Wedding Rings

Sterling Silver Wedding Bands?

Question:

> Does anybody have any experience with sterling silver wedding bands?

> Have you considered platinum?   > The most unusual ring I ever saw was made of iridium. > I wouldn’t recommend uranium, though.

We’re getting titanium . . . -steven

Response:

  Some people find that silver >rings are *always* leaving their fingers tarnished, especially >in the summer.

I had this problem.  Before we could afford a gold ring, my husband got me a Victorian "poesy" ring from a museum catalog.  It’s a replica of a sort of English "promise" ring, given in friendship or for an engagement.  I was so excited.  I wore it all day and it immediately tarnished my finger.  So I did what I would with any silver jewelry that tarnished my skin:  painted the inside with clear nail polish.  It’s no problem now. — Sheesh.

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RE:  Platinum bands and scratching… I am not a jeweler, but I do have a platinum engagement ring.  Platinum is more difficult to work with (for sizing and such), but is very strong.  My ring was handcrafted in about 1915 and has a few very small scratches, but nothing compared to a ten year old gold ring.  I am very happy with the ring and with the metal – it has a beautiful shine that is different from white gold. -Joy

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Peri) says: >Why on earth would you want to polish your wedding ring? >Of course it will get dings and scratches — they are testimony >to the durable love of your marriage.  A much-worn and pocked >ring 35 years old is much more beautiful than one fresh-minted. >Beauty is tempered by years.

I agree.  However, I will be having my fiance’s wedding ring polished before the wedding.  He’s been wearing it for 3 years on his right hand as an engagement ring, and we decided we wanted it to look shiny and new on our wedding day, to match mine and represent the "fresh start" of getting married (which also involves moving the ring to the other hand and having it engraved with the wedding date.) Another time when you would want to have the ring polished is if it needed to be sized. I’ve known people who had their rings polished on a regular basis. I knew a couple once where the man had a very physical job, but he wore his ring to work.  He’d get it polished occasionally so that it more closely resembled his wife’s ring.  (You’d be amazed at how different they looked when he hadn’t had it recently polished!) I knew another woman who had her ring polished on a regular basis because she viewed her ring as a work of art as well as her wedding ring, and she liked to maintain its original look.  (She’d had it custom-designed and cast.) -Sonja —— The key to a happy marriage is take care of the marriage and the happy will take care of itself.             -Yiddish proverb

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To the original poster who is having problems finding sterling silver wedding bands: I looked at Service Merchandise last night for a silver ring to give to my boyfriend as his ‘engagement’ ring. They are $69 for a nice width (4mm I think). We are getting married this May 14 (without our parents knowledge for medical insurance and tax reasons) and that will be his wedding band and my engagement ring will be my wedding band. When we get married on May 14, 1994 (at the church), we will have solid gold bands for both of us. [Yes, I know, our wedding date will actually be our 1st anniversary!] I tried to find a silver engagement ring but was unsuccessful so I went with gold. My engagement ring is beautiful, but I really wish the metal had been silver! I’m lucky. I don’t polish silver ever. If it is tarnished when I put it on, it is shiny and beautiful within 20 minutes. Hope this helps…and please excuse the rambling. Susan R. Mahan Susan R. Martin as of 14 May 1993!

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> Does anybody have any experience with sterling silver wedding bands? > My fiance and I would really rather have silver, because we both look > good in it, and we both like it better than gold or white gold.  We’ve > gone to a few jewelry stores, and so far, none have any silver at all. > Thanks, > Pat

My parents play with make jewelry as a hobby.  My Mother developed as allergic reaction to gold and had my Father make her a silver wedding band.  She had had no trouble with it at all.  If anything, the gold is softer than the silver and the silver will last longer. E-mail if you have any questions. anna March 12 1994 I CAN’T WAIT !!!!

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>Does anybody have any experience with sterling silver wedding bands?

Have you considered platinum?   The most unusual ring I ever saw was made of iridium. I wouldn’t recommend uranium, though. —                                                 —  Michal Impressive amounts of material can be accreted in this manner.

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>that gold, being softer, is easier to polish back to its original >finish without losing much of the metal, while once platinum >gets scratched, it either stays scratched or you lose more of >the metal when you polish it.

Why on earth would you want to polish your wedding ring? Of course it will get dings and scratches — they are testimony to the durable love of your marriage.  A much-worn and pocked ring 35 years old is much more beautiful than one fresh-minted. Beauty is tempered by years. —                                                 —  Michal Impressive amounts of material can be accreted in this manner.

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >McIntyre) (Dave McIntyre) says: >Platinum (with 10% iridium) is hard, beautiful, doesn’t tarnish, and isn’t >horribly expensive (well, it’s pretty expensive). >Some friends of mine thought of getting platinum, but they were >talked out of it by the jeweler.  (A jeweler, incidentally, who >I have the highest respect for.  I have made every important >jewelry purchase from this jeweler.)  The jeweler pointed out >that gold, being softer, is easier to polish back to its original >finish without losing much of the metal, while once platinum >gets scratched, it either stays scratched or you lose more of >the metal when you polish it. >I can’t really vouch for this information, as I wasn’t there >and haven’t studied this issue (I like yellow gold). >-Sonja >——

My parents are antique dealers and have bought several beautiful platnium jewlry pieces.  I don’t remember any of them being beat up at all, in fact they seemed to be the best preserved of the pieces in thier time frame.  Gold, although it doesn’t tarnish, does dent and scratch. A suggestion though, the light blue sapphires or aquamarine have made up the prettiest pieces I have seen.  They just seem to fit with the specific shade of silver that platinum gives off. Lynn P.S. to the person that said a 35 yr old, dented and scratched ring . . . When you wear gold the chemicals in your body change the color from the ‘brassy’ gold to a tinted shade.  On me it changes a rose colored. Real pretty.  The older the gold, the the more pink and less brassy it turn.  On my fiance it turns a bluish color, like moon light.

