My fiance and I just purchased our two wedding bands. We were really excited and told my mother about it who was shocked at how much we spent. His cost $1500 and mine cost $2100. His is a Scott Kay palladium with a few small diamonds, and mine is a Coast platinum band with small diamonds going halfway around. I thought this was reasonable amount, until my mom was shocked and now has me second guessing our purchase
well, platinum and diamonds always add in the cost. my fiance's ring will probably cost around $400 (but he's getting a black tungsten ring). and i'm still figuring out what i want...but i'm guessing it'll be around $1200-1500 b/c i want some bling :)
I think its all a matter of personal preference as well as what you can afford. We could hardly afford my engagement ring so we made a huge effort to spend less on the bands and b/c I was already nervous about having an expensive engagement ring I wanted a wedding band that was less expensive so I wouldn't have to worry about that one too. My husbands band was free (a special the jewelry store was running when we got the setting for my engagement stone) and it was titanium. My ring is channel set diamonds in white gold and it was about $250.
I'm not as familiar with palladium, but your platinum and diamond band sounds about right in terms of cost. My DH has a platinum knife-edged ring and I have 2 platinum and diamond eternity bands which matched my e-ring.
As pp mentioned, the cost depends largely on the materials and sometimes also the brand (i.e. Tiffany, Cartier, etc.). You will find brides with more expensive and less expensive rings, but that was their choice. Ultimately, its your personal choice because its the band you love and are wearing for the rest of your life.
My fiance actually inherited my wedding band, it was his Grandma's and is 70 years old! It's a platinum and diamond eternity band and we had it appraised at $2,000. So we only paid $40 to have it resized and cleaned. My fiance is very particular and didn't want to have to 'upgrade' later and because he had spent so much on my engagement ring I wanted him to have something really nice. So we went to Tiffany's and got him the five row band in platinum. At the time it cost me just over $1,200 but I noticed that it's now $1,375. My mom also was a little shocked at how much we spent but we knew we could afford it and are happy with what we have. So I think that if you can afford it and like your purchases you shouldn't second guess it!
totally personal preference. my ring was about 8k, and so i only wanted a simple band. my wedding band ended up being under 200. my fiance's was under 200 as well. but go with what you love and can afford.
related question: if I've got a platinum engagement ring, is it important to get a matching platinum band so the metals match? or would white gold look ok?
Fiance's band was about $100 (from Rob and Leighanne's etsy shop). If mine is going to match my engagement ring, we're looking at over a grand. I might do something completely different and wear my e-ring on my right hand to save cash.
We do have a gift certificate from a jeweler, so that may defray some of the cost of the matching ring. (and reminds us all that when we're unahappy with a service that it pays to complain!)
I'm not familar with pladium either. I'm not getting a band, I love my e-ring the way it is. I budgeted about $500 for his ring. The ones he likes are around 300-400 but its just a solid yellow gold band.
Amy- have you tried on white gold with pladium? If you don't notice a difference, no one else will. Plus you may end up wearing only one ring at a time and it won't matter.
we have plain, comfort fit 14k white gold bands, 4mm and 6mm. I forget exactly what they cost, but it was probably about between $500 and $600 for the two. we did a make your own ring workshop, but when I was checking out the cost, it was comparable to department store off the shelf prices.
I went with a Benchmark 2mm 18 carat white gold milgrain ring while he has an Artcarved Cortini 6mm palladium sandblasted channel milgrain ring. We paid around $550 for both.
Just wanted to answer amysues question about mixing metals. I was told by a jeweler that it was important to match metals when wearing two rings next to each other as they will be different levels of hardness and as they will be rubbing the harder one will wear the other one down... not sure if I explained this correctly but it's worth investigating further before making an expensive purchase.
Thanks hanmay (and Tallbride, too!). i expected I'd have to match them, but I'm a little distressed by how much a platinum, custom-made band (to match my e-ring's unusual shape) will cost. Alas!
WOW-you ladies have some bling! Our bands weren't too costly. Mine is a plain 2mm white gold- it was $76 from eweddingrings.com and his was from an ebay buyer for $37. We looked high and low for his to have a smooth edge to match my band and celtic engraving in the middle.
