The Cheap Engagement Rings Guide
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Which is the best metal for a men's wedding ring?

11/11/2016

 
Gold wedding rings
So you've blown your entire savings on an engagement ring. The answer was yes, and after initial excitement you're now saving up for the wedding, trying to show an interest in different shades of pink paper for the invitations (secretly hoping that the cheapest one gets chosen because they all look pretty similar). 

Suddenly you realise that you've got to get a ring for yourself as well. 

The good news is that a men's wedding ring generally doesn't cost nearly as much as a diamond engagement ring. Sure, you can spend £1000 on a men's wedding ring if you really want to, but for that price you'd be looking at a huge platinum wedding ring which Mr T would say was a bit showy.

So what you are your options?

If you want to spend a bit of money, your wedding ring options are 9 carat gold, 18 carat gold, platinum and palladium. Platinum and palladium are popular because they stand the test of time very well. If money was no object I'd probably choose one of those two, but in terms of appearance they don't look all that different to the cheaper options.

Expect to pay somewhere between £200 and £1000 for platinum wedding rings (depending on the thickness and your finger size) and about £100 - £500 for palladium.

9 carat gold and 18 carat gold are popular choices. The main downside of gold is that it is softer than some metals, so if you are one of these proper men that has a job which uses their hands then you mend end up damaging or breaking it. My main risk is papercuts and screen fatigue, so it's not an issue for me. 

9 carat gold is cheaper obviously, since it contains less gold (the rest is cheap metals to pad it out). You'll pay £50 - £300 for 9 carat wedding rings and about twice that for 18 carat rings. Again, the price depends on the thickness of the band. I'd avoid 2mm or 3mm as it looks a bit too dainty for most men.

And what about the cheap end? I personally think it's perfectly acceptable to spend next to nothing on a wedding ring. You can get a ring made from materials which last and who are you really trying to impress? 

Cheap options include cobalt, silver, titanium and tungsten.

For those cheaper materials, prices range from £5 up to £100. Cobalt is light and tough, silver scratches and bends easily, titanium is hard and difficult to resize whilst tungsten is very resistant to scratching and is more environmentally friendly than most.

What would I choose? If money's no object I'd choose platinum. For something precious but not too expensive I'd choose 9 carat gold. For a tight budget, I'd choose tungsten. Complaints to the usual address...

If you're looking for places to buy cheap wedding rings, you might like to start with our guide.


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    A bargain hunter's thoughts on buying diamond engagement rings without bankrupting yourself

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