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WIDE WEDDING BANDS - PATTERNED OR PLAIN?

Laser or hand carved, woven patterns, tricolor banding - there are LOTS of popular styles of wide wedding bands available on the market today, and many men and women are opting for these patterned matching bands. We love them here at Mrs. Gottrocks, and recommend them to our clients - but we also like to give our clients a bit more "realistic" information about them.

Obviously, they are the same pattern all the way around. And that is fine - until you have to have them sized up or down because your finger size changes. Simple patterns and some art carving can be duplicated when sizing up, and if the pattern is right, a jeweler can sometimes manage to make the pattern still match when sizing down. But this may add cost to the sizing job. When I sell these kinds of rings at the shop, I discuss the following topics with my clients:

ARE YOU OVERLY SENTIMENTAL?: Some people are extremely sentimental about their wedding rings and any obvious change to them would break their heart. Other people can take little changes with a shrug and be perfectly happy. In relation to the information provided here, your degree of sentimentality may play a factor in your choice of style of wedding ring.

WEIGHT CHANGE: IF you are the kind of man or woman who tends to gain and lose a lot of weight (more than just a few pounds here and there), a wide band in general is not necessarily the right choice for you. Thinner bands are more forgiving of weight fluctuations.

PATTERN INTERRUPTION: If you have to have the ring resized in the future for whatever reason, consider the pattern. Will it bother you to have the pattern interrupted with a "blank space" if the jeweler has to insert gold or platinum to make the ring larger? Will it bother you if the pattern is interrupted because the jeweler had to cut away part of the ring to make it smaller? If you want the pattern matched exactly and it can be done, are you prepared to pay extra for that custom service?

YOUR AGE: As we age, men and women find their finger sizes can change even if they don't gain or lose weight. When young men and women chose patterned bands, I warn them that resizing of their ring at some time in their lives is almost a certainty, but not to lose all hope - gold rings can be stretched slightly to give you that extra space you'll need from normal aging, and this will not affect most patterns.

YOUR OCCUPATION: Men and women who use their hands in their occupation or their hobbes (artwork, gardening, construction, typing, etc.) can develop arthritis in their finger joints. Their finger ring size can stay the same, but getting the ring across the knuckle can become difficult. This is less of a problem with thinner bands than with wide bands. At our shop here in Manassas, we will either upsize the ring, and then put small half-domed gold "speed bumps" inside the ring to keep it from spinning on the hand once it is across the knuckle, or try stretching it a quarter size to see if that helps. But in some cases, the ring upsizing is the only option, and again, if interruption of the pattern will bother you, this is something to consider even if it is 10, 20 or 40 years down the road.

TAKE OFF WIDE BANDS AT NIGHT: I warn all jewelry wearers, but especially women that taking off their wedding bands (especially wide ones) at night is important. Not only are all those chemicals we use in the daily boudoir (shampoos, perfumes, etc.) bad for the gold and some stones, I can't tell you how many wedding sets have come to me in pieces, having been cut off by the local fire department when the circulation in the finger is impaired overnight and the ring simply cannot be removed any other way. Women who wear wider bands can also develop nasty rashes and dermatogical conditions under their rings, when moisture is continually trapped under the ring. Taking them off at night allows the finger to "dry out" so to speak, and can keep bacteria from collecting and causing a problem. Cleaning the inside of wide bands on a regular basis is also a good idea for the same reason. Usually this becomesmore of a problem later in life, but giving the finger a "breather" at night is, in general, a good habit to develop.

NOW DON'T FREAK IF YOU LOVE WIDE BANDS: Some men and women go through life with a wide band they've never taken off and never had to resize and everything is fine. The problems mentioned above do happen, however, and I like my clients to be prepared for what MAY be down the road, so they can make wise purchasing decisions based on their lifestyle and personality.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Please feel free to contact us here at Mrs. Gottrocks if you have any other questions regarding wedding band choices - we're always happy to help!

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