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Kari
Master May 2020

Men's Rings - Alternative Materials Help!

Kari, on November 26, 2019 at 9:26 AM Posted in Wedding Attire 1 14

So my FH has never worn jewelry before and was thinking of getting a less expensive alternative material wedding band because he's an active person and is worried he will lose his wedding band (I'd say this is a realistic concern). Aesthetically, he likes the look of a 6mm wide silver colored ring in a non-polished finish (satin/matte or brushed), classic curved/domed exterior profile, and prefers at least a slight comfort fit (court profile) as opposed to a flat interior band.

We went to look at a variety of bands, and found that most of the alternative material rings were really deep (as in how thick they are from the inside of the ring to the outside of the ring) and he didn't like how they felt (most were in the 2.2-2.4mm range). We looked at titanium, tungsten carbide, stainless, and a few random patented brand name hypoallergenic metals with zero information as to the elements used in the alloy.

He much preferred the thickness (again depth, not height top to bottom) of the precious metal rings he tried (closer to 1.8mm).

We're considering white gold but he is
worried about white gold for two reasons: 1) even though he doesn't have any known allergies to metals he's concerned that WG isn't hypoallergenic (since he doesn't wear jewelry he isn't certain whether or not he may have a nickel allergy because he's never had metals in direct contact with his skin for prolonged periods) and 2) he doesn't want a high maintenance ring and is concerned about having to get his WG ring re-plated constantly.

Palladium and platinum are both more expensive, but they don't have the allergy concerns of WG and don't need to be re-plated. Palladium white gold is definitely an option although it seems to be a less popular metal and harder to find.

Does anyone know if there are alternative ring manufacturers who make shallower rings? Or materials that can be made into shallower rings?

Do you think FH will mind a deeper ring once he gets used to it? I don't know if it just feels weird on his fingers now because he hasn't worn rings before, or if the depth of an alternative material ring will continue to bother him and not feel as natural as wearing a less chunky ring made of a precious metal.

Does anyone have experience with palladium white gold or have other metals they would recommend?

14 Comments

Latest activity by Kari, on November 30, 2019 at 1:56 PM
  • Nikki
    Dedicated December 2020
    Nikki ·
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    My mom has white gold engagement/wedding band set. As far as the "high maintenance" with getting it re-plated, it's not too bad. She has hers insured through Kay Jewelers, and it is included up to once a year. She gets hers done about the beginning of November so she doesn't have to worry about it being delayed during the holiday rush, and I think it takes about a week, if that. I have a white gold ring that I've had and worn for 10 years, and have never had it re-plated. Although I would like to at some point to freshen it up, it doesn't look that bad, unless you're comparing it with my mom's rings when they are freshly done, then you can really tell the difference. As far as the allergy thing, I have sensitivity to nickel, and have no issues with the white gold, so maybe that will help with that part!

    I wish I could help with the other concerns. My fiance is in the same boat of never having worn jewelry before, but he found a tungsten ring that he really liked, I don't remember the sizes on that. If it's an option, I've heard the silicon rings are nice too, he could always look into one of those!

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  • Kristal
    Expert February 2020
    Kristal ·
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    My FH & I have titanium rings. They are not terribly thick. Ours came with inlay and are under $1000 for my set with moissanite (right) +his band with emerald/sapphire inlay (left). The thickness, atleast of my engagement ring, seems to be comparable to that of my silver ring.

    Men's Rings - Alternative Materials Help! 1



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  • Bailey
    Dedicated July 2020
    Bailey ·
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    FH is a contractor and was also worried about this, plus he's scared of rings. We considered getting a "nice" ring for when we go out and for our ceremony and then getting a silicon ring but we ended up finding a tungsten ring which is sandblasted to be incredibly fine and has an outward curve on the inside which makes it easier to slide on and off. Plus, tungsten is one of the few materials he'd be able to easily break without hurting himself if it got stuck or something

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  • Katie
    Super November 2019
    Katie ·
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    Men's Rings - Alternative Materials Help! 2maybe look into this site, this is where we got my husband's ring from and he loves it plus they are very much affordable, and wonderful quality. The ring I posted it what came to mind while reading the first part of your post and the second is my husband's ring. Both are tungsten so they are very durable. Men's Rings - Alternative Materials Help! 3
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  • Kari
    Master May 2020
    Kari ·
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    Thanks that is super helpful!

