How To Choose Your Wedding Ring
When getting married, one of the biggest decisions to be made is how to style a new wedding ring with a pre-existing engagement ring.
We have spoken to Sophie Breitmeyer in order to get more information on how to best go about the matter
What’s the difference between a plain and a diamond wedding ring ?
The first decision a bride-to-be has to make is whether to go for a plain gold or a diamond band. At our 24 Powis studio, we have a range of plain gold as well as diamond eternity rings in store for people to come and try on and decide what they like best.
‘Eternity ring’ used to be a term that refers to a ring that you got at a later stage, when now the term covers all diamond bands. The reason it’s called an eternity ring is that traditionally you would have a plain band when you got married, and then you get the diamond ring at a later date. Either when you have children, hit your tenth wedding anniversary etc.
For example, most of our parent’s generation would have an engagement ring, a plain wedding band and then a diamond band acquired at a later date.
Nowadays, most people in our generation like to immediately go for the diamond wedding ring.
What’s the difference between claw set, castle set and channel set?
The claw set is more prong-like, whilst the castle set is more embedded, and from the side looks like a castle wall (hence its name) Claw set catches a little more easily, but also allows for more of the diamond to be exposed.
Finally, in the channel set eternity ring, the diamonds are set within a channel, embedded into the band itself.
Is my wedding ring supposed to fit my engagement ring?
One of the other big decisions, which is something that hopefully will be thought of when buying your engagement ring, is how the wedding ring and the engagement ring are going to fit together.
Some antique rings and more detailed engagement rings are going to require a band that curves around the engagement ring, and with some slightly more contemporary rings you can slot a band in underneath.
Now, it’s worth thinking about how the two bands sit together because what you don’t want is your wedding ring to damage your engagement ring or vice versa. So if there are lots of claws involved, the two rings can scratch each other. When possible, it’s worth thinking about that at the engagement ring stage.
If you have an engagement ring that it is quite complicated to fit a wedding ring with, we can do something for you that’s a bit more bespoke.
Speaking of bespoke, what kind of services do you offer for wedding rings?
As we are seeing people wanting to impart a bit more style into their rings, we offer a bespoke service, resulting in much more elaborate eternity rings fitting the client’s wishes.
Some of those options include different styles, different shapes of diamonds, or even flush set stones into a plain band.
Should my wedding ring be of the same metal as my engagement ring?
It’s not essential that you match metal, in fact it’s quite traditional that people would have a platinum engagement ring and then a yellow gold wedding band. But it’s very fashionable for the two to match now.
What about engraving?
All of our wedding rings come with complimentary engraving, that’s our gift to the client.
We have engraved just about everything under the sun, from dates to emojis, and little messages, or even coordinates.
Most people go with something along the lines of initials and dates.
What about men’s wedding rings?
Men’s wedding rings tend to be a little bit more simple.
We do two main types of men’s wedding rings, we get a few clients who get a wedding ring that sits behind a signet ring if they’re wearing a signet ring so the two don’t clash. Most of our clients go for a traditional plain band and that tends to be one of two things.
Firstly, the most popular wedding ring for men in the UK is a 4mm court shaped band. However, most of our male clients have never worn any jewellery before so they end up going for the lighter weight equivalent of the court shaped band.
How do I know my ring is the right size?
In terms of finger size, you want to feel like a ring goes on relatively easily but that you’re making a bit of an effort to get it off, otherwise it’s going to be too big.
How long before the wedding should one start thinking about wedding rings?
Ideally, probably around 6 weeks to have plenty of time, but it takes us around 4 weeks to make and engrave wedding rings, so we suggest coming in at least six weeks before your wedding to allow for a bit of leeway in case the ring is the wrong size.
Finally Sophie, what is your favourite wedding ring?
I’m a bit of a traditionalist, so I prefer plain gold wedding rings and then stacking eternity rings at a later date. I quite like the idea of having gold, then diamond. The 2mm D-shaped band is a classic for women.