# Wedding Ring: Platinum or Gold?



## FrankC15 (Oct 16, 2016)

Truly stuck on a choice between platinum or gold wedding band. I don't typically wear gold, but a gold band will match my fiancé's band, and I do like that a gold band is more traditional. On the other hand, all of my watches and other accessories are silver or stainless steel, so this leads me to want a platinum band to match the color of those. What do you guys think?


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

My watch is stainless and my wedding band is gold, but then I do also have a gold watch or two. Some things are more important than metal matching and this just happens to be one of them!


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## eagleman (Apr 18, 2016)

I agree with fellow eagle and distinguished gentleman from Florida.
Gold is the most precious metal. So should be your marriage.


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## Mr. B. Scott Robinson (Jan 16, 2017)

Gold is the way to go. The various other precious metal options pushed by the jewelry biz are a bit faddish in my view. Can't go wrong with 18k yellow gold. 

Cheers, 

BSR


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## FLMike (Sep 17, 2008)

What about white gold?


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## FrankC15 (Oct 16, 2016)

FLMike said:


> What about white gold?


Not a fan. I have a hangup about white gold not being a naturally occurring material in nature. It's man made.


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## orange fury (Dec 8, 2013)

Mine is a 5mm wide 14k yellow gold band with no designs/etchings/etc. I wear a mix of yellow gold, rose gold, and silver, and though I try to match all my other accessories (silver belt buckle/watch/cufflinks, gold watch and belt buckle, etc), my ring not matching doesn't bother me.

that said, my college ring is also 14k yellow gold, so it helps that those match I guess


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## tda003 (Aug 16, 2009)

Mine is a plain 14K yellow gold band and is surplus to my needs, but does set off my box of souvenirs.


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## RedOctober (May 10, 2016)

Even the most hardcore of metal matchers usually grant dispensations for wedding rings. Don't let that be an impediment to making a choice.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

orange fury said:


> Mine is a 5mm wide 14k yellow gold band with no designs/etchings/etc. I wear a mix of yellow gold, rose gold, and silver, and though I try to match all my other accessories (silver belt buckle/watch/cufflinks, gold watch and belt buckle, etc), my ring not matching doesn't bother me.
> 
> that said, my college ring is also 14k yellow gold, so it helps that those match I guess


LOL. My college class ring is also gold hued, but generally sits on display in a cherry wood and glass display case and has done so for quite some time. The last time it was worn was to watch my Alma mater, Penn State, lose last years Rose Bowl game.


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## TDWat (Aug 31, 2012)

Mine's platinum. Allegedly it's more durable than gold in the long run, but it scratches much more easily in the short run. So if you get platinum, be prepared to either get it polished semi-frequently or put up with the dull, scratched look.


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## SG_67 (Mar 22, 2014)

Has anyone considered a blend of gold and platinum?


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## CSG (Nov 22, 2011)

This is the "trad" forum - 18k yellow gold, period.

Now, I got married in 1978 and no one would have thought to get anything other than gold. However, fast forward to 2017 and I haven't worn the thing in a couple decades or more. I just hate wearing a ring. My wife is the same way so ours sit in the safe.


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## Fading Fast (Aug 22, 2012)

CSG said:


> This is the "trad" forum - 18k yellow gold, period.
> 
> Now, I got married in 1978 and no one would have thought to get anything other than gold. However, fast forward to 2017 and I haven't worn the thing in a couple decades or more. I just hate wearing a ring. My wife is the same way so ours sit in the safe.


Sincere question not snarky comment - is this accurate? My dad and many men of his era - born in the '20s and '30s and married in the '40s and '50s did not wear wedding rings at all. So what really is trad - ring or no ring? From the many movies I've seen on TCM (movies made in the '30 - '60s), rarely do I remember anything but the man putting a ring on the woman's finger. A ring for a man almost never comes up in those movies.