    It's good to know you have a 10 year old white gold ring AND a nickel sensitivity and you haven't had any issues. I really don't think he'll notice how worn a white gold ring looks (he won't be wearing any other jewelry near it for it to compare to, and my ring is rose gold) and as long as he doesn't have an allergy that flares up when the plating wears off and the alloy is exposed it should be a non-issue.

    I honestly think my FH would be fine in an alternative ring, but they just feel weird to him because he doesn't wear rings, so when he compares a deeper alternative ring to a less deep traditional precious metal ring the traditional one just feels less awkward. When I first got my e-ring it was SUPER weird, and now it hardly bothers me. I also got a silicone ring and that felt different at first too, but now either ring is fine. I just want him to be happy with whatever he ends up with.


    We will end up getting him a silicone ring as well. I almost wanted to get him one to wear now so he can get used to having a ring on, but a lot of the men's alternative rings come with silicone rings and he doesn't really want to wear a ring until we are actually married.

    I swear he's been more indecisive about his ring, suit, tie, etc than I have been about any of my wedding apparel!

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  • Kari
    Master May 2020
    Kari ·
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    I definitely want him to do the two ring thing and have a silicone ring for active pursuits and a nice ring for events and such. Smiley smile

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  • Kari
    Master May 2020
    Kari ·
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    Yea that first band is pretty much the aesthetic he wants but thinks they are too deep (chunky feeling on his fingers).

    I swear I have a groomzilla on my hands (not really, he's actually wonderful, but he is being more indecisive about rings and suits than I've ever seen him on anything, probably a sign he cares, lol).

    I really think he'll get used to whatever lands on his finger and the deeper rings just feel more different to him right now.

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  • Gen
    Champion June 2019
    Gen ·
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    I have a sensitivity to nickel but have never had a problem with my white gold ring. The only time I felt the need to get it replated was when I put my engagement ring and wedding band together... my engagement ring (which I had been wearing for a year) looked fine on its own, but then when I put it next to the brand new wedding band, you could see the difference in shininess. I got the engagement ring replated then just to match the shininess of the wedding band but I don’t intend to do it more than every few years at the most... it looks fine 🤷🏻‍♀️ My husband has a white gold band too, though his is 10k, and the finish of his ring is kind of like a matte texture? So I’m not sure how they would replate it even if he wanted to lol.
    Men's Rings - Alternative Materials Help! 4

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  • Kari
    Master May 2020
    Kari ·
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    That's good to know! My FH wants a matte/satin/brushed ring and was told that re-plating it wouldn't ruin the texture/finish at all.

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  • Gen
    Champion June 2019
    Gen ·
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    Oh that’s good to know if he ever ends up wanting it done!
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  • Future Mrs. Cwik
    Devoted March 2021
    Future Mrs. Cwik ·
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    Men's Rings - Alternative Materials Help! 5 My fiancé went with this tungsten powder coated ring from Triton. Not being a jewelry guy, he likes that it wasn’t flashy and it was only like $175. We got it from Brownlee Jewelers and it really suits him!
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  • L
    Devoted August 2019
    Leaves232 ·
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    This may be an odd suggestion, but maybe your FH should look at "womens" rings if he can't find a "mens" ring in the depth he wants. Members of my husband's family wear a family seal in a style of their choosing. My husband wanted a thin band, which they just don't market to men so he just chose womens ring in his size (and it doesn't look "feminine" at all).
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  • Sara
    Super October 2019
    Sara ·
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    First off, I have pierced ears and despite never having any other kind of metal allergy, I can't wear anything that's not gold in my ears, so I stick to white gold plated studs, and they're always fine. If white gold is something he's interested, it should be fine for any potential allergies.


    Secondly, my husband was super on the fence about what kind of ring he wanted, and he really didn't want to spend a lot of money on one, so I get where you're coming from. We looked at a few jewelry stores (one of which was really pushing a plain band - maybe white gold? - that was on sale for around $800), but ultimately ended up ordering rings from Amazon. He currently has 4 metal rings (one brushed silver, one silver with rose gold lining, one silver with white gold lining, and one sandblasted silver with blue lining) and two silicone bands, and I'm pretty positive none of them were more than $25 a piece. I'm not positive on what metals they were, but they were all comfort fit bands, not too wide or thick, and he's happy with them. I think we ordered 6 or so metal bands and returned the ones he didn't like. Just another option for you!

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  • Kari
    Master May 2020
    Kari ·
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    That's an interesting idea. He definitely wants a wider band (like top to bottom wide) but not a band that is girthy, if that makes sense. It really doesn't help that jewelers don't use consistent terminology when discussing band dimensions.

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