Ladies wedding rings advice

by Sharon Wild - Gillett's Jewellers

Advice for choosing wedding rings

Choosing your wedding ring can be a very exciting time in your life. Your wedding ring will be a symbol of your love that you will wear for a very long time, so it's important that you put some thought into selecting the best type of wedding ring for you.

This wedding ring advice page provides advice for choosing a ladies wedding ring. For advice about choosing a men's wedding rings visit the men's wedding rings advice page.

Ladies often find it easier to choose a wedding ring than men do. There are a few reasons for this.

Ladies are often more familiar with jewelry terminology than men, which can make the process a little less confusing and daunting than it is for men.

Ladies have often had the benefit of seeing friends' and colleagues' wedding rings; ladies will often have an idea of the type of wedding ring that they would like; and importantly, most ladies wear an engagement ring which will play a major part in choosing their wedding ring design.

The wedding ring advice below will help you to choose your wedding ring.

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Choosing a ladies wedding ring to compliment your engagement ring design

If you wear an engagement ring you will need to take into account how the design of your engagement ring will influence your wedding ring design.

The wedding ring ideally should compliment the engagement ring, rather than distract attention away from the engagement ring. This doesn't mean the wedding ring needs to be uninteresting. It means that you need to choose a wedding ring that will suit your engagement ring design, a ring that looks like it was always meant to be with your engagement ring, just as you were always meant to be with your future husband.

These wedding ring advice tips will help you to choose a wedding ring that compliments your engagement ring:

• Choosing the shape of wedding rings - Can you wear a straight wedding ring or do you need to a curved fitted wedding ring?
  
• Choosing the band style for wedding rings - What is the band style of your engagement ring?
  
• Choosing the width for wedding rings - What is the width of your engagement ring?
  
• Choosing the metal for wedding rings - What type of metal is used in your engagement ring?
  
• Choosing diamonds or gemstones in wedding rings - Would you like diamonds or gemstones in your wedding ring?
  
• Choosing matching wedding rings?
  
• Choosing your wedding ring design

Choosing the shape of wedding rings - Can you wear a straight wedding ring or do you need a curved fitted wedding ring?

A wedding ring and an engagement ring should appear that they were made to be worn together.

In relation to choosing a wedding ring, your engagement ring can be grouped into one of two categories.

1. Engagement rings designs that have a straight edged band that can have a straight edged wedding ring worn next to it.
   
   
2. Engagement rings that have a unique band shape (not a straight band) together with engagement rings that have gemstone settings that sit low enough on the engagement ring band to prevent a straight wedding ring design from sitting neatly and evenly next to the engagement ring.

For the second category, although you could wear a straight wedding ring with those engagement ring styles, in keeping with the concept that the wedding ring and engagement ring should be made to look like they belong together, it's best to wear a fitted or curved wedding ring when possible so that the wedding ring will sit neatly and evenly with the engagement ring.

The words curved or fitted wedding rings are normally used to describe this scenario.

A good proportion of ladies wedding rings are curved or fitted to allow them to sit well with the engagement ring, so you should not be concerned if you need a curved or fitted wedding ring as this is quite common.

Jewellers who specialise in making ladies wedding rings, including Gillett's Jewellers, can manufacture specially made wedding rings to match your engagement ring. Gillett's Jewellers also offer a range of curved ladies wedding rings available for order online that are designed to match a range of popular engagement ring shapes.

These pictures and explanations will help to give you a better understanding of straight and curved wedding rings.

Straight wedding rings

Straight wedding ring matches

This prong set solitaire diamond engagement ring has a setting style that allows a straight wedding band to sit well with it.

The engagement ring diamond setting sits above the band and does not protrude from the side of the base of the engagement ring band which allows a straight wedding band.

Other wedding ring suggestions:

The wedding ring pictured is a simple white gold wedding ring. A channel set diamond wedding ring would also suit this engagement ring style.

Straight wedding ring matches

This bezel set solitaire diamond engagement ring has a setting style where the diamond is set high above the engagement ring band, allowing a straight wedding band to be worn with it.

The engagement ring diamond setting sits above the band and does not protrude from the side of the base of the engagement ring band which allows a straight wedding band.

