The art of designing classic jewellery is more like tailoring than abstract painting. You have in mind the form and then you adapt it to the person. Wedding rings are a piece of jewellery that is, generally, classic. Though of course, not necessarily. Remember, love doesn’t do rules, so you don’t have to either. Conversely, as society is exploring non-conventional ways of being, we would say that designing non-classic wedding rings is a bit more like an abstract painting! You are free to explore. Let’s consider conventional rings for men and women and then touch on the non-conventional.
Conventional
If you were to look at a classic yellow-gold wedding ring from the 1930s and one from 2023 they would look pretty well identical. Slender, slightly domed and unadorned. In the 1970’s there was a trend for very wide wedding rings, perhaps 10mm wide, sometimes more. It is not a trend that aged well. Many of these rings had to be cut off their fingers years later because as the wearer aged and fingers swelled, the ring proved too wide and unwieldy to squeeze over the knuckle. Having been removed these rings were often filed down and made thinner to be more wearable. Well, surely it is better to have a thinner ring in the first place. Make a wedding ring too thin, however, and you run the risk of the gold becoming weak and bending over time – it should last a lifetime.
Men
With a man’s wedding ring if you are classically minded then there are a few decisions to make: the width, the profile, the metal and the finish.
Width:
With men’s wedding rings the sweet spot for width is generally between 4 and 6mm. It relates to the size of your hand but also what you get up to day-to-day and your personal style. A wedding ring should not look apologetic by being too thin but should also not be unwieldy or look ostentatious by being too wide. This is of course all within the context of your own personality and style. A larger-than-life, gregarious character may suit a wider ring. If you wear other jewellery too, it will need to find its place within the mix. Most UK men these days keep it pretty tidy and for them, a wedding ring is the first item of jewellery they will wear, and often, the last! It may feel strange at first but most report that within a week they barely notice they are wearing it. This is the aim.
Profile:
More squared-off profiles have a modern feel while domed rings are more classic. Have a think about your general taste and style. Do you wear bold clothes, colours and styles or are you more likely to be attracted to the materials and quality of staple styles instead? If you wear a watch, does it have squared-off edges, a large face and detailing or is it more rounded and low-key? If you answered the former in each instance you might have a more modern style if the latter, more classic. This can help in choosing the shape. A popular shape at the moment is a flat band with bevelled edges. This style bridges the two. Its flat surfaces look modern but at a distance, the overall shape is softened and more classic. Think about your work. Doing a physical job it may be better to have a heavier ring, rounded so as not to catch on anything but that can take some punishment and endure being squeezed. A cello player however may opt for a very slender band so that their fine finger movements are not impeded.
Metal:
Generally, when we think of a wedding ring we think of yellow gold. These days most wedding rings are white metal, usually platinum. Yellow gold then is a slightly more traditional choice. The best way to make this decision is to think about your skin tone. Warmer looks better with yellow and cooler with white metals. There is also what you like the look of too. It is not actually a convention that the metal of each partner matches one another as some people believe.
Rose Gold is another option. Copper in the alloy gives the red colour.
With the cost of gold being at an all-time high and precious metal going up over time, generally reusing old gold jewellery is a good way to make a saving on wedding rings. It is worth asking around the family whether older relatives have any articles that they no longer wear and may have become dated that can be melted down and used for wedding rings. See our blog about re-using inherited jewellery. It is also nice from a symbolic point of view. Some couples opt to melt together gold from each of their families into one. Both rings then have identical alloys.
Should my wedding ring match my watch?
Men sometimes ask this. Well, do you intend to wear this watch all your life? If not then the wedding ring should take precedence.
Here’s an interesting fact about this set. This ring is actually 22ct carat gold. A subtle difference that will show in a more orangey hue over time.
Finish:
The traditional look is shiny with the surface of the metal smoothed to a mirrored finish. A soft brushed finish is very attractive and softens the look slightly, giving a warmer feel. This is a finish that men often go for. Lathe finished brushing is a stronger, more modern look. It lasts longer and is more stylized. Remember finishes are by definition superficial and after several months wear will look alike. They can be easily and quickly reapplied. Hammered and beaten finishes however are longer lasting and are popular for the more organic, artisanal look.
Women
The starting point for a woman’s wedding ring is the engagement ring. It needs to complement but not overpower. Different colour metals are fine, though most women prefer to match them. It is difficult to give generalisations beyond that.
We specialise in making wedding rings that fit around large centre stones or form some kind of array around the engagement ring stone. One consideration is whether you want the wedding ring to be wearable on its own. If you do then the more intricately it is fitted to the engagement ring the more it will look incomplete by itself.
A recent favourite. The engagement ring (made by another jeweller) is a modern take on a classic cluster arrangement and the wedding ring is more off-piste, contrasting the geometry of the cluster with a free-flowing golden form and a solitary gem set off-axis. Break ALL the rules… why don’t you? And yet, they look obviously like a wedding and engagement ring. The majority of wedding rings now are set with diamonds.
Here we kept the classic yellow-gold band running down the middle but made a leaf motif using shaped diamonds to create a delicate, free-flowing design.
Non-Conventional
This is a wedding ring and engagement ring set we made recently for a male couple. Although they are two rings, they were presented at the same time. Looking closely, either ring by itself has an incomplete proportion. The diamond is set slightly off-centre, the wedding ring makes a third of the proportion of the engagement ring and the inside edges are flush whereas the outer edges are bevelled. This is interesting as it changes the emphasis from ‘proposal followed by marriage’ to the whole decision to get married as being one thing.
Last year we made two engagement rings for men being given by their female partners. They are both quite chunky and could be considered masculine, with strong shapes and, interestingly, both feature lapis lazuli, a strong, rich, navy blue. If there is an engagement ring then a wedding ring generally follows. We do hope so, watch this space…
Whatever your view of the conventions of marriage and the jewellery that comes with it, hopefully this will help you find your way to a ring that you will love as much as your other half. Which after all, is the point of it all. For an informal conversation about your wedding rings please contact: wyatt@wyattjewellery.co.uk