3 Tips For Designing A Low Maintenance Custom Wedding Ring
It takes a lot of time, effort, and love to maintain a happy, healthy marriage, but you may not want to spend so much energy maintaining your wedding ring — after all, you will be wearing it for the rest of your life.
If you want a wedding ring that will stay as beautiful as your marriage without a great deal of maintenance, choosing a custom design wedding ring lets you design a low-maintenance ring from the ground up. If you want a custom designed ring that will be easy to live with in the years to come, keep the following useful tips in mind:
Choose Tarnish-Resistant Metals
Choosing the right metal is probably the most important aspect of designing a low-maintenance wedding ring. Ideally, your ring should be made from a metal that does not tarnish, so you won't have to spend much time and/or money on cleaning and polishing.
Silver isn't the best choice, as it tarnishes more quickly and easily than most other precious metals. You should also avoid rings made of lower karat grades of gold. Gold rings with low karat ratings contain higher amounts of silver and copper, which will both make the gold tarnish more easily.
Rings made from platinum or high-karat gold are classic choices, and available in the widest variety of designs and styles. These precious metals are also extremely resistant to tarnishing. However, they can also be expensive, and may not fit your budget. You should also bear in mind that platinum will develop a patina over time, making it look slightly dull and weathered. Removing this patina is usually easier than removing tarnish.
Palladium is an excellent compromise. This metal is extremely rare and is more valuable pound-for-pound than gold or platinum. However, because palladium is less dense, less metal is required to make a wedding band, so palladium rings are usually relatively inexpensive. Palladium rings are virtually immune to tarnishing and do not require any protective glazes or platings to stay shiny and new-looking for years.
Prioritize Scratch And Scuff Resistance
Scratches, scuffs, and scrapes can dull the luster of any wedding ring, and polishing them out can be very time-consuming. Deeper scratches may need to be professionally repaired. If you work with your hands regularly or live an active lifestyle, choosing a scratch-resistant metal can save you a lot of time and trouble in the future.
High-purity gold is notoriously easy to scratch, and may not be suitable for active ring wearers. Platinum is more forgiving, especially if you choose not to have its patina removed. Once again, palladium is an excellent low-maintenance choice, as it is extremely hard and resistant to scratches and scuffs.
Choosing the right finish for your wedding ring can also make your life easier. As a general rule, rings with brushed and/or matte finishes are more forgiving than polished finishes, and scratches and scrapes will be less visible.
Choose Gemstones And Settings Carefully
If you prefer a wedding ring with gemstones to a plain wedding band, you should make sure the gemstones are fixed in tough, secure settings. Losing a gemstone from a fragile, exposed prong or cluster setting can be extremely expensive.
Having your gemstones fixed into settings where the stone is either partially or completely surrounded by metal, as these settings keep the stone(s) tightly secured. Bezel, channel, and flush settings are all excellent choices. Tension settings can also be surprisingly secure, as long as your ring is created by a high-quality custom ring designer.
You should also choose your gemstone with care, as they can become scratched or chipped even when fixed into a protective setting. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and topazes are all famously tough and hard-wearing. Trying to avoid softer gemstones, such as opals, malachites, or pearls.