His is free -- it was a gift from his father many years ago that he has been wearing on his right hand ever since. We are just having it cleaned, engraved with out initials and wedding date, and he will switch hands : ) We are going shopping for mine today! We won't spend a lot on it, though. I found a pretty diamond and white gold pave band that matches the band of my engagement ring for $300, so I think we're going with that.
Palladium should be significantly less costly than platinum. I almost got a Scott Kay ring from Bailey Banks and Biddle. You could call them or others for a quote on the same ring. A lot of it depends on the size/quality of the diamond. Can you afford that much ring? According to the knot, we should only budget $150 per ring for our wedding, but I actually am just now designing my e-ring, so I'm using the e-ring budget toward mine, too. So, my rings will TOTAL cost $8k and his will probably be $140 (one I like) but no more than $500. However, he does not want any diamonds. I hope that helps.
My main wedding band is an eternity band with diamonds all around. That one cost $1,500. I also have a plain wedding band to go with my engagement ring, because the eternity band doesn't match the e-ring, and the plain band cost about $100. His costs $250 for plain white gold band.
I am not sure how much my ring is worth, but it is part family heirloom, put on a different band. I have found lots of great deals on rings for him and at reputable jewelery stores for under $150. He does not want diamonds in his ring. I will get his ring engraved.
Hanmay, that's what my jeweller told me too, about mixing metals I mean. He said that my platinum e-band would wear down any other metal other than a platinum wedding band, so I spent $1700 on my 1/2 circle diamond/platinum ring, and we spent $400 for my husband's white gold ring.
My fiance and I just purchased our two wedding bands. We were really excited and told my mother about it who was shocked at how much we spent. His cost $1500 and mine cost $2100. His is a Scott Kay palladium with a few small diamonds, and mine is a Coast platinum band with small diamonds going halfway around. I thought this was reasonable amount, until my mom was shocked and now has me second guessing our purchase
What are you other brides doing?
posted by kerrik 2 posts 2 months agowell, platinum and diamonds always add in the cost. my fiance's ring will probably cost around $400 (but he's getting a black tungsten ring). and i'm still figuring out what i want...but i'm guessing it'll be around $1200-1500 b/c i want some bling :)
posted by novbride111 39 posts 2 months agoI think its all a matter of personal preference as well as what you can afford. We could hardly afford my engagement ring so we made a huge effort to spend less on the bands and b/c I was already nervous about having an expensive engagement ring I wanted a wedding band that was less expensive so I wouldn't have to worry about that one too. My husbands band was free (a special the jewelry store was running when we got the setting for my engagement stone) and it was titanium. My ring is channel set diamonds in white gold and it was about $250.
posted by MrsDavis 66 posts 2 months agoI'm not as familiar with palladium, but your platinum and diamond band sounds about right in terms of cost. My DH has a platinum knife-edged ring and I have 2 platinum and diamond eternity bands which matched my e-ring.
As pp mentioned, the cost depends largely on the materials and sometimes also the brand (i.e. Tiffany, Cartier, etc.). You will find brides with more expensive and less expensive rings, but that was their choice. Ultimately, its your personal choice because its the band you love and are wearing for the rest of your life.
posted by lilneko69 203 posts 2 months agoMy fiance actually inherited my wedding band, it was his Grandma's and is 70 years old! It's a platinum and diamond eternity band and we had it appraised at $2,000. So we only paid $40 to have it resized and cleaned. My fiance is very particular and didn't want to have to 'upgrade' later and because he had spent so much on my engagement ring I wanted him to have something really nice. So we went to Tiffany's and got him the five row band in platinum. At the time it cost me just over $1,200 but I noticed that it's now $1,375. My mom also was a little shocked at how much we spent but we knew we could afford it and are happy with what we have. So I think that if you can afford it and like your purchases you shouldn't second guess it!
posted by soontobemrsc 34 posts 2 months agototally personal preference. my ring was about 8k, and so i only wanted a simple band. my wedding band ended up being under 200. my fiance's was under 200 as well. but go with what you love and can afford.
posted by livvie 88 posts 2 months agorelated question: if I've got a platinum engagement ring, is it important to get a matching platinum band so the metals match? or would white gold look ok?
posted by amysue 640 posts 2 months agoFiance's band was about $100 (from Rob and Leighanne's etsy shop). If mine is going to match my engagement ring, we're looking at over a grand. I might do something completely different and wear my e-ring on my right hand to save cash.