Other wedding ring suggestions:

The wedding ring pictured is a simple yellow gold wedding ring. A channel set diamond wedding ring or a hammer set diamond wedding ring would also suit this engagement ring style.

Straight wedding ring matches

This bezel set solitaire diamond engagement ring has a setting style where the diamond is set high above the engagement ring band, allowing a straight wedding band to be worn with it.

The engagement ring diamond setting sits above the band and does not protrude from the side of the base of the engagement ring band which allows a straight wedding band.

Other wedding ring suggestions:

The wedding ring pictured is made in half white gold and half yellow gold. The wedding band could be made in all white gold, to better match the white gold in the engagement ring.

A full circle diamond prong set diamond wedding ring would match this engagement ring very well.

Straight wedding ring matches

This prong set solitaire diamond engagement ring has a setting style that allows a straight wedding band to sit well with it.

The engagement ring diamond setting sits above the band and does not protrude from the side of the base of the engagement ring band which allows a straight wedding band.

Other wedding ring suggestions:

The wedding ring pictured is a simple white gold wedding ring. A channel set diamond wedding ring would also suit this engagement ring style.

Straight wedding ring matches

This bezel set solitaire diamond engagement ring has a setting style that allows a straight wedding band to sit well with it.

The engagement ring band is the same width as the diamond setting.

The setting does not protrude from the side of the base of the engagement ring band which allows a straight wedding band.

Other wedding ring suggestions:

The wedding ring pictured is an engraved yellow gold wedding ring. The engraved band could also be made in white gold to match the engagement ring's white gold band.

Straight wedding ring matches

This prong set diamond engagement ring has a high enough setting style to allow a straight wedding band.

You can see that the baguette cut diamonds in the engagement ring band match perfectly with the baguette cut diamonds in the wedding band.

Straight wedding ring does not match

This prong set princess cut diamond engagement ring has a setting style where the diamond setting sits low on the band.

The diamond setting protrudes from the side of the base of the engagement ring band which does not allow a straight wedding band to sit well with it.

You can see that there is a noticeable gap between the two bands.

A fitted wedding ring would suit this engagement ring better.

Curved wedding rings

Curved wedding ring matches

This prong set solitaire diamond engagement ring has a setting style that does not allow a straight wedding band to sit well with it.

The engagement ring diamond setting protrudes from the side of the base of the engagement ring band which prevents a straight band from sitting well.

The wedding band pictured has a gentle curve designed to be worn with a solitaire (one gemstone) engagement ring.

Other wedding ring suggestions:

The wedding ring pictured is a simple curved gold wedding ring.

A similar shaped ring with channel set diamonds could also be worn with this style of engagement ring.

Curved wedding ring matches

This bezel set solitaire diamond engagement ring diamond setting protrudes from the side of the base of the engagement ring band which prevents a straight band from sitting well with it.

The wedding band pictured has a gentle curve designed to be worn with a solitaire (one gemstone) engagement ring.

Other wedding ring suggestions:

The wedding band pictured is made in white gold. For the engagement ring pictured, we would normally recommend a yellow gold band.

The wedding band pictured also contains hammer set diamonds. A channel set diamond band or a band without diamonds could also be worn with this engagement ring style.

Curved wedding ring matches

This bezel set solitaire diamond engagement ring has a setting style that does not allow a straight wedding band to sit well with it.

The engagement ring diamond setting protrudes from the side of the base of the engagement ring band which prevents the straight band from sitting well.

The wedding band pictured has a gentle curve. The wedding band pictured contains channel set diamonds. A similar shaped ring could also be worn without the diamonds.

A wedding band with smaller diamonds could also be worn with this style of engagement ring.

Straight and curved wedding rings

Straight wedding ring matches

This bezel set solitaire diamond engagement ring has a setting style where the diamond is set high above the engagement ring band, allowing a straight wedding band to be worn with it.

The engagement ring diamond setting sits above the band and does not protrude from the side of the base of the engagement ring band which allows a straight wedding band.

Curved wedding ring matches

This bezel set solitaire diamond engagement ring has a setting style that also suits a curved wedding band.

The wedding band pictured has a gentle curve designed to be worn with a solitaire (one gemstone) engagement ring.

