Cheap Wedding Rings – Choosing Recession Proof Wedding & Engagement Bands
Times are tough. Most of us are feeling the effects of the world wide economic slump and cutting back on spending is more important now than ever. It’s easy to cut back on the non-necessities like Sunday drives and giant sized popcorn at the movie theater, but some cuts aren’t that easy to spot.
Take for example your upcoming wedding. There are all kinds of costs involved when planning to get married, and even if you and your fiancé decide to keep the ceremony small, elope, or head to the local courthouse, you’ll more than likely still want to purchase the rings. Most wedding planners and jewelry store owners will tell you that the engagement ring alone should cost around three months pay. Add the wedding band and his ring and now you are looking at 5 months pay – easily. That might be hard to scrape up nowadays, like we said earlier – times are tough. Luckily for us there are some relatively inexpensive, attractive alternatives.
Titanium is a very popular material for use in wedding bands and engagement rings. The ring itself can be many times cheaper than its gold counterpart. Add the fact that it’s harder than stainless steel, highly scratch resistant, and extremely light, and you’ve got yourself a comfortable, affordable option that will be with you forever. As far as style is concerned, almost anything in the Gold/Platinum category is available in Titanium. As a matter of fact, Titanium is better suited for tension settings than softer metals, so your stone of choice would be more secure.
Another option is a relatively new material to the jewelry market – Tungsten. Tungsten Carbide is most notably used in the tooling field. Its extreme hardness and high melting point make it perfect for cutting and grinding tools. These same characteristics make it perfect for jewelry too!
Tungsten Carbide rings are so scratch resistant that some retailers call them scratch “proof.” Its color is usually close to that of Titanium or Stainless Steel, but can be compounded to produce other colors as well. As this metal becomes more and more popular, the list of available designs is increasing exponentially.
There is a misconception that Tungsten Carbide rings are so strong, hospital and emergency personnel won’t be able to remove one from a finger in the case of injury. This is completely untrue. Any emergency responder, or homeowner for that matter, would be able to remove a Tungsten Carbide ring with the help of a common set of vice grips or industry standard ring removal tools. Also, the Tungsten Carbide used in making jewelry won’t bend, only fracture. So in that sense it’s actually safer to wear as it won’t pinch down on a person’s finger.
Obviously, the most expensive part of your wedding band is the Diamond, and there are no true replacements for this brilliant stone. However, you may purchase a ring with a Cubic Zirconia setting now, and have a local jeweler replace it with a true Diamond once your financial worries are over.
Combining the above alternatives will result in a pair of wedding bands for under $300, which is much more manageable nowadays. Financially it’s a sound decision, and aesthetically it’s a perfect match.
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