Wedding Rings - Help?

Q: My fiance and I are getting married this September, and are about to embark on the hunt for wedding rings. Neither of us like the look of gold bands, but rather prefer silver. We've heard that platinum can be quite expensive, so my question is this: Is it acceptable to have wedding bands made of sterling silver, or is this a no-no? We're on a tight budget and with sterling silver, the price is right. Can anyone offer up any other options/suggestions on this matter?

A:Your wedding bands can be made of anything you want. Jewelers and advertisers promote gold and platinum heavily because they are more expensive... and depending on the composition of the gold, more durable than silver. But if you want beaded rings or copper rings or titanium rings, then you should have it. Legend has it that when gold miner John Brown married Molly (as in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown") he had no "proper" ring to give so he gave her a cigar band. Years later after they were well-to-do folks, he had a ring made or precious stones and gold that resembled that cigar band. Just as with your engagement ring, your wedding rings should be of what you want them to be and not someone else's pre-designed standard. If sterling is what you want and what you can afford, then there's no shame in that. If you were to decide at a later date to exchange your silver bands for platinum or white gold, that's fine too. I wear a sapphire set with 4 diamonds as my engagement ring. I will probably wear a plain gold band for my wedding ring and move my engagement ring to my right hand after we're married -- when I wear it. It's not what everyone else I know does, but it's right for me. And ultimately that's what's important. How about white gold? I have found that these pieces are traditionally about the same price as yellow gold bands, etc. and are nice if you are looking for something to coordinate with silver jewelry. I happen to be a jewelry nut(sterling silver) and have had all my rings for a long time and haven't had any problems with them wearing well. Yes, I do wear my rings everyday...just like a wedding ring. Look at a gold wedding ring a few years after the wedding, and it's bound to have some scratches, too. Fine jewelry will have to be taken care of no matter what it's made of. It's up to you what you choose. If you are considering bands in white gold or silver, here's a jewelry catalogue that might help you. It's Walker Metalsmiths, 1-800-488-3835. They do primarily Celtic designs, but quotes for rings in Sterling Silver are $35-$40 and white gold is $250-$350. I myself ran into this dilema. It all started when my grandmother gave me a "family ring" to wear as my wedding band. The ring is platinum and diamond so my fiance and I had no choice but to find a him a band that somewhat matched. I wanted him to have a platinum band also but that only lasted until I was given the price. I then looked to white gold and silver. I was unable to locate an acceptable silver band (my fiancee LOVES and normally only wears silver jewelry) but luckily we were able to locate a very nice "comfort fit" white gold band that he just loves. Just to give you an idea of price, the white gold band is a 7mm size 11 band and only put us back about $140.00. The same ring in platinum would have been $680.00. If you have your heart and or pocketbook set on silver, I would suggest checking out your local antique shops or even estate sales. Most of the older silver jewelery was made far superior to any that you can find today. Good luck on your ring hunt and upcoming wedding !!!

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