Like you, growing up in the '70s (I was born in '64) and even into the '80s, I only remember gold rings. Then, in the '90s, I started to see platinum show up. But I really wonder if wedding rings for men were big at all back in the +/- middle of the last century. Could trad be no ring for a man?


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## Dhaller (Jan 20, 2008)

I can't imagine this ever being a source of argument, so obvious is the answer: match the wife.

My wife and I happen to have platinum rings (fortunately, since I too prefer the white sheen of that fine metal), but she actually DESIGNED our rings and hired a jeweler to make them... that's how "matched" wedding rings should be!

That said, I can't imagine anyone ever noticing a man wearing a gold band and a platinum watch and disapproving; stop inventing things to be criticized for! 

DH


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

eagle2250 said:


> My watch is stainless and my wedding band is gold, but then I do also have a gold watch or two. Some things are more important than metal matching and this just happens to be one of them!


+1,000!



Mr. B. Scott Robinson said:


> Gold is the way to go. The various other precious metal options pushed by the jewelry biz are a bit faddish in my view. Can't go wrong with 18k yellow gold.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> BSR


Note; as twice wed, my first ring was 18k, and second 14k. And if someone tends to beat up their hands as readily as I evidently do, 18k is soft and will show it, 14k much less so. And, incidentally, I found when shopping for the 2nd ring 20+ years ago that 18k seemed nowhere to be found, though I'm sure it could be obtained upon demand.


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## Mr. B. Scott Robinson (Jan 16, 2017)

My grandfathers, one born in the teens and the other the 20s both wore wedding rings. I wear my paternal grandfathers EP gold wedding ring every day on my right hand ring finger. 

Cheers, 

BSR


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## thegovteach (Dec 2, 2012)

Gold. My father wore a gold band for 60 yrs. I have only wore mine 35 years....so far. ( Also, gold )


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## swils8610 (Mar 12, 2016)

I have 2 wedding bands. One yellow and one platinum. I usually wear the gold band with my YG DD and the platinum band with TT or stainless watches. 









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## SG_67 (Mar 22, 2014)

There's absolutely no reason to consider matching one's wedding band to that of the bride. There's also no need to worry about matching metals when considering wedding bands and watches. Do so if you please, but there's no need for it. 

Some things are given to over-thinking. Such is this topic.


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## AshScache (Feb 4, 2013)

I felt the same way when I was picking a wedding ring. I went with gold, and it just so happens that my grandfathers ring was available. Who cares if it's trad, it's his.


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## Woofa (Dec 23, 2014)

First of all congrats on your wedding. Agreed with SG here. Please don't over think this. My band is gold because I had it made from jewelry of my late mother that we had melted down for just this reason. My wife's is platinum because that is what she preferred at the time. Both are great options and to my way of looking at it, more important not to go too ornate. If you prefer some embellishment then try to keep it to a minimum.


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## orange fury (Dec 8, 2013)

Matching wedding rings is entirely dependent upon the couple- there's no hard and fast answer. I have a yellow gold ring and my wife has a white gold set, because that's what we wanted. I disagree that there's any rules to this.

also, I prefer 14kt to 18kt personally- greater percentage of gold to non-gold metals, but more durable than 18kt


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

AshScache said:


> I felt the same way when I was picking a wedding ring. I went with gold, and it just so happens that my grandfathers ring was available. Who cares if it's trad, it's his.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Whether it is generally considered Trad, or not, inheriting and wearing your grandfathers ring sounds pretty darn Trad to me! If nothing else, it is certainly a family treasure. :thumbs-up:


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## Redsrover (Mar 23, 2009)

Platinum. It will develop a great sheen over time and you'll appreciate the difference.


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## tda003 (Aug 16, 2009)

Should I ever get married again, an unlikely event, I'd go with gold as I'm a traditionalist. I would probably go with 14k as it's a harder alloy and will wear longer (optimism).


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## Mr. B. Scott Robinson (Jan 16, 2017)

Don't even consider getting married again!! 

