Wedding Ring Guide

Plain Wedding Rings

Plain wedding rings refers to rings that are only one alloy of metal and that don’t have any intricate designs or patterns. The shape is cylindrical. There are many types and styles of plain wedding rings to choose from but ultimately your selection should be one that reflects your style, personality and taste. You can stick with tradition, be more modern, or go completely original.

Some Wedding Ring Terminology

  • Comfort-Fit Wedding Ring – The inside surface of the wedding ring (the part that touches your finger) can be flat or curved. If flat, it is not usually specified. If curved, it is called a comfort-fit ring. Comfort fitting allows the ring to slide on and off a little easier and the ring may feel slightly more comfortable when worn. To make a comfort ring thickness usually requires a minimum thickness of 1.5mm.
  • Wedding Ring Profile – The profile of a wedding ring refers to the shape of the ring when viewed in cross-section. A cross-section is a slice across the ring. For example the cross section of a doughnut is a circle. View examples below.
  • Wedding Ring Material – The wedding ring material simply refers to the substance (usually an alloy of metal) used to make it. Some common wedding ring alloys include Platinum, 18k Yellow Gold, 18k White Gold, 9k Yellow Gold, 9k White Gold, Sterling Silver and Titanium.
  • Rhodium Plating – This refers to the application (via electroplating) of a thin layer of rhodium (a metal of the platinum family) onto a ring’s surface. This is usually done on white gold and sterling silver rings. It gives the ring a bright white finish and some added scratch protection.

Types of Plain Wedding Rings


Wedding rings come in many different profiles. Some profiles have more than one name depending on the jeweller you go to and the country you are in.

Ring Profiles

  • Half-Round – This is the ring you see most often used in weddings. It has a noticeably curved outer edge.
  • Low Half-Round – Similar to the Half-Round, but with less rounding.
  • D-shape – More rounded so that the curved surface meets at a fine edge with the inside surface. i.e. there are no edges on the side of the ring.
  • Half-Round with Bevelled Edge – As the name implies, a Half-Round ring with small bevels cut at 45 degrees on either side.
  • Flat – Simply a flat ring.
  • Flat with Rounded Edge – Similar to the flat ring but the outer edges are rounded.
  • Flat with Bevelled Edge – Similar to the flat ring but with small bevels cut at 45 degrees on either side
  • Flat with Stepped Edge – A flat ring with a small step down on the outer edges.
  • Parrot Nose – The top surface of this ring rises to a point.
  • Knife Edge – Similar to the Parrot-Nose except the two main outer surfaces are slightly curved.
  • Concave – The opposite of a Half-Round ring, i.e. the curvature goes in towards your finger.
  • Orbit – Like a flattened oval

Wedding Ring Finishes

Finishes are applied to the outside surface of the ring (the inside is always polished).

  • Polished – This is the high lustre mirror-like finish seen on most rings. It is achieved with a buffing wheel and polishing compound.
  • Brushed or Matte – This ring finish gives a subdued mellow look. It is achieved with emery paper or similar abrasive.
  • Hammered – This finish gives the ring a rustic well worn look. It is achieved by a series of hammer blows randomly all around the ring.
  • Sand-blasted – This finish is also matte but more coarse than a simple brushed finish. It is achieved by blasting corundum at high speed on the ring.

When choosing finishes keep durability in mind. You will find that textured finishes can develop shiny spots over time from rubbing against things. It is easier and cheaper to re-polish a ring than to have it re-sandblasted for example. Refinishing a ring will also require re-rhodium-plating if this was done in the first place.

View and buy our Plain Wedding Rings online.

Ok, that was the easy stuff. Read on to learn about Patterned & Multi-tone Wedding Rings and Diamond Wedding Rings.

Patterned & Multi-Tone Wedding Rings

Patterned Wedding Rings

Patterned wedding rings are rings that are not just the usual half-round, flat, bevelled-edge etc.. They are rings that have grooves, raised areas, patterns, milgrain, waves, hearts, ridges, crosses and other symbols or other features that make them stand out.

They can have one or more finishes. For example polished sides and brushed centre section.

Multi-tone Wedding Rings


Multi-tone wedding rings include two-tone and three-tone rings. Two-tone rings contain two different alloys. For example half the ring can be white gold, the other half yellow gold. Or a centre section can be white gold and the two outer sections can be rose gold. Three-tone rings contain three alloys. For example a ring divided into three sections with the first section being rose gold, the second (middle) white gold and the third section being yellow gold.

There are at least three methods to get the two-tone effect. One is to have a thinner ‘overlay’ of the different coloured metal on the main ring e.g. the main body of the ring is yellow gold and a thin white gold overlay sits in a groove around the outer surface of the ring. The other method is for the colour to go right through the ring. So imagine two or three different coloured rings being stuck together side by side. In effect the inside of the ring has the differing colours just the same as the outside. Another way would be to rhodium plate a central section of a yellow gold ring to give a two tone effect.

View and buy our Patterned & Multi-tone Wedding Rings online.