It's My Turn...Deciding on Men's Wedding Band

[RockyFPV]

Hi sledge!

You helped with my fiancé’s diamond a couple months back. I’ve been looking at rings for myself recently and I completely understand how difficult it can be. Originally I wanted a simple gold milgrain band in 6mm

I was adamant on not having any tiny round diamonds in my own ring until I saw the elongated step cut diamonds and so I decided to look for baguette rings for men. I found this style online:

Currently I have Mr. DK working on making one of these baguette rings for me. Anyways, just wanted to post more inspiration. Hope you find what you’re looking for.

Bonus: Dk’s CAD drawing for mine (grooves are milgrain):

 

[Golden_bird]

If you cannot pick between these “fancy” choices , I would just stick with forever classic band in gold /platinum . They are ageless ,easy to care , you don’t need to baby it and to the rest of your days will be in style . And there is something so sexy about classic band on man’s hand. Look at us girls , we keep changing the styles of bands / rings back and forth to finally realize after tons of resets , there is nothing better than classic style with clean lines without too much going on .

 

[sledge]

As some of you had noted, the fiancee and I have shopped in-store at a few local jewelers. Found a ring I like the way it felt more than how it looked. Actually it looked good in the display case. Two tone, but didn't look good on me. Rep said it was available in all white metal, brushed if I liked. She is getting me a price to do platinum. We will see how that turns out.

More interesting part is she gave me the designer and model. It's a Benchmark band. While entering I stumbled on a euroshank in cobalt chrome and tungsten. Started searching for the best price and I noticed IDJ price came up. Hmmm.

A little worried about 9mm being too thick.

Cobalt Chrome:
https://www.benchmarkrings.com/wedding-rings/forge/contemporary/CF69480CC



Tungsten:
https://www.benchmarkrings.com/wedding-rings/forge/contemporary/CF69480TG
https://idjewelry.com/9mm-comfort-f...-wedding-band-in-tungsten-cf69480tg-ibmd.html




Also, was browsing JA and round this...the 7.5mm seems to be a nice width in the videos and I like the (perceived) thickness of the band. I asked JA rep and they couldn't tell me actual thickness. Assuming 2mm+. Plain & simple.

Just don't know much about cobalt chrome. Light reading says it's resizable and heavier than titanium but not as heavy as tungsten. For $135, almost seems worth ordering to try it, especially given 30 day return window.

https://www.jamesallen.com/wedding-...ort-fit-satin-finished-design-ring-item-41800

 

[kal2021]

I like the James Allen one. Simple and classic.

 

[the_mother_thing]

@sledge My apologies if this has been shared already but eweddingbands has pretty good prices and reviews on PS (IIRC), and they currently have a sale on all platinum jewelry.

https://www.e-weddingbands.com/

 

[OoohShiny]

Boone Rings uses Cobalt Chrome and might be able to do something custom?

I'm pretty sure 9mm won't be too wide, though, if you have big hands (which I assume you do if your ring size is 12.5! ) - I have a 7mm wide band and I only have teeny tiny hands (size 7 ring, I think - I can fit the good lady's engagement ring on my ring finger... lol)

 

[rockysalamander]

Love the baguettes. But, have you thought about french-cuts? They seem to maintain more sparkle when dirty than the baguettes.
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[sledge]

Boone Rings uses Cobalt Chrome and might be able to do something custom?

I'm pretty sure 9mm won't be too wide, though, if you have big hands (which I assume you do if your ring size is 12.5! ) - I have a 7mm wide band and I only have teeny tiny hands (size 7 ring, I think - I can fit the good lady's engagement ring on my ring finger... lol)

Just want to give props to Boone Rings. I reached out about 06:45 earlier today for a custom quote and received a response by 08:12.

Confirmed they could make it. Answered some questions and quoted me different prices for various metal types. For any vendor reading, take notes as this is how you impress a customer and make them feel important and want to work with you!

I'm going to run it past the boss, lol. Last night prior to leaving work I ordered the JA ring so I could move forward. She doesn't know yet as I was going to surprise her on the way home. We were talking and before I could spit it out the says she dislikes it, prefers the black tungsten and torn on the euroshank.

I like to use a 1-10 scale with 10 being best. JA ring is -7 to her, yes negative.

Blackie is a solid 7. Eurie is a 6.9. Nothing I've shown her has ranked above a 7. She says she doesn't like euro shanks but it magically makes a 6.9. How the hell does that work? I think the results is skewed. She curves it based on how well I like it unless she really dislikes it. Arggghhh.

