Wedding Band choices - what would you pick?

I’ve been enjoying my new ring for a little over 2 months now.  It is a .831 RB from WF, and is a G/SI1 ACA H&A.  It is a shiny little thing!  I wear a size 4.5 and have been married for years, so this is not an engagement ring.  I’ve been saving some pennies and it’s time for me to add a wedding band to it so I don’t look like I’m engaged.  I hope everyone will chime in and give me their thoughts. A photo of it is on this post.

The legato head sits very low, and the band is thin, so I need to select something that sits low on the hand.  The obvious choice would be the matching band from WF.  This band is 2.4 mm wide, and would have the exact same shank as my ering, which technically measures 2 mm wide.  A very matchy set!  Here are some of my thoughts about matching it with this band: 

I travel quite a bit for work, so I’m always dragging suitcases around.  I’m a meeting planner, so onsite, I’m moving signs, carrying easels, unpacking boxes, moving boxes, moving a table, etc.  Before this e-ring, I wore either my original wedding band, which is platinum and 18k gold, or my 6 pointer rounds channel set band.  I call it my industrial strength bling, because it is large enough to be a blingy thing, and sturdy enough that I wear it constantly and never worry about banging it.  SO, the point of this is, on my last 2 trips, I’ve stowed away my ering in the safe because I’ve not wanted to expose my little beauty to the dangers of my day.  I’ve moved my old eternity band from my RH to my wedding finger and continued my day.  If I get the matching band, I’d want to just wear it on days like this.  Two things, it is very small, and wouldn’t look very substantial, and might take more hits than I’d like it to as well.  I know some of you will say the micro pave is too delicate, but really, I consider the ering to be quite durable.  My fear is chipping the diamond or catching it between an easel and the wall, etc…  I sometimes turn my diamond into my hand to see what the wedding band would look like, and it seems kinda dinky!  All this being said, I’d still like to own the little thing.

I’ve also considered full eternity and ¾ eternity.  I have looked a million times at the WF rings and the Facets rings.  I’ve also tried on Memoire at our B&M.  Given that the hands on part of my life concerning me, I’m leaning toward bands that have 7, 9, or 11 stones.   It seems to me that these bands would provide a certain amount of “bangability” to them, being that they don’t have diamonds all the way around. Memoire has these as well.  I am not willing to pay Memoire’s prices, and in fact, their stones are SI, where Facets or WF are VS.  Memoire has a great single bar set that is beautiful.  You see the diamonds really well.  Some will say the diamonds are too far apart on it, but it is a beauty!

Ok, so here are what I consider my options, in no particular order:

1. WF halo wedding band.  Would match my ering and be a lovely set.  If I save some more pennies, I could then get one of the other bands I’m listing here as a 3rd ring, but my hubby might do me in then… .25 tcw $1195
http://www.whiteflash.com/Wedding_Bands/Halo-Wedding-Band_1004.htm

2. Raphael 11 stone shared prong, .53 tcw $1078
http://www.thefacetscollection.com/item.cfm?item_id=1868

3. Facets regular line 9 stone shared prong, .47 tcw $889
http://www.thefacetscollection.com/item.cfm?item_id=3663

4. WF 7 stone shared prong, .35 tcw $1260
http://www.whiteflash.com/Wedding_Bands/7-Stone-Shared-Prong-Diamond-Band_939.htm

And a few more for good measure – just in case I might be swayed this way:

5. Facets channel set, .59 $1325  Full eternity
http://www.thefacetscollection.com/item.cfm?item_id=1208

6. Facets shared prong, .74 $1412 Full eternity
http://www.thefacetscollection.com/item.cfm?item_id=2121

7. WF shared prong, .85 approx, $1595 Full eternity
http://www.whiteflash.com/Wedding_Bands/Diamonds-for-an-Eternity_999.htm

All of these are platinum, as that is what my ering is.  One last thought, I’ve considered wearing a very small 2mm band as a spacer to get a wedding band away from my ring so that they don’t hit each other.  Actually a less than 2mm would work better, but no one has those.  The 2mm at Facets are quite reasonable.  FYI, a plain band with this band does not look good.  It sort of clashes, thus the bling ideas above. 

And, price does matter a little bit, although with this project I want to pick what will look the best.  However, just so you know, with WF I’d get the $100 off repeat customer discount, and with Facets, I’d get the military 10% discount because my hubby is retired military.

One part of me wants to get the halo matching band, another wants ACA melee and says “go with the 7 stone”.  Another part of me says to “go with the 11 stone Raphael Facets band” so I’ll have bling where most people can see it.  I love the idea of full eternity since it in fact goes on for eternity, and the last option would give me the look with the bangability for my real life.  Of course, of $$ was no option, I’d probably get 2 matching halo bands and wear one on either side.

If you’ve lasted this long…here are some pictures.  What do you vote for and why?  Thanks in advance for your help!

~~~ When in doubt...don't.~~~

~~~ When in doubt...don't.~~~

~Marian


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"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that bling..."