We do have a gift certificate from a jeweler, so that may defray some of the cost of the matching ring. (and reminds us all that when we're unahappy with a service that it pays to complain!)
posted by doctorgirl 160 posts 2 months agoI'm not familar with pladium either. I'm not getting a band, I love my e-ring the way it is. I budgeted about $500 for his ring. The ones he likes are around 300-400 but its just a solid yellow gold band.
posted by TallBride 581 posts 2 months agoAmy- have you tried on white gold with pladium? If you don't notice a difference, no one else will. Plus you may end up wearing only one ring at a time and it won't matter.
posted by TallBride 581 posts 2 months agowe have plain, comfort fit 14k white gold bands, 4mm and 6mm. I forget exactly what they cost, but it was probably about between $500 and $600 for the two. we did a make your own ring workshop, but when I was checking out the cost, it was comparable to department store off the shelf prices.
posted by MsPopcorn 104 posts 2 months agoI went with a Benchmark 2mm 18 carat white gold milgrain ring while he has an Artcarved Cortini 6mm palladium sandblasted channel milgrain ring. We paid around $550 for both.
posted by MisstoMrsin42Days 32 posts 2 months agoJust wanted to answer amysues question about mixing metals. I was told by a jeweler that it was important to match metals when wearing two rings next to each other as they will be different levels of hardness and as they will be rubbing the harder one will wear the other one down... not sure if I explained this correctly but it's worth investigating further before making an expensive purchase.
posted by hanmay 4 posts 2 months agoThanks hanmay (and Tallbride, too!). i expected I'd have to match them, but I'm a little distressed by how much a platinum, custom-made band (to match my e-ring's unusual shape) will cost. Alas!
posted by amysue 640 posts 2 months agoWOW-you ladies have some bling! Our bands weren't too costly. Mine is a plain 2mm white gold- it was $76 from eweddingrings.com and his was from an ebay buyer for $37. We looked high and low for his to have a smooth edge to match my band and celtic engraving in the middle.
posted by Lizliterarius 34 posts 2 months agoHis is free -- it was a gift from his father many years ago that he has been wearing on his right hand ever since. We are just having it cleaned, engraved with out initials and wedding date, and he will switch hands : ) We are going shopping for mine today! We won't spend a lot on it, though. I found a pretty diamond and white gold pave band that matches the band of my engagement ring for $300, so I think we're going with that.
posted by CarolineG 284 posts 2 months agoPalladium should be significantly less costly than platinum. I almost got a Scott Kay ring from Bailey Banks and Biddle. You could call them or others for a quote on the same ring. A lot of it depends on the size/quality of the diamond. Can you afford that much ring? According to the knot, we should only budget $150 per ring for our wedding, but I actually am just now designing my e-ring, so I'm using the e-ring budget toward mine, too. So, my rings will TOTAL cost $8k and his will probably be $140 (one I like) but no more than $500. However, he does not want any diamonds. I hope that helps.
posted by cannotwait 228 posts 2 months agoMy main wedding band is an eternity band with diamonds all around. That one cost $1,500. I also have a plain wedding band to go with my engagement ring, because the eternity band doesn't match the e-ring, and the plain band cost about $100. His costs $250 for plain white gold band.
posted by furelysse 59 posts 2 months agoI am not sure how much my ring is worth, but it is part family heirloom, put on a different band. I have found lots of great deals on rings for him and at reputable jewelery stores for under $150. He does not want diamonds in his ring. I will get his ring engraved.
posted by careeradvisor27 5 posts 2 months agoHanmay, that's what my jeweller told me too, about mixing metals I mean. He said that my platinum e-band would wear down any other metal other than a platinum wedding band, so I spent $1700 on my 1/2 circle diamond/platinum ring, and we spent $400 for my husband's white gold ring.
posted by Atomickittyn 43 posts 2 months ago