Cheers, 

BSR


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## jimw (May 4, 2009)

My wife and I chose white gold, and kept it thrifty. At the time, she was working at Wal-Mart corporate in Bentonville, so we took advantage of her employee discount and found a good deal on plain gold wedding bands (I bought her engagement ring from an actual jeweller). At the end of the day, a plain gold ring is the same, no matter where you bought it.


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## Semper Jeep (Oct 11, 2011)

SG_67 said:


> There's absolutely no reason to consider matching one's wedding band to that of the bride. There's also no need to worry about matching metals when considering wedding bands and watches. Do so if you please, but there's no need for it.
> 
> Some things are given to over-thinking. Such is this topic.


This.

You and your bride-to-be should both pick out what style, color, and metal you each like and get that. You will be much more pleased in the long run. If that means yellow gold or platinum or tungsten or white gold or a bread tie or an onion ring, so be it.


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## top secret (Mar 24, 2010)

I don't have a strong opinion on which metal to choose, but if you do opt for silver color, I highly recommend palladium over platinum. My five-year-old palladium wedding band has stood up well to daily wear and was _half the price_ of the platinum model!


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

You American chaps may cleave to an alternative culture but, even in the unlikely event that I were I to succumb to marriage, I would be more inclined to wear the gown than a ring. At least the gown would be for just one single day.


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## Titus_A (Jun 23, 2010)

You always ignore a wedding ring when matching accessories, so the color of your other watches, cufflinks, etc. is irrelevant. 

I would follow your instinct and go with gold.


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## JLibourel (Jun 13, 2004)

Shaver said:


> You American chaps may cleave to an alternative culture but, even in the unlikely event that I were I to succumb to marriage, I would be more inclined to wear the gown than a ring. At least the gown would be for just one single day.


I have always regarded wedding rings for men as an un-American novelty of comparatively recent vintage (post WWII) and imported from Europe. Neither my grandfather nor my father in law (as tradly a Trad as you could hope to find) ever wore one, and neither do I. Interesting to see that an Englishman has a similar perspective. I may note that the old (1662) Book of Common Prayer that served the C. of E. for over three centuries has no provision "double rings" in the wedding ceremony. I guess men's wedding rings are a Continental thing.


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## RedOctober (May 10, 2016)

Did some reading. Turns out rings are uncommon in England. Seems to be an American thing. Here's Wikipedia on the subject:



Wikipedia said:


> Although not without historical precedent, it is largely an American innovation of the 20th century. The American jewelry industry started a marketing campaign to encourage this practice in the late 19th century. In the 1920s, advertising campaigns tried to introduce a male engagement ring, but it failed because of the necessity of secretly appealing to women that its advertising campaigns had to make. Marketing lessons of the 1920s, changing economics, and the workplace impact of World War II enabled a more successful marketing campaign for male and female wedding rings, and by the late 1940s double-ring ceremonies comprised 80% of all weddings, as opposed to 15% before the Great Depression. Rising expectations of equality between the sexes in nearly all aspects of life during the 20th century cemented the trend, and double-ring ceremonies are preponderant in America in the 21st century.


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## F38etz (May 17, 2016)

Choose what you prefer. I went with a platinum & rose gold ring. My wife's engagement ring is in platinum but has some rose gold & pink diamond acccents. Her wedding band is the same design as mine, but in yellow gold & rose gold.

Many bands for me are very wide and I think a narrower band is more comfortable.


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## tda003 (Aug 16, 2009)

*Semper Jeep:*:

"You and your bride-to-be should both pick out what style, color, and metal you each like and get that. You will be much more pleased in the long run. If that means yellow gold or platinum or tungsten or white gold or a bread tie or an onion ring, so be it."

Although not generally a fan of the onion ring for weddings, in retrospect, it would have lasted as long as my first marriage. In that case, as she was a factory recall and still under warranty, it would have been just fine.


