How to Choose Your Wedding Band

Wedding Band - history

The Wedding Band originated with the Ancient Egyptians who twisted hemp fibers into a ring to express the permanency of their love, a ring having no beginning and no end. Lovers would be together for eternity in this world and in the next.

The practice of wearing a Wedding Band on the third finger of the left hand grew out of the ancients’ belief in the vena amoris (love vein) that ran from that finger directly to the heart. By the time that anatomy was able to show that such a vein did not exist, the tradition was well founded and was not changed.

Wedding Band - tradition

Although there is no legal requirement to do so, couples still exchange a Wedding Band on their special day. At one time it was rare for the groom to take a ring, but the practice grew in popularity after World War II when many servicemen wore rings in memory of their loved ones back home. It is now commonplace for the man to wear a simple band to show the world that he is married.

Prior to choosing your Wedding Band, you should decide on a budget. There is little point in looking at wedding bands that are well above your price range, and it will be easy for you and the jeweler if you state a maximum price. You will then be provided with a selection of rings up to that price from which to make your choice. Most jeweler’s wedding bands are separated into various price ranges.

Wedding Band - choices

You should also decide beforehand what type of metal you want, or what color your Wedding Band should be. The most popular is yellow gold, but you can also get white gold and platinum and titanium are also available. Platinum is the most expensive of these, but also the hardest and most hard wearing. Titanium is light, hypoallergenic and can be polished to a mirror finish and is one of the newer metals that have become popular for wedding bands, especially with men.

Gold comes in yellow or white varieties, the white being an alloy of gold with palladium or nickel. Yellow gold is available in purity from 9 to 24 carat, the 24 carat being pure gold. Gold, however, is a very soft metal and 24 carat gold has little resistance to wear and abrasion, and is therefore not suitable for a Wedding Band that you are likely to wear all your life. The best compromise between durability and purity is 18 carat gold though 22 carat is also often used.

Wedding Band - designer

If you also wear an engagement ring, you will probably be wearing it on the same finger as your Wedding Band, as most women do. You should therefore take the style and color of your engagement into account when choosing your wedding ring, because it is best if they match rather than clash in color. Ideally they should also be of the same cross-sectional width.

The design is also important to many women, and while some have a specific design in mind, the majority chooses the best looking from the options offered in their price range. If you have an engagement ring, then you will know how rings are presented and how to choose them. Men usually wear a plain Wedding Band, but it is becoming increasingly common for the bride’s wedding band to have a diamond added at special events in her life, such as at each anniversary or at the birth of her children.

Wedding Band - size

Size is very important, and you should never buy a ring that is slightly tight on a cold day. As your finger gets warmer it will swell, and your ring will no longer fit you. Additionally the Wedding Band and engagement ring are generally worn together, so you should have the band fitted with your engagement ring since that will affect the size. The wedding band is normally slightly larger than the engagement ring.

Many people do not realize that you can get their Wedding Band in a number of different cross sectional shapes. There are the D rings that are most common, shaped like the letter D in cross-section when cut through. Then there is a pipe wedding band that is flat like a pipe. Thirdly you can get the court ring that is rounded on the inside, against the finger. This is the most comfortable type and easiest to get on and off. The fourth type is the reverse D or flat court wedding band that is like the D ring, but with the rounded part against the skin. You might not have the choice, but if you do then the court wedding band looks best and is easiest to wear.

Wedding Band - lifetime

Choose your Wedding Band well and make sure that you love it, because you are going to have it for a long time; hopefully for life.










Wedding Band

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