Men’s wedding rings vary from the most unusual and detailed designs to the very simple and traditional gold bands. Most rings are made in either white gold or yellow gold and often a combination of both, known as a two-tone wedding ring.
Among the different materials we offer is Platinum, for those who feel premium quality is most important. A platinum wedding band is the ultimate in luxury. It is the most precious and also the heaviest metal used in jewellery manufacture.
Alternatively, and most popular, is 18ct white and 18ct yellow gold, which can be fashioned into just about any design you can think of. This quality is what most choose for their rings, as it’s tough, durable and of very high quality. 18ct gold is made from 75% pure gold, and alloyed with other metals to make the finished product harder.
Wedding bands also come in 9ct white or 9ct yellow gold. With 37.5% pure gold, the cost of 9ct gold is around half of the same design in 18ct gold.
Men’s wedding rings are often seen without diamonds, but this is not a rule.
Black wedding rings are an exciting, with the best of these being solid Zirconium. This hard yet attractive material can also be used in conjunction with both yellow and white gold. Mokume Gane wedding ring designs are an interesting and discerning choice, with a combination of white, yellow, pink, black, titanium and even silver materials being used to create a wedding ring with a difference.
The most unusual men’s wedding rings are the Damascus steel wedding rings, which are a combination of black and white metals. There are also hard wood wedding rings and finally the most remarkable are the Meteorite wedding rings, which have a very metallic cross-hatching type pattern as the finish.
Diamond Set Men’s Wedding Rings
Diamonds set into a man’s wedding ring can make it look and feel a bit more special. If you like the look of diamonds, it’s worth making your wedding ring as special as possible. Even if you don’t normally wear jewellery, your wedding ring will be an exception and you will want to wear it with pride.
Men’s wedding rings are often seen with a single diamond, which may be subtle or be a feature. The individual diamond may be a Round Brilliant cut but more frequently a square Princess cut diamond is used. Alternatively, three diamonds in a vertical row or three diamonds set apart works very well.
When a man chooses to have diamonds in his wedding ring, the stones are often set differently from those in women’s rings. Instead of claws or beads, they have metal all around the diamond, which is called a ‘rubbed in’ setting or ‘pressure set’. The diamond either sits flush with the metal of the ring, or just very slightly raised. You may choose to put one diamond in every year, so the ring of diamonds grows as your relationship grows. It also reminds you how many years you have been married!
Diamonds are usually set into the more precious materials of 9ct Gold, 18ct Gold or Platinum. However, lesser metals like 9ct gold, Titanium even Zirconium can be used.
Men’s Two Tone Rings
Men’s wedding rings come in just about any width and any thickness. Two tone men’s wedding rings are very popular, especially with white gold in the centre and yellow gold on the outside edges.
Other variations on the two tone theme are white and rose gold, Titanium and white gold and sometimes the white, yellow and titanium mixed together.
If you are wanting just a slight tone difference, the slightly darker white of 18ct White gold contrasts well against the lighter 9ct White Gold. To give even more contrast, the dark shade of the Titanium and the lightest 9ct White Gold works very well together.
Also, to highlight a contrast in colour, the materials can have a different surface finish. This is where part is polished and another part is emery or matte finish.
There are two ways of making two tone rings. The first and most common way is the overlay technique. This is where the base of the ring is in one colour and another colour material is laid over the top. The problem with this style of manufacture is the inability to resize the ring. It can be stretched up, but cannot be reduced.
Stacking is the other method of manufacture. Stacking is, for instance, making three narrow rings of the same size and thickness, usually in different colours and fusing them together side by side. This type of ring can be easily sized up or down if need be.
There are so many variations on the theme of two tone rings.
Black Zirconium Men’s Rings
Zirconium is a grey-white metal, similar to Titanium. Like Titanium, it is relatively lightweight and good for sensitive skin as it does not contain nickel. Zirconium is not an alloy but a chemical element that comes from the mineral Zircon.
Men’s Zirconium wedding rings are extremely strong and scratch resistant. With the strength of Titanium, this very modern material is not yet widely known and is gaining in popularity. When polished, Zirconium has a sleek, smooth surface and is very black compared to Titanium, which is light grey.
Zirconium rings are popular for customers wanting something black, striking, durable and a bit different.
Damascus Steel Men’s Rings
Damascus steel was most famously used by the Japanese metal smiths to create the highest quality Samurai swords, folding the metal over and over to strengthen the steel, to where it would hold a far superior finish and sharp edge.
Damascus steel rings are created in the same way, using steels of different colours to more easily see the patterns made by this process.
Damascus rings are often combined with other metals such as yellow or white gold, to create a strong contrast in colour and make the Damascus steel more of a feature.
Men’s Mokume-Gane Rings
The process of manufacturing Mokume-Gane rings is very similar to Damascus steel designs and was made famous in Japan as a way to decorate swords. Sheets of different coloured and different hardness metals are laminated together and then forged and folded over and over in specific ways to create specific patterns which look similar to wood grain. The pattern is very hard to control, which means every ring is individual and unique.
Rings can be custom designed to suit your taste. There are very tight thin patterns and more simple, less lined, wider designs. These are created with an array of coloured metals. The white metals used are 18ct White Gold, 9ct White Gold, Silver, Chromium and Palladium. They are all slightly different shades of white and grey and combine to make a sophisticated, artistic look. Combining Yellow Gold and Rose Gold adds another level of design complexity.
Mokume-Gane can be overlayed or inlayed over different metal. This means the Mokume becomes more of a feature, rather than the whole ring. Solid gold rings with Mokume-Gane in the centre look very special, as do black Zirconium rings with a Mokume centre. The same effect can be produced using Cobalt or Titanium as the base of the ring and overlaying Mokume.
The process of manufacturing Mokume is difficult and time consuming, so they are not an inexpensive product, but if you are looking for something very unique, with its own original and artistic characteristics, a Mokume-Gane ring may be perfect for you.
Article Supplied by DDS Diamond Design Studios.
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