As this engagement ring style can be worn with a straight or a curved wedding. There are also to other options for this engagement ring style.

A curved wedding ring with an inside lip or a straight wedding ring with diamonds set closer to the outside edge of the wedding band.

A curved wedding ring with an inside lip offers the best of both worlds. The wedding ring will sit flat against the engagement ring with the outside edge of the band curved to allow the wedding ring diamonds to be seen and not obscured from view.

A straight wedding ring with diamonds set closer to the outside edge allows the wedding ring's diamonds to be seen without being obscured by the engagement ring.

When it comes to the shape of the curved wedding ring, the curve will be dependant upon the engagement ring design.

The curved wedding ring will normally have a straight band at the base with a curved section at the top.

The shape of the curve can vary, from a ring designed to be worn with a solitaire (single diamond) engagement ring which can be described as the shape of a rolling hill to a more gentle curve for three-stone or multi-stone engagement rings which has a wider angle for the curve.

It's best if the curved wedding ring sits evenly next to the engagement ring without large gaps between the two rings. Depending on the style of the engagement ring, some small gaps between the wedding ring and engagement ring may be okay.

The pictures below provide examples of popular types of curved wedding rings.

The first rings show curved wedding rings designed to be worn with solitaire style engagement rings. You will see that those wedding ring styles have a more exaggerated curve in the center of the band, than the edges. That curve is designed to fit around the solitaire setting.

Next you will see curved wedding rings designed to be worn with some types of multi-stone engagement rings or with engagement rings that only need a very subtle curve.

Then you will see curved wedding rings designed to be worn with engagement rings that have large diamonds or gemstones, or clusters or multi-stone engagement rings.

To find curved wedding rings at a Gillett's Jewellers web site type "curved" in this web site's search box.

Choosing the band style for wedding rings - What is the band style of your engagement ring?

If you turn your engagement ring on its side and look at the engagement ring band you will see that the band has a shape. The most common types of band shapes are

• Softly rounded
• High domed/Dome rounded
• Flat

Soft rounded bands

High domed bands

Flat bands

Most engagement rings are made with a soft rounded shape. The soft rounded shape has a gentle curve to the outside of the band. The gentle curve is about half way between a high domed and flat shape.

A flat band has a flat outside surface with flat edges.

A high dome band has a slightly exaggerated rounded shape to it. High domed bands are most often made in narrower widths.

The pictures below provide examples of the engagement rings with soft rounded, high domed and flat band styles.

Your wedding ring should ideally have the same band shape as your engagement ring. Try to identify the shape of your engagement ring then look for a wedding ring that has the same or a similar band shape.

It is not essential that the band shapes be the same, though the rings will sit better together and look better together if they have the same band shape.

For example, a high domed band may look a little odd next to a flat style band.

Choosing the width for wedding rings - What is the width of your engagement ring?

When choosing the width of your wedding ring, you need to consider the width of your engagement ring. You should do this for two reasons:

1. You need to consider the length of your fingers and how much room is available between the base of your finger and your knuckle to comfortably wear a ring
   
2. In keeping with the strategy of having your two rings look like they were made to be together, you need to consider the proportions of both rings. If the widths of both rings are proportional to one another, the rings appear to compliment each other better.

The width of the engagement ring will strongly influence the width of your wedding ring.

When considering the width of the engagement ring, you should consider the width of the engagement ring on the side or base of the ring, not the top gemstone setting width.

As a general guide, a wedding ring should be either the same width or very slightly wider than the engagement ring band.

Choosing the metal for wedding rings - What type of metal is used in your engagement ring?

As mentioned above, it's desirable to have the wedding ring and engagement ring look like they were designed to be worn together.

For that reason, it's generally best to choose the same metal for the wedding ring and the engagement ring. That way, the rings will look more cohessive together and better compliment each other.

Here are suggestions for you:

• If your engagement ring is primarily 18kt yellow gold, choose an 18kt yellow gold wedding ring.
• If your engagement ring is primarily 18kt white gold, choose an 18kt white gold wedding ring
• If your engagement ring is primarily 18kt rose gold, choose an 18kt rose gold ring.
• If your engagement ring is half white gold and half yellow gold, you could have a two tone yellow and white gold wedding ring. Or you could choose an all white gold or all yellow gold ring.
• If you have a platinum engagement ring, choose a platinum wedding ring

There can occassionally be some exceptions, though generally it's best to use the same type of metal, or the same gold karat for both rings. That way the rings will both have the same metal hardness rating, which means they won't cause as much wear on each other when rubbing together.