 

[Wewechew]

I’m going to give you the same advice we gave you about her- YOU are going to be the one wearing it. Yes, it would be nice if she liked it, but this isn’t about her tastes.

Unless you really don’t care and are leaving the decision up to her, which I can respect.

ETA- I don’t like yellow gold; my husband ONLY likes yellow gold. Guess what color his wedding ring is? Bc he is the one that has to wear it. And honestly, three years after the fact, I’m quite fond of his yellow gold wedding ring

 

[OoohShiny]

Love the baguettes. But, have you thought about french-cuts? They seem to maintain more sparkle when dirty than the baguettes.
\

That top ring is so nice!!

 

[sledge]

That top ring is so nice!!

Ditto that!

Love the French cut facets. Maybe give my fiancee a run for her money and bling myself out with one of those, lol.

 

[OoohShiny]

Ditto that!

Love the French cut facets. Maybe give my fiancee a run for her money and bling myself out with one of those, lol.

Apparently I'm either not allowed diamonds or not allowed diamonds that are bigger than my good lady's, depending on her mood - we'll see about that

 

[Wewechew]

not allowed diamonds that are bigger than my good lady's

Ok, that is where I would draw the line with DH’s wedding band- no way he is allowed to wear bigger diamonds than I am

 

[sledge]

LOL, such a slippery slope!

You ladies encourage the bling and tell us its okay and then say only if its smaller than yours. What crap is that? Our fingers are bigger! Well at least mine are, lol. I figure with 12.5 I can sport a 5+ carat easily! Talk to the hand you size 6's.

 

[OoohShiny]

Ok, that is where I would draw the line with DH’s wedding band- no way he is allowed to wear bigger diamonds than I am

Mine would be a RHR so I'd sidestep that rule nicely lol

 

[Wewechew]

Mine would be a RHR so I'd sidestep that rule nicely lol

Thank goodness the only jewelry my DH wears is a wedding band and watch

In all seriousness, I wish DH was into diamonds and understood my obsession

 

[OoohShiny]

LOL, such a slippery slope!

You ladies encourage the bling and tell us its okay and then say only if its smaller than yours. What crap is that? Our fingers are bigger! Well at least mine are, lol. I figure with 12.5 I can sport a 5+ carat easily! Talk to the hand you size 6's.

Exactly!

It's all about being in proportion lol

And besides - equality works both ways...

 

[OoohShiny]

Thank goodness the only jewelry my DH wears is a wedding band and watch

In all seriousness, I wish DH was into diamonds and understood my obsession

Same here, but the power of PS has sucked me in, and now I spend my evenings hiding in the corner pining for and plotting ways to get my hands on My Precioussss... lol

 

[Wewechew]

Same here, but the power of PS has sucked me in, and now I spend my evenings hiding in the corner pining for and plotting ways to get my hands on My Precioussss... lol

Same here!

 

[ringo865]

^sledge

 

[rockysalamander]

Ditto that!

Love the French cut facets. Maybe give my fiancee a run for her money and bling myself out with one of those, lol.

Its not that frenchies are really more sparkly as much as that they are more sparkly when dirty. Step cuts are very sensitive to dirt and they can become pretty flat when small and dirty. I find french cuts have more life when dirty.

My grand-dad has size 13 fingers. He always chose wider bands, 8 mm was the bare minimum. You might like to try some silver bands and see what you like. My DH did that before he ordered his official ring.

 

[rockysalamander]

Bad Photoshop, but trying to show with some thicker rails.

 

[sledge]

Its not that frenchies are really more sparkly as much as that they are more sparkly when dirty. Step cuts are very sensitive to dirt and they can become pretty flat when small and dirty. I find french cuts have more life when dirty.

My grand-dad has size 13 fingers. He always chose wider bands, 8 mm was the bare minimum. You might like to try some silver bands and see what you like. My DH did that before he ordered his official ring.

Talking with fiancee, she suggested I keep the JA 7.5mm round band order in place, AND also order the 9mm Euro from IDJ or another Benchmark dealer. Cobalt chrome on both. Thoughts are I can try them both on and keep the one I like, or send both back if I don't love either and proceed to do a custom with Boone or someone else. Actually love this as the stores never have a ring that fits me I can truly try on.

