New Trends in Wedding Jewelry
By: Jeff Martin

The wedding rings that the bride and groom end up selecting will serve as lasting symbols of their commitment to each other. They are a tangible representation of their love and dedication to one another. Long after the cake has been eaten, the flowers wilted, and the music fades away, the wedding rings remain. Realizing what an important element of the wedding experience the wedding rings are should impact brides and grooms as they choose their rings.

Couples now have more styles and designs of wedding rings available to them than ever before. We are seeing everything from cutting edge design to tried and true classic styles. The options and combinations of different metals, gemstones, and diamonds have become too numerous to list. Both bride and groom are encouraged to seek out the design that truly reflects their individual tastes and styles.

When considering the style of her wedding ring, the bride should first consider what design will compliment the ring she is already wearing, the engagement ring. If the engagement ring is a simple solitaire, or other basic design, the bride will find more options are available to her. If the engagement ring is more elaborate and intricate in design, there will likely be fewer styles of wedding rings available that will look complimentary. If this is the case, the bride should consider having a wedding ring custom created to match the style of her engagement ring. A competent jeweler who specializes in custom design can create a wedding ring that matches perfectly.

We have found that many brides lately have been requesting design elements in the wedding ring that are a bit less traditional. Color has been quite popular in our custom designs. We have seen a marked up tick in the use of both colored gemstones and colored diamonds being used in wedding ring design. Brides are desiring to express themselves a bit more boldly through implementing some accent colored stones. Shades of blue, pink and yellow have been the most popular.

Another way color is being used to “jazz up” wedding ring design is through using different metal colors and types. Rose or pink gold has truly seen a resurgence in bridal jewelry design. Many brides are fond of the “warmth” this color of gold brings to the design. Palladium is enjoying huge success now in the bridal jewelry market. A relatively new precious metal to the jewelry trade, palladium has made impressive inroads to the “white” metal market. With the price of platinum skyrocketing to over $2000.00 an ounce on the open market, palladium is proving to be a perfect alternative. In fact many brides who have platinum engagement rings are having wedding bands created in palladium. The two metals are near identical in color, yet palladium is a fraction of the cost and is actually a superior metal for jewelry purposes. It does not scratch or bend nearly as badly as platinum, yet has that nice grayish silver color that many women love about platinum.

The market for men’s wedding rings has truly evolved from the former days of just plain styles. Groom’s now have a plethora of different styles and types of metals available to them. We strongly encourage men to get out and consider the many possibilities available. Resist the urge to just get a plain wedding band like Dad, and seek out a style that truly represents you!

In addition to the numerous designs now available from wedding ring manufacturers, we are seeing a solid increase in the number of groom’s opting to have their wedding band custom created. Our use of CAD (computer assisted design) and CAM (computer assisted manufacture) has really increased the number of custom groom’s ring we are creating. Men are intrigued by the virtual 3-D design process and have really responded to the photo-realistic renderings we produce of the ring design before we even begin the actual fabrication process. Many grooms have a special pattern, symbol, or other element that they want to incorporate in the ring design. They don’t want the same ring as every other guy. By custom created the ring, with our CAD/CAM process, the groom can get exactly what he wants. This makes brides very happy, because if he loves his ring, he’ll wear it!

Metal choice is important when selecting or creating the groom’s ring. We are finding high demand for both white gold and palladium, while platinum’s popularity seems to be waning. Both white gold and palladium are affordable in comparison to platinum, and both wear very well. As with ladies rings, we are seeing increased popularity in palladium in gent’s styles. The primary reason is due to palladium’s natural silver color. White gold has a slight yellow tint, which requires periodic re-plating to keep the nice silver color. Palladium requires no plating.

Alternative or exotic metals such as tungsten and titanium have become popular with grooms in recent years, especially with the younger set. Both metals sport a darker gun metal color. These metals wear well, tungsten being the better of the two, and feature lower price points than their precious metal counterparts.

Individual expression is the name of the game these days with couple selecting their wedding ring styles. It’s an exciting time to be a bride or groom in need of a wedding ring!