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## AAF-8AF (Feb 24, 2009)

top secret said:


> I don't have a strong opinion on which metal to choose, but if you do opt for silver color, I highly recommend palladium over platinum. My five-year-old palladium wedding band has stood up well to daily wear and was _half the price_ of the platinum model!


Agreed. I don't think I'd ever heard of palladium (though I must have known of it back in chemistry class long ago) when I went looking for a ring. It appealed to me for being a bit less known and also for being characteristically similar to platinum at much lower cost.


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## fishertw (Jan 27, 2006)

SG_67 said:


> Has anyone considered a blend of gold and platinum?


When my wife and I got married, we had a local gold/silversmith make bands for us. Hers is a gold with a small silver band on top of the gold. Mine is silver with a small gold band on top of the silver. Yin/Yang.


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## pcunite (Nov 20, 2006)

After seeing what happened to Jimmy Kimmel (ring avulsion) I recommend a nice silicon band. They have some now with metallic sheens, grated, not the same thing.


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## Monocle (Oct 24, 2012)

Late to the party, but my dad wore gold. My dad was an ass. So I chose Platinum.

I do; however, have appreciation for the traditional plain gold band. Has anyone gone completely new age, retaining several interchangable bands?, maybe even more than 2? I tried to save money when I got married, and first bought a very hipster titanium band, like swils8610 above, but quickly abandoned that idea, and went with the platinum. But i still wear the titanium band from time to time, for kicks.



Redsrover said:


> Platinum. It will develop a great sheen over time and you'll appreciate the difference.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## tatface (Sep 21, 2017)

When I was looking for a wedding ring, we decided to [link removed] for me and platinum for my wife to be. I have gold watch, so I wanted a wedding ring to match my accessories.


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## Clintotron (Mar 24, 2015)

pcunite said:


> After seeing what happened to Jimmy Kimmel (ring avulsion) I recommend a nice silicon band. They have some now with metallic sheens, grated, not the same thing.











I wear a Saferingz brand silicone wedding band. It is designed to tear in case it gets snagged by rotating equipment or a ladder rung, etc. It was $13 on amazon and looks like brushed gold in passing.

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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
"Silicone wedding bands," a rather unique and innovative (but also sensible) evolution of an old custom, driven by an increasingly active society! I for one did not see that one coming!


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## SG_67 (Mar 22, 2014)

^ And yet another way in which silicone makes for a more healthy married life!


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^LOL
Indeed!


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## mkrgk (Aug 16, 2010)

FrankC15 said:


> Not a fan. I have a hangup about white gold not being a naturally occurring material in nature. It's man made.


These are all alloys of gold with another metal, and as such are all man-made.


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## Billax (Sep 26, 2011)

SG_67 said:


> There's absolutely no reason to consider matching one's wedding band to that of the bride.


Unless, of course, it matters to one's fiancé.


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## Mike Petrik (Jul 5, 2005)

My grandfather wore a gold wedding ring from the day of his wedding in 1919 until his death in 1984. I now wear that ring on my right hand in his memory and that of my grandmother. I pay no attention whatsoever to whether it matches my own gold band (worn since 1979), my watch, my belt buckle, or even my suspenders adjusters! A gentleman really should avoid getting obsessed about such things.

My personal rules for jewelry are (i) less is usually more, (ii) smaller is usually underrated, (iii) tasteful always beats flashy, and (iv) worry about matching only when necessary to please your better half.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Billax said:


> Unless, of course, it matters to one's fiancé.


Member Billax, you are a very wise man...one from whom I have learned and continue to learn so much. Thank you for being a member of this forum!


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## swils8610 (Mar 12, 2016)

I have my grandfathers high school ring. If I had a relatives wedding band I would wear it. Seeing as a Don’t I wear a platinum band currently. 


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## De-Boj (Jul 5, 2009)

My fiancé (now my wife) said Platinum, and so it was. You guys were actually allowed to have input? With that being said I like the way the Platinum gets dull over time. It keeps me from feeling bad for the abuse it takes in my day to day life.


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