, so firstly thank you for reminding me of it!

Our rings were found in a small local shop which stocked all sorts of unique little treasures including a range by Feniom. The rings we chose are Titanium with a silver band. Mine is much narrower with the silver band in the middle, and DH's is wider with the silver band nearer the bottom. Our search began after I chose a white gold engagement ring as I'm not too keen on yellow gold (grew up around too many giant gold clown necklaces in Essex!), and I have a Husband who managed to bend a rod in his broken leg once so we wanted strength in his ring! I wear my engagement ring on my right hand now as it is much softer than the Titanium.

We've had our's 5 years now and they and the marriage are still going strong! :j

Wishing you every happiness together, enjoy all the exciting times ahead!