Practicality/durability of eternity wedding rings

[readytorock]

PSers who wear (or have worn) eternity rings on the daily, whether as wedding bands or otherwise: how do they hold up to day-to-day wear? Have you encountered sizing issues after some years, and had to stop wearing them? Finally, if you’ve worn different kinds of eternity rings, have you noticed that e.g. channel- or bezel-set ones hold up better than e.g shared-prong ones?

Thank you so much for any/all sharing!

 

[AprilBaby]

Mine is shared prong, .10 stones. Worn every day for the last 5 years, no problems. If you are under 40, size up a half size so when you get older it still fits.

 

[Kaycee2018]

I only have one full eternity due to these very concerns and the fact that I have large knuckles (1/2-3/4 ring size larger than the base of my ring finger) and swell easily and often. I also don't particularly care for the feeling of the diamonds between and on the underside of my fingers, especially with larger stones/wider rings. My eternity is less than 2mm wide, so quite thin and comfortable, and is a half a size larger than my normal ring size to account for all this. Though I do think it varies by person, my general observation is that unless you size up a bit there is a pretty high risk of them not fitting over time. In general I prefer to stick with non-full eternity bands, especially with pricier rings and rings with sentimental value. GL!

 

[LinSF]

I wore a shared prong round 1.65CTW eternity band daily for 12 years. It was a size 7.25 and my finger is now a 5.25. Answering your questions:
- It was comfortable for everyday wear, and never got in the way or was damaged in any way.
- I only encountered sizing issues when it was due to my body changing. Pregnancy had no impact for me, but weight did. Even then, I wore it comfortably for years secured by my engagement ring on top of it and had no issues. I didn't want to resize due to cost and sentimentality (shoot, shouldn't have cared about that one, but hindsight!).
- I would imagine that there is some additional security in channel set bands, as the tiny shared prongs can sometimes loosen and need to be checked periodically. But again, I had zero issues with this.

For sentimental reasons, I wore a second "spacer" eternity which was part of the wedding ceremony as well. That helped me feel better that I had my wedding band in the case that I would need to stop wearing the eternity band.

 

[OcnGypZ]

35 years with a channel set wedding band. No issues and have never lost a stone. Same size then as now - 5-1/2.

 

[readytorock]

Thanks for all your responses! It does seem like it varies, and that the main issue would be sizing... so envious of people whose finger sizes never change! I'm surprised and relieved to hear that nobody has experienced any chipped stones from motions like putting your palm down on a table, or holding onto railings, or clapping with a ring on your other hand.

@LinSF Have you now stopped wearing your eternity ring, or do you still wear it despite it being currently two sizes too large? It's great that the engagement ring on top of it keeps it secure on your finger, though, and I guess that's another reason why it would not a bad idea to size up initially.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

It's great that the engagement ring on top of it keeps it secure on your finger, though, and I guess that's another reason why it would not a bad idea to size up initially.

Just know yourself :some people loathe rings that aren't exactly the right size.
I'm not one of them, lol.
I have a full eternity as a RHR and have never had a' issue. It's two full sizes larger than my left ring finger, because I wanted to wear it on my right middle finger. When my fingers are really swollen, I wear it on the left hand, otherwise right hand middle or ring finger and stack in very cold weather for safety. Very versatile. If the right size is a mind clean thing for you, this is obviously not the right option for you....

 

[readytorock]

Just know yourself :some people loathe rings that aren't exactly the right size.
I'm not one of them, lol.
I have a full eternity as a RHR and have never had a' issue. It's two full sizes larger than my left ring finger, because I wanted to wear it on my right middle finger. When my fingers are really swollen, I wear it on the left hand, otherwise right hand middle or ring finger and stack in very cold weather for safety. Very versatile. If the right size is a mind clean thing for you, this is obviously not the right option for you....

Thanks for sharing! My fingers swell/shrink a lot throughout a single day so I think I'm comfortable with the fact that there isn't really one right size for me, and it seems the way to go around that would just be to size up initially, and potentially stack for safety. Wear and tear in an eternity ring is still a concern for me, though, but I suppose diamonds are incredibly resilient stones, and as long as care is taken where possible, it should be fine...

 

[sarahb]

Another option would be to add a small spacer bar on the underside so you could adjust the size if necessary, which is what I did with mine. (WF made it.) The spacer bar turned out to be a life saver as I eventually had to re-size the ring. Additionally, I have not experienced any wear and tear issues.

 

[LinSF]

@readytorock No, I kept wearing them until I needed to take it off because a stone was loose and needed to be tightened. By then I was taking it off for other reasons as well.

 

[motownmama]

I love eternities and have a ridiculous number of them. I’ve never lost a stone and I’m a 24/7 kinda gal. I prefer channel set bc they stack so safely/well. Use an ultrasonic cleaner to keep them sparkling. My size after 4 kids and 25 years has not changed. I credit part of that to the 24/7 - there’s no opportunity to get any bigger!

 

[Ally T]

My full princess eternity (see avatar) was originally shared prong. It went off round 4 times in less than 4 years of daily wear. Turned out there was a porosity issue with the platinum that they found under x-ray. It was reset into the current channel setting 5 years ago, with no issues since. I wear it every day, sometimes 24/7. There are no holes on the back for cleaning - it is solid, weighty & designed to last.

As for size, my ring finger has been a 5.25 forever. I will be 45 this year, and so far so good. Should it ever change & my ring no longer fit, like a good PSer (always one step ahead!) I have already decided to split it into 2 half eternity rings & give one each to my daughters.

 

[readytorock]

@sarahb That’s such a good idea!

@LinSF I see – thanks for clarifying!

@motownmama I’d love to be able to wear my ring(s) 24/7, but I suspect I would be so terrified about chipping stones! I’m so glad you’ve had no problems though

@Alex T Thanks for sharing! The channel setting looks gorgeous, as does your stack on the whole. Lucky daughters!