Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Men's wedding band

S

sebas

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 17, 2012
Messages
159
Hi Everyone! Pricescope was really helpful in helping me find a beautiful engagement ring for my fiancee. Now I need some help for myself.

Right now I am looking for a plain wedding band and debating between 14k or 18k white gold or platinum (PT950). I have a few questions that maybe you PSers could help us with.

1. Is there a difference between 14k and 18k white gold?
2. Is comfort fit recommended?
3. I have to wear latex gloves often for work, is low domed recommended?
4. My fingers are size 8. Is 4, 4.5, 5mm sound like the right width range?
5. I was looking at Paul Allen, eweddingbands, Tiffany's and Leon Mege. Is eweddingbands reputable? I notice their rings are very reasonably priced and they seem to use PT950 and die cast. Any other recommended vendors?
6. Does it make sense to go with platinum instead of white gold?
7. If I go with platinum I feel that I should go with Leon Mege because he did my fiancee's engagement ring and I really like him. Plus his pricing is only $100 more than the eweddingband platinum european comfort-fit low dome wedding band. Does anyone know if Leon's wedding band is similar to the european version in eweddingband and the Lucida in Tiffany's? How do they compare?
8. Anyone know if Leon makes wedding bands out of white gold or is he solely platinum?

If there are other things that I should consider, please let me know.

Thanks everyone!
 
Looks like 5-6mm is more typical for a wedding band width.
 
sebas|1362373405|3395661 said:
Hi Everyone! Pricescope was really helpful in helping me find a beautiful engagement ring for my fiancee. Now I need some help for myself.

Right now I am looking for a plain wedding band and debating between 14k or 18k white gold or platinum (PT950). I have a few questions that maybe you PSers could help us with.

1. Is there a difference between 14k and 18k white gold?
2. Is comfort fit recommended?
3. I have to wear latex gloves often for work, is low domed recommended?
4. My fingers are size 8. Is 4, 4.5, 5mm sound like the right width range?
5. I was looking at Paul Allen, eweddingbands, Tiffany's and Leon Mege. Is eweddingbands reputable? I notice their rings are very reasonably priced and they seem to use PT950 and die cast. Any other recommended vendors?
6. Does it make sense to go with platinum instead of white gold?
7. If I go with platinum I feel that I should go with Leon Mege because he did my fiancee's engagement ring and I really like him. Plus his pricing is only $100 more than the eweddingband platinum european comfort-fit low dome wedding band. Does anyone know if Leon's wedding band is similar to the european version in eweddingband and the Lucida in Tiffany's? How do they compare?
8. Anyone know if Leon makes wedding bands out of white gold or is he solely platinum?

If there are other things that I should consider, please let me know.

Thanks everyone!
Click to expand...

1. 18K has more gold than 14K
2. CF is recommended
3. recommend low dome if you are wearing gloves at work
4. My finger size is a 10, I have a 4mm band, 4.5mm would have worked also.
5. Bought mine from eweddingbands.com and could not be happier, die cast
6, Plat more expensive than gold, plat will have a really nice patima over time, gold may need polishing, no maint on the plat.
7. Your decision
8. ?
 
sebas|1362468124|3396623 said:
Looks like 5-6mm is more typical for a wedding band width.
Click to expand...

Nope, personal taste for width. I did not like the wider bands, others will. Best of luck
 
Willy, I must disagree, gold stays shinier and develops a finer patina. Platinum loses its shine quickly to all the scratches.
 
JulieN|1362486945|3396697 said:
Willy, I must disagree, gold stays shinier and develops a finer patina. Platinum loses its shine quickly to all the scratches.
Click to expand...

Julie, appreciate your opinion, it has been my experience that gold needs polishing to keep any kind of shine, plat does not.
I also believe by production, PT950 is harder than the 14k/18K gold rings and will show less scratches, they all scratch.
Thanks for your thoughts.
 
We considered Leon Mege and would have liked to give him our business, but went with Furrer-Jacot who had the ring my Fiance wanted in 18k white gold. He wanted something unique that no one else had, and although their rings are outrageously priced--their quality is like no other.