There can be exceptions though if your budget requires it. For example, if you have a platinum engagement ring and your budget doesn't allow for a platinum wedding ring, you could choose an 18kt white gold wedding ring instead, as the colour will be very similar.

We generally suggest that 18kt engagement rings (in any gold colour) be matched with 18kt wedding rings. That way, the gold colours will match and 18kt tends to look better with age. Also the different karat can make the difference in the metals appear more noticeable with age.

18kt is suitable for use in engagement rings and wedding rings. 18kt is actually harder than 9kt, provided that the ring is made of sturdy construction. Click here for more info about the hardness of 18kt v. 9kt.

Choosing diamonds or gemstones in wedding rings - Would you like diamonds or gemstones in your wedding ring?

It's entirely a matter of personal preference as to whether you include diamonds or gemstones in your wedding ring.

You simply choose a design that you like best.

There are two advantages of having diamonds or gemstones in a wedding ring (for example channel set or grain set diamonds).

• Adding diamonds to the wedding ring adds an extra bright sparkle to the pair of rings. It can make the rings appear more bright, clean and alive.
• Plain gold bands have a tendency to scratch and look dull over time. (Note, they can be re-polished and cleaned periodically). Whereas a diamond ring, especially a channel set diamond ring always has a bright and sparkly appearance even in between cleanings. By having diamonds on the top of the band, the general signs of wear such as scuff marks and small scratches are much less noticeable.

When it comes to the types of gemstones that are suitable for wedding rings, we recommend that diamonds, sapphires and rubies can be used in wedding rings. These gemstones are very hard gemstones which can stand up to everyday wear. We do not recommend the use of other types of gemstones, as they can be softer and more prone to damage through everyday wear. Click here for more information about suitable gemstones for engagement and wedding rings.

There are various ways that diamonds and gemstones can be used in wedding rings. They can be channel set (with the diamonds touching each other), they can be hammer set (with metal sections between the diamonds), they can be grain set (with little beaded edges that hold the diamonds in place).

Of the three settings types most commonly used in wedding rings, channel set is the most popular. Channel setting also offers the brightest sparkling appearance.

Grain set rings (also known as pave) have an old world charm about them. Grain setting is suited to engagement rings that have an old world style or charm about them. Grain setting is suited to engagement rings that are highly intricate and engagement rings that include milgrain edges or engraving.

To have a cohesive appearance and to make the rings compliment each other, it's best to match the same diamond setting style from the engagement ring in the wedding ring.

• If your engagement ring features channel set diamonds, it's a great idea to have channel set diamonds in your wedding ring.
• If your engagement ring has grain set diamonds, it's a great idea to have grain set diamonds in your wedding ring
• If your engagement ring has hammer set diamonds, it's a great idea to have hammer set diamonds in your wedding ring

If you have diamonds in the shoulders(in the band) of your engagement ring, it's also a great idea to have the diamonds in the wedding ring span the same distance across the wedding ring. So that the edges of the diamonds on both rings match. This offers a more cohesive appearance also.

Choosing matching wedding rings?

Traditionally many couples choose matching wedding rings.

However, recent studies have shown that these days less than 30% of couples now choose matching wedding rings.

There are many reasons for this shift away from matching wedding rings

The practicality of having matching wedding rings - sometimes it's not possible to have matching wedding rings. For example, a ladies wedding ring may need to be curved to match with her engagement ring.

Couples often have different individual tastes, so having matching wedding rings may not suit the individual preferences of both people.

Instead of choosing rings that exactly match, some couples now choose to have a matching theme instead. For example, both rings may be made in the same metal type. Both rings may feature one or more diamonds. Or both rings may incorporate engraving.

Choosing your wedding ring design

After taking into account the factors above, the actual ring design is up to you and what you like. See the wedding rings below to help inspire you. There are more than 100 wedding rings to choose from. Scroll through to find the design for you!

Ladies wedding ring designs