Men’s wedding and engagement rings are offered in a broader array of metals, stones, and ring designs than the plain old band of gold.
Have you caught your man staring at your diamond engagement ring for inordinate amounts of time while remaining unimpressed with his men’s wedding ring options? Diamonds are not just a girl’s best friend anymore—they’re a rapidly growing and popular option for men who want a memorable wedding ring that avoids the standard plain band cliché. Here are five reasons to consider buying men’s diamond rings.
They’re a fitting companion to your engagement ring
Let’s face it: the majority of men’s wedding rings are dull companions to their sparkling female counterparts. Many women find themselves wishing they could purchase their groom-to-be a more dazzling ring, and guys are surprisingly up for it. There’s long been a disparity between the quality and value of women’s engagement rings and men’s wedding rings. Men’s diamond rings bridge that difference beautifully. These days men’s diamond rings are by no means considered feminine, but rather are an increasingly sought after option by educated consumers in a diverse men’s jewelry market.
They have manly color options
While white or colorless diamonds are always a classic choice for men’s diamond rings, the options don’t just end there. Two particularly popular stone colors for men’s diamond rings are black and cognac diamonds. Most of the black diamonds found in men’s diamond rings have been color treated to achieve their deep ebony hue, as natural black diamonds are very rare and expensive (and not actually a true black).
Cognac diamonds offer a rich chocolate brown shade, and are a warm addition to men’s diamond rings. As an added bonus, men’s diamond rings with cognac diamonds can often be less expensive than those with colorless diamonds, as brown diamonds occur more frequently in nature.
They can be surprisingly affordable
At this point, you can probably recite the Four Cs (cut, clarity, color and carat weight) by heart, but you may be surprised to know that they are not as crucially important for men’s diamond rings as they are for women’s engagement rings. As a result, men’s diamond rings tend to be significantly less expensive than women’s rings.
For starters, most men’s diamond rings utilize smaller stones that tend to function more as design accents rather than single show stopping gems. This means that factors like clarity and color grade become less important, as most buyers go by their own naked eye visual rather than a detailed appraisal. Instead, most shoppers focus on cut and diamond settings, since those factors influence the look and style of men’s diamond rings to an infinitely greater degree.
Another factor in price is the materials used in men’s diamond rings. While women’s engagement rings are primarily found in pricey precious metals like platinum and gold, men’s diamond rings have a much more diverse group of band materials to choose from, including significantly more affordable contemporary options like cobalt chrome and titanium.
They offer a timeless value and quality
There’s a reason why diamonds are so highly valued—actually, there’s plenty of reasons. Beyond their incomparable beauty and sparkle, diamonds are incredibly tough. In fact, they are the hardest natural substance on earth, measuring 10 out of 10 on the Mohs scale of hardness, and only a diamond can scratch another diamond. This makes them ideal for jewelry that is likely to be worn every day, like wedding bands.
They don’t have to be wedding bands or engagement rings
Want to get him a diamond ring but don’t want to give him the wrong impression? Relax—there are plenty of men’s diamond fashion rings that don’t involve popping the big question. The beauty of men’s diamond rings is that they still don’t have all the weight and symbolism that women’s diamond rings have (at least, not yet). You can easily find him a men’s diamond ring in a contemporary material that will add a little bit of luxury into his wardrobe without worrying about making any drastic changes to your relationship.
Read more in Weddings on The Good Life.
Image courtesy of the author
Eric…I don’t think women place a monetary value on the changing of their last name like you’re implying. “Oooh, he bought me a shiny, sure I’ll marry him and take his name!” They change it out of tradition. A stupid tradition in my opinion, but a tradition nonetheless.
Atypical, while it’s all just tradition, they do place at least some monetary value on the engagement ring, otherwise it wouldn’t usually involve a precious stone; it would be just a plain band, or none at all. It’s all just tradition, some consider all of them meaningless and stupid: the ring, the getting down on one knee, the proposal, the name change, all of it. Their all aspects of the same tradition. Some may be for, or please the woman more than the man, or vice-versa. So, if she refuses the name change tradition that he may favor, it’s only… Read more »
This is a good example of why my name is “Atypical” : no thanks to the knee, a plain band is great, and I’ll keep my last name thanks. Now let’s go find a courthouse. My boyfriend/future husband is lucky. I don’t generally understand women so I’m speaking for the minority of the “atypicals” out there. I do not put up with tit-for-tat relationships. People should do things because they WANT to, not because they EXPECT something out of the gesture. But…I guess that’s just most people,,,unfortunate…
Fairness and equality might seem tit for tat to the one on the receiving end. Why even a plain band or a proposal at all? Those are also traditions. A person can buy their own ring if they want one, but there is no value in a proposal or wearing a ring at all in reality.
There are many great responses here. I think we should do away with these silly traditions. The man and woman should talk and decide when to get married. Each should give each other a simple wedding ring. No porposals. No engagement ring. The woman should be able to keep her name. This is the year 2012.
There’s no reason to wear a ring unless you just like jewelry, in which case you don’t need to wait until you get married to have someone else buy it for you.
What’s all this talk about “LETTING her keep her maiden name”??? If/when I decide to marry I am keeping my last name. It is my GIVEN NAME, why should I have to change it? (Don’t go in the kids direction, I don’t want them.)
Eric, first of all men do not spend three months salary for an engagement ring. Let’s just say he makes 60,000. Three months salary equals 15,000. I don’t know of any man that pays that much for a ring. The woman is required to change her name. With that reasoning, if a woman buys her man a ring, he should have to change his name. There is not a man on this planet who would change his name to his wife name.
JoAnne, how can you possibly know what all “men” do or don’t do? You can’t. Nobody can. You’re taking about billions of people you don’t know. Secondly, some men spend more than 3 months salary, others less. Some save for many months or even years. Others borrow the money. It’s not always a cash deal. So, it’s entirely possible to spend 3 months salary, especially if it’s their take-home pay, not gross wage. Third, no woman is required to change her name. There is no law that demands that. It’s entirely optional for men and for women. Some men have… Read more »
Will men start taking their wives names? At least, let their wives keep their maiden names. If they expect an engagement ring, it is only fair
If she’s going to plunk down three months salary on an engagement ring not knowing whether he will accept her proposal or not, and if she gets down on one knee to ask him to get married, it’s only fair that she keep her maiden name – after all that.