It's probably more than you're looking for, but here's the link to a whole new world of men's wedding bands.
http://www.igorman.com/#/MARRIAGE/WEDDING BANDS - MEN/

Michael C. Fina also has a great website featuring a ton of wedding bands, with pricing, but might be on the high end if you're looking for a comfort fit/plain band! :naughty:
 
For a man, if you have no romantic notions about gold or platinum one way or another, I would consider palladium. About the same price as gold, but does not have the risk of nickel allergy that nickel alloy white gold has.

I do not think the height of the dome will matter for wearing gloves, unless you wear your gloves very tightly.
 
Wow! Thanks for all the responses! Very very helpful!

Malbec> I will look at the websites you recommended.

Willy> Is there a color or durability difference between 14k and 18k white gold?

Julie> Is palladium as strong and durable as platinum?

I will definitely go with comfort fit and low dome. One wedding band that I liked that is not plain was Tiffany's 5-row platinum wedding band, but the price seemed a bit high.
 
I've purchased 3 rings from e-wedding bands and have been very happy with them. I also have a 3mm Lucida, but in comparison with my male friend's Lucida, it looks a little different once the width and band size increase.

I've attached some pics- the rose gold ring is e-wedding bands and is low dome comfort fit in 3.5mm (mine) and 4.5 mm (my husband's). He has a size 7.75 finger, which is close to your size. So my pic shows a 3mm 18kt yellow gold Lucida, a 3.5 mm 14kt rose gold low dome comfort fit e-wedding band ring, and a 14kt white gold heavy domed comfort fit ring, and then a pic of the ring on my husband's hand.

I wasn't quite clear, but I think the European style is thicker than the low domed ring.

Btw, my husband normally wears a 5mm 14kt yellow gold milgrain ring. He also has a palladium ring, but is pretty scratched up.

_4246.jpg

_4247.jpg

_4245.jpg
 
I think you have gotten most of your answers so I will just add in.

We used eweddingbands for DH's ring which is Tungsten and he loves it! It doesn't scratch or lose the shine like WG or PLAT does after awhile. He also likes the darker metal.

For width you should really go try on different widths and see what you are comfortable wearing. I notice many men with smaller fingers have thinner bands. It is really a personal preference.

It you go with WG it will need to be redipped down the road to stay white. Otherwise it will start turning slightly yellow over time. It might take months or it might takes years....or in some cases it won't. If you get PLAT the patina starts to have a grey tone and will loose the shine over time. It is also a personal preference.

GoodlucK!
 
Good recommendation, to try on rings at the store and see what width you like.
Personally I do not like think rings on men (6mm), min is 4mm from eweddingbands and I think is wide enough.
But it is a personal taste and you must go try them on.
Edit: Here are my 4mm CF plat band, you can't really tell width from pics, ring bought in 2007, so it has 5+ years of wear. Never take it off.

img_1019.jpg

img_666.jpg
 
Thanks again! All your suggestions were really useful and the pictures really helped.

Logan and Willy > Just to verify, the eweddingband low dome comfort fit ring is NOT the same as the european low dome comfort fit, right? I think the european is a little thicker. I like the thickness of the pictures you both attached.

I did go try on some rings this past weekend and I got the feeling that 4 or 4.5mm was just about right. But I don't think I tried 5mm, the next width up was 6mm and that felt too thick for my hands.

Palladium is an interesting option. It seems just as good as platinum minus the marketing cost.

I still can't wrap my head around the pros and cons of white gold vs. platinum vs. palladium. It seems like they all get scratched. Gold is suppose to scratch less easily than platinum or palladium, but needs to be rhodium plating from time to time to continue looking white. I understand that you don't lose material with platinum (and probably palladium), but really I just care that the ring stays looking nice for as long as it still fits my finger. So is white gold better? Do they all have the same amount of shine (I prefer something less shiny)?
 
White gold is not as white because you are starting with a yellow metal, it will look a little more yellow unless you rhodium plate it, and may possibly cause a nickel allergy if the alloy contains nickel; some alloys contain palladium. The difference in shine between metals is less important, you can order brushed finishes, and never polish them.

