Groom's wedding bands??

[Deleted User]

My fiance doesn't want a shiny wedding band. He really likes white gold with a brushed/matte finish, but is afraid it won't stand up to wear and tear as well. Any thoughts or suggestions?  

misshart00

My husband has a tungsten band. It's a matte finish and has no wear. Just be careful. They can't be sized.

emmyg65

My husband has a hammered, 14k yellow gold band with a matte finish. The hammering hides a lot of the wear, and the 14k is a lot tougher than 18k (which my ring is). Has he considered a hammered band?

CMGragain

My husband has worn his 14K yellow gold ring for 37 years.  It is perfectly plain, and it looks great.  He has another ring that he wore in high school with a brushed finish.  The finish wore off after about 8 years.

[Deleted User]

Thank you!!

theartistformerlyknownas

We went with a tungsten band from overstock.com with a matte finish. No, it can't be sized, but it was only 30-something bucks so we'll get him a new one if need be. (I was leery of the Overstock rings, and it does have a flaw in the engraved edge, but he was thrilled about saving so much money. It's his ring, whatever made him happy!)

AprilH81

My H has a brushed gold (yellow) band.  After two weeks it is already showing wear (scratches).

If he wants a brushed finish (which is very nice) I would do a different metal.

paigeelaine2014

My fiancé had the exact same requests for his ring and we ended up going with tungsten. It comes in all different finishes and is one of the most durable metal choices. He actually ended up finding one in a dark gray color that had a mostly brushed/matte appearance with just a tiny bit of shiny metal at the edges, so it still seemed a little traditional.

lovesclimbing

H has a 14k hammered gold wedding band. It has SO many scratches and dings in it. I kind of wish we would have gotten him a 10k ring!  Part of the scratches and stuff is probably due to it being at least a size and a half too big. He needs to get it re-sized but hasn't gotten around to it so that probably doesn't help with banging against stuff. Also, he's a mechanic so he uses his hands a lot.

CMGragain

Ladies, if you are looking for as metal ring that won't scratch, you are looking for something that does not exist.  All metal will scratch, and some will tarnish over time.  10K gold is no more durable than 14K gold.  There is no way to keep a ring looking new.  It will develop a patina of tiny scratches over the years.  This is normal.
@lovesclimbing A mechanic should not be wearing any rings at work.  This is dangerous.

theartistformerlyknownas

CMGragain said: Ladies, if you are looking for as metal ring that won't scratch, you are looking for something that does not exist.  All metal will scratch, and some will tarnish over time.  10K gold is no more durable than 14K gold.  There is no way to keep a ring looking new.  It will develop a patina of tiny scratches over the years.  This is normal.
@lovesclimbing A mechanic should not be wearing any rings at work.  This is dangerous.

This is not true. 24k gold is pure gold and will never tarnish. However, it's very soft so it's not used for rings. Other karats of gold have varying amounts of alloys added to strengthen them - silver, nickel, zinc, etc. 14k gold is 58% gold and 42% alloy. Stronger than pure gold, but the alloy adds the ability to tarnish. 10k gold is 42% gold and 58% alloy - it's more alloy than gold so it's much cheaper and much stronger, but it tarnishes very quickly due to having more alloy. Tungsten has the highest tensile strength of any solid metal, so it can't be sized but in pure states, it's very scratch resistant. It will eventually tarnish over time and exposure to chemicals in things like tap water and hand lotion. Also, patina and scratches are not the same thing. Patina is a layer of tarnish which protects the underlying metal (like verdigris on copper). Scratches are scratches. All rings can be cleaned easily with tarnish remover, but scratches are there for good unless you get your ring dipped or buffed out. Tungsten rings are available in multiple purities/strengths - they're not all created equal, so ask a lot of questions.

Basically, decide what your priority is - durability against scratches, durability against tarnish, more precious metal, ability to be sized, just the "look" he's looking for, or the price, etc.