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>>We’ve >gone to a few jewelry stores, and so far, none have any silver at all. >That, I think, is the main problem you’ve been having.   You’ve been >visiting jewelry stores.  :-) >Instead, you might consider visiting a goldsmith/silversmith’s shop, >attending festivals at which there are such artisans, or finding >local artisans some other way. >Incidentally, such artisans would also be able to cast original >designs in either silver or white gold, so you could have something >that was unique.

Good idea!  And, this isn’t a plug, one way to find some starving artists w/ unique ideas is to hunt up your local SCA group (Society of Creative Anachronism.)  These groups vary from location to location, but they do have a sort of network of folks, and could point you to the nearest local artisan, or artisan supply-shop.

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McIntyre) (Dave McIntyre) says: >Platinum (with 10% iridium) is hard, beautiful, doesn’t tarnish, and isn’t >horribly expensive (well, it’s pretty expensive).

Some friends of mine thought of getting platinum, but they were talked out of it by the jeweler.  (A jeweler, incidentally, who I have the highest respect for.  I have made every important jewelry purchase from this jeweler.)  The jeweler pointed out that gold, being softer, is easier to polish back to its original finish without losing much of the metal, while once platinum gets scratched, it either stays scratched or you lose more of the metal when you polish it. I can’t really vouch for this information, as I wasn’t there and haven’t studied this issue (I like yellow gold). -Sonja —— "By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you’ll be happy. If you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher." -Socrates

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The biggest problem with silver is the tarnish.  If all you are getting is the band, then I wouldn’t imagine white gold to be too expensive. Of course, you could always consider platinum–I have no idea what that runs.   Beth Mazur             "You can’t always get what you want.  But if you try uunet!inmet!mazur                                  – The Rolling Stones

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|> |> Does anybody have any experience with sterling silver wedding bands? |> My fiance and I would really rather have silver, because we both look |> good in it, and we both like it better than gold or white gold.  We’ve |> gone to a few jewelry stores, and so far, none have any silver at all. |> The saleslady at the last store claimed silver isn’t durable enough… I just went through the same process.  Silver does seem to be very malleable for this kind of use….but there is a great alternative: platinum! Platinum (with 10% iridium) is hard, beautiful, doesn’t tarnish, and isn’t horribly expensive (well, it’s pretty expensive).  I forget the exact prices, but my 4mm band was around $400, her 2mm was around $300.  Her engagement ring was also platinum, and I think that was $325 including mounting the stone (which I got from somewhere else).   Platinum used to be a much more popular jewely metal, but all jewelry stores can still order rings (I think ours are Artcarved, which is a big ring manufacturer that all stores can order from).  Dave "dr question" McIntyre   +—–+   "….say you’re thinking about a plate

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>We’ve >gone to a few jewelry stores, and so far, none have any silver at all.

That, I think, is the main problem you’ve been having.   You’ve been visiting jewelry stores.  :-) Instead, you might consider visiting a goldsmith/silversmith’s shop, attending festivals at which there are such artisans, or finding local artisans some other way. Incidentally, such artisans would also be able to cast original designs in either silver or white gold, so you could have something that was unique. At a gold/silversmith I once visited, I saw some lovely rings that were billed as traditional american indian rings (didn’t catch which tribe).  These were made of silver, and had, on the *inside*, various gems.  The inside was polished very smooth.  The idea was that the couple would choose stones that had special meaning for them personally. >                                     but silver does seen to be very >hard to find.  Is there a good reson for this, or do stores just want >to sell white gold because they make more money on it?

Most people prefer that their wedding ring not tarnish.  Silver tarnishes, gold doesn’t.  Depending on your body chemistry, you may get a lot or a little tarnish.  Some people find that silver rings are *always* leaving their fingers tarnished, especially in the summer. -Sonja —— "Only choose in marriage a woman whom you would choose as a friend if she were a man."                 – Joseph Joubert

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Does anybody have any experience with sterling silver wedding bands? My fiance and I would really rather have silver, because we both look good in it, and we both like it better than gold or white gold.  We’ve gone to a few jewelry stores, and so far, none have any silver at all. The saleslady at the last store claimed silver isn’t durable enough for a wedding band, unless you want to replace it every five years.  I think she was exaggerating just a wee bit, but silver does seen to be very hard to find.  Is there a good reson for this, or do stores just want to sell white gold because they make more money on it? Thanks, Pat

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> Does anybody have any experience with sterling silver wedding bands? > My fiance and I would really rather have silver, because we both look > good in it, and we both like it better than gold or white gold.  We’ve > gone to a few jewelry stores, and so far, none have any silver at all. > The saleslady at the last store claimed silver isn’t durable enough for > a wedding band, unless you want to replace it every five years.  I think > she was exaggerating just a wee bit, but silver does seen to be very > hard to find.  Is there a good reson for this, or do stores just want > to sell white gold because they make more money on it? > Thanks, > Pat

When my mother and stepfather got married in 1983, they found a jeweler who would make hammered silver bands.  (This was in Southbridge, MA) They came out looking really beautiful.  I don’t think they cost an outrageous sum, and they held up fine.  The only problem came when we moved, and the water in our new well had a heavy amount of sulfur in it.  The rings turned black every time they washed their hands, but they came clean again with silver polish. Good luck!! Laura — Laura Star Snickers             | South Hadley, MA  01075         |         The opinions expressed above are not endorsed or         supported by anyone else on the planet.

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