You don't lose material with plat/palladium, but you will never wear a thick gold ring down, anyway.

A man may be harder on his hands than a woman, and a gently worn platinum ring will patina, but I think some men's old plat bands look like cr*p, not patina.
 
Hmm... Yeah I think I'm sold, I'll go with palladium or 14k white gold if I get a plain white band. Both would be fine. I have to think about the hypoallergic and whiteness a little more.

It seems that there is no difference between 14k and 18k white gold other than one may want more gold because of its value, right?

I did come across X1 white gold which supposedly is whiter than palladium and white gold and doesn't need rhodium plating (http://www.stuller.com/pages/50717) But this material might be too "new" for me.

Anyone have a comparison of a the european low dome eweddingband and regular low dome eweddingband? :-) Never hurts to ask... :-)

But then there is always this, which is a little different but still simple and elegant (I wish it came in white gold so it would be half the price): http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/Item.aspx?sku=GRP01744
 
X1 is high nickel content alloy. You can try it if you are not the sentimental type, if you end up developing an allergy you should stop wearing it, or keep up the rhodium plating.

If you want a designer band, have you seen Sholdt? They come in different metals and you can order different finishes, I think they are good looking: http://www.sholdtdesign.com/
 
Ah, yes I don't want high nickel alloy content.

I did not hear about Scholdt. Looks like they have some retailers near me where I can see them first hand. Hard to get a good idea from online pictures. Thanks!
 
I used to have a pic from e-wedding bands that showed a low dome cf ring compared to a European low domed ring, but now I can't find it. The e-wedding bands people are really nice and will send you a pic of the two if you ask. They sent me a ton of pics...wish I could find them.
 
Honestly I would just get the 2 bands from eweddingbands.com do a comparsion of which one you like better and then send the other back. I think they do 30 day returns.
 
sebas|1362552812|3397743 said:
Thanks again! All your suggestions were really useful and the pictures really helped.

Logan and Willy > Just to verify, the eweddingband low dome comfort fit ring is NOT the same as the european low dome comfort fit, right? I think the european is a little thicker. I like the thickness of the pictures you both attached.

I did go try on some rings this past weekend and I got the feeling that 4 or 4.5mm was just about right. But I don't think I tried 5mm, the next width up was 6mm and that felt too thick for my hands.

Palladium is an interesting option. It seems just as good as platinum minus the marketing cost.

I still can't wrap my head around the pros and cons of white gold vs. platinum vs. palladium. It seems like they all get scratched. Gold is suppose to scratch less easily than platinum or palladium, but needs to be rhodium plating from time to time to continue looking white. I understand that you don't lose material with platinum (and probably palladium), but really I just care that the ring stays looking nice for as long as it still fits my finger. So is white gold better? Do they all have the same amount of shine (I prefer something less shiny)?
Click to expand...

I believe the CF eweddingbands ring I have is not the European model you refer to, it is the low dome, CF model.

Remember it is your coin and your head in the game. Palladium is cheaper than gold or plat, but it does not have the "wow" or prestige factor of gold or plat. If it were the case, you would see lots of the PS vendors offering ER's in palladium. I don't want to come off as a snob here, but will you be comfortable wearing the ring with that type of metal? Only you can answer that question. If you are Ok with it, then go for it , it is your money, if not, you know what to do. Best of luck.
 
Attached are pictures that compare the European Low-Dome, The Low-Dome, and the Heavy Comfort-fit Wedding Bands. The first ring is the European Low-Dome, the Second is the Low-dome and the last band is the Heavy Domed Comfort-fit.

Looks like the European low-dome is a little thicker.

domelowdomeheavy1.jpg

domelowdomeheavy2.jpg

domelowdomeheavy3.jpg

domelowdomeheavy4.jpg
 
another

domelowdomeheavy5.jpg
 
Hi everyone! I decided on a custom ring design via eweddingbands.

My question is should I go with 10k or 14k white gold? Is it better for the white gold alloy to be with palladium instead of nickel?

My concern is that as the rhodium plating fades away the ring will start to show the underlying color, which would be more yellow than white.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top