Every couple getting married needs to purchase a platinum wedding band before the wedding . The usual wedding rings for her are diamond engagement rings. Most men prefer a simple high polished wedding band with a rounded top usually called a half round wedding band . Of course you could go for a unique flat or pipe style wedding band or even a knife edge that has a inverted v design. The style really does not matter when it comes to getting a good value .
Another really nice feature for all the ring styles is known as comfort fit. Comfort fit is when the inside edge of the band is rounded off to feel smoother on the finger and allows for a very smooth inner ring edge. As with most products after the term became popular some manufacturers took advantage and applied the name for rings that are so thin and light weight the rounded edge can’t even be seen . A classic style comfort fit wedding band has a very well defined rounded inside edge that can be seen and felt.
The well made comfort fit design will be a lot more weight than the half round since additional thickness is required to prevent the inside edge from becoming sharp when rounded. A sharp edge is a problem with very light weight half round and poorly made comfort fit wedding bands. A light weight band of average width between 4mm and 6mm should be at least 1.6MM depth. A really nice comfort fit with a well defined rounded top and inner edge would be closer to 2.25mm. The same comfort fit in a flat band may only be 1.5mm depth but due to the extra metal may weight more than the rounded style.
After you select a style you like take a look at both gold and platinum. You can go with 14K yellow gold or 18K yellow gold. The 18K will have more weight due to the extra gold content and also a brighter richer yellow color. The alloy used will change the color but overall most yellow gold looks about the same. Experts may describe one mix as brighter or slightly red but to most novice jewelry buyers it is all yellow gold. White gold is a totally different story. Traditional white gold with nickle has a lot of problems . It can crack easy, has a yellow tone when the normal white plating wears away and can cause skin allergies . A better mix is made using palladium but is also a lot softer than the traditional mix. Stuller manufacturing has a mix known as 14K X1 which is a good balance between durability and white color that does not require plating.
The other option for white wedding bands is platinum. A platinum wedding band is much heavier than gold and has unique properties. While it does scratch it will literally last for generations due to it density. If platinum just too expensive take a look at palladium. It is lower cost and very light weight with a pure white color that never changes. It is a member of the platinum group metal family but is not platinum and does not have the value of platinum at this time in the metals market.
When doing a price check you need to know the weight weight of the gold or platinum wedding band. You can also compare pennyweights but remember that one pennyweight or DWT is 1.55 times the weight of one gram so convert to the same measurements for fast comparison. The next step is recording the width and thickness or depth. Knowing the gram weight, thickness and width will allow you to compare one product to another . OK you should also know if they are cast rings or struck from solid tube. Compare the better tube manufacturing to others made the same and cast to other cast products. I suggest only buying the bands cut from extruded tube over a cast wedding band.Cast bands can have porosity problems that don’t show up for several months or only after they are sized.