Prior to that conversation I measured out a rough diagram to hold next to my fingers. Really the 9mm doesn't look too big. I'd agree with your granddad that 8 probably looks about like the minimum. While not much different the 7.5mm looks kind of skinny.

Bad Photoshop, but trying to show with some thicker rails.

Wow, thank you Rocky! That looks pretty damn awesome actually. I've struggled to find a diamond design that I liked and didn't think looked feminine.

I genuinely like this quite a bit. I'm thinking 8mm wide and keep the channel/diamond proportion shown here. Also, what color do you think those diamonds are? They look like they have a light grey tint to them which I love against the white metal.

Any idea a ballpark price to do this in DK WG palladium mix with stones half wrapped? Comfort fit. Would also consider it in platinum or cobalt chrome.

 

[OoohShiny]

There is a chap on etsy who sells sets of three stainless steel sizer rings in 4, 6, 8mm widths - JakobMokumeGane or something like that?? They're only about $30 for, say, 8mm rings in size 12.25, 12.5 and 12.75, so you can get your sizing exactly right and make it not loose in cold weather, not tight in hot weather, and accurate for a 8mm wide ring (because wider rings need different sizing to narrow rings, of course).


Drop Yoram an email off his gemconcepts site and he'll be able to give you a price for french cuts in, say, 5mm sizes (if you're having 1.5mm banding each side of them). You could also ask about Peruzzi cuts and Asschers as videos of both have been posted on here and they are awesome!

Don't forget that all of those cuts have quite high crowns, though, so will likely stand proud of the band - it should mean excellent performance and '3D' effects (AIUI) but might increase risk of damage if you want to wear it to do engine rebuilds or similar lol

Yoram is not super-cheap, of course, but his work is lovely

 

[sledge]

Thanks @OoohShiny!

Funny you mention Yoram, I pulled up his site last night and then got distracted. Just started scratching the surface. My concern is due to the size of my finger and widths needed, I think size & quantity needed will make this project very costly and more than I'm willing to spend.

Earlier this AM I sent Yekutiel @ IDJ an email asking for some pricing on the Benchmark euroshank band. I found a 7 and 9mm version. Thinking they may have an 8mm version but at page 20+ I gave up on my own search, lol.

Put in requests to both IDJ and DK to quote the above ring using french cuts. We will see where this goes.

 

[WillyDiamond]

OP
Late to the party.
Have you tried eweddingbands.com?
Best prices and selection.
Good luck.

 

[sledge]

Happy to report I spoke with Yuketiel @ IDJ today. Super nice guy that really has a passion for this stuff. Thoroughly enjoyed our conversations.

Super helpful and just silky smooth to be honest. I really like that. Anyhow I ordered the 9mm Euro band from him in cobalt chrome. Great pricing and fast delivery. Expecting in a week or so.

We also talked about the custom band. Sounds like it probably won't be a cost effective solution. I'm going to do a little more research but it's looking bleak. Also we had a pretty honest conversation about how a band like that may not suit my lifestyle and probably most guys.

Again, really enjoyed the conversations. It's easy to see why so many recommend him. Super knowledgeable that truly wants to help people. Well done IDJ, well done.

 

[OoohShiny]

I think you are right to assume a custom set of stones for a band would end up very expensive!

No reason a chap couldn't buy a ring for day-to-day now and work on a more expensive ring for 'leisure time'/nights out later on, though...

 

[sledge]

I think you are right to assume a custom set of stones for a band would end up very expensive!

No reason a chap couldn't buy a ring for day-to-day now and work on a more expensive ring for 'leisure time'/nights out later on, though...

Totally agree.

By the way, heard back from DK last night. I'm hesitant to disclose the exact dollars but that ring with the french baguettes is more than my fiancee's ring and setting! As IDJ indicated, DK clarified the french baguettes were very expensive. They did quote a normal band without the stones for a reasonable price in their WG/palladium alloy but I think I will try the JA and IDJ rings first I already have ordered.

Sounds like this part of the journey is nearly complete for me. I will post some actual photos once the rings arrive.

Also, I just want to say thanks to all my PS family for the countless options presented and patience with me. Although not nearly as exciting as diamond searching, this journey has been fun in it's own way. You guys are great and it wouldn't have been the same without you, so thank you all from the depths of my heart.

 

[mrs-b]

@sledge -

I think a single one of those french cuts in a ring would look great for a guy. A more masculine looking ring, far more 'easy wear' than a whole band of them, and way more cost effective. Would work in any metal.