While most people think designer wedding rings are impossible to afford except for celebrities or multi-millionaires, a lot of designer rings can be surprisingly affordable depending on the specific designer and the type of wedding ring you are after.
It is true that many designer rings are very expensive, but with some effort even the average couple may be able to snag a designer wedding ring for much less than they imagine.
Designer Wedding Rings
When you walk into a regular jeweler, most if not all of the wedding rings available are mass produced designs. A designer wedding ring, however, is one that has been individually designed and did not come from an existing template.
Obviously, the most well-known designers such as Harry Winston are among the most expensive designers. However, the expense comes from the quality of materials used to make each wedding ring, not just their notoriety or the actual design of the ring.
Jewelry Designers
Even though most people are familiar with the big, well-known and expensive jewelry designers, there are actually several types of designers that create beautiful wedding rings for every woman.
Large designers did start out small at one time, but through the years they have skyrocketed into major players in the jewelry designing business. These larger designers are often responsible for most celebrity wedding rings, but smaller designers can create stunning rings just as easily.
Smaller ring designers may only create a few rings each year, and often have a limited selection of available designs when compared to the larger design houses.
For the average couple, you are probably not going to be able to afford a designer wedding ring from one of the large designers such as Tiffany’s. Thankfully, local or small-time designers can be quite affordable depending on the type of ring you want.
Your best bet to find a small-time jeweler is to look in your local yellow pages or online for jewelers in your area. It is much easier to customize a designer ring when you are able to meet with the actual designer and watch how your ideas unfold. That way, you can be involved in each step of the process and be able to easily correct anything that isn’t to your liking, and make your budget and design ideas very clear to the person who will be customizing the wedding ring for you.
While most people think designer wedding rings are much too expensive for the average couple to afford, the cost will vary depending on the type of ring you want, including the metal, gemstone choices, settings and intricacy of the design itself.
With a little research and some effort on your part, you can have a beautiful and elegant designer ring for a lot less than you might expect!
Yet it is not only religion which is a driving factor of this trend. There are many little known wedding ceremonial practices from Spain which have carried through to the Americas. One such practice is the gifting of 13 Golden coins to the bride by her groom on their wedding day. This comes from the more ancient tradition of gifting a dowry to a bride and her family. In an effort to carry this tradition through to the modern era, many Hispanic couples are searching for wedding rings which combine the practice of ring exchanging with the more ceremonial tradition. As such, custom jewelers have been getting ever-increasing orders for wedding rings, which somehow incorporate the 13 Golden rings into their design. For example, there have been some wedding rings which been manufactured to resemble 13 coins adjacent to each other at their edges and formed into a ring. Other gold wedding rings have had 13 coins inscribed or engraved upon the exterior or interior of the wedding ring’s band. These pieces not only put a unique twist on the common wedding ring, but are actually quite lovely to behold as well! Men’s wedding rings have also picked up on this trend regarding coins. There are many men’s wedding rings which feature as a centerpiece stamped impressions of old Spanish doubloons, if not the actual coins themselves!
There is a small but steadily growing niche market for what many might call eco-friendly jewelry. For those individuals concerned about the environmental impacts which various mining industries can create, we here at weddingrings.net highly recommend giving a good read to not only this post, but the ones which will follow. There is just too much information that we wish to share with you to fit into one blog entry! What follows now is a list of the first three things the environmentally conscious couple can take into account to ensure that their wedding rings or wedding bands fits not only their fingers, but their particular emotional belief system as well.
Some stories state that in ancient times there was perhaps for a single community a single wedding band, which would’ve been used in all of the tribe’s matrimonial ceremonies. After this “communal ring” had been used in a ceremony, the bride would have then given a simple gold wedding band to replace what would’ve been a much more elaborate ceremonial piece. The practice of employing such a communal wedding ring is again gaining traction in some Jewish circles, both in Israel and abroad. Though there are no known communal wedding rings from ancient times in existence today, the wedding rings which are being crafted range from simple gold bands with perhaps a few Hebrew inscriptions engraved upon them, to quite elaborate wedding rings which have been bejeweled in multicolored semi-precious stones or diamonds. Additionally, some Jewish couples opt to have such a communal wedding ring made specifically for their individual wedding, a ceremonial wedding ring which they can retain as a treasured keepsake of their wedding day.
As far as the individual wedding bands which are worn after the ceremony, these wedding rings are as varied and unique is the spirit of the Jewish people themselves. Most Hasidic Jews, both men and women alike, more often than not opt for a simple gold wedding band. Other not so Orthodox Jews, often times tend to follow the vogue wedding ring fashions and trends of the day. Also, the incorporation of metals in wedding rings which go above and beyond gold is quite common as well. Though perhaps alternative metals such as tungsten and titanium have yet to become the norm (or even overly popular), metals such as platinum, white gold and rose gold seemed to be in high demand as the medium for the creation of a wedding ring. An interesting trend that is developing among Jewish couples who are engaged to be wed is the incorporation of popular Hebrew phrases inscribed upon the wedding bands. Additionally, the incorporation of symbols such as the Star of David, the Israeli flag and other symbols of traditional Jewish life such as the menorah are are being introduced into many custom designed wedding bands and wedding rings.
To begin with, let’s explore the traditional Irish ring referred to as the claddagh ring. A claddagh ring consists of three main symbols. The heart at the center of the piece represents love, whilst the crown is indicative of undying loyalty. The hands which come across and embraced the two are symbols of friendship and mutual respect. These three simple symbols, and the deeper meanings that they attempt to convey, combine to perhaps explain why it is claddagh rings are so popular these days. Additionally, claddagh rings are not only exchanged at wedding ceremonies, but quite often are gifted to friends and individuals who have reached some milestone or marker in their life; for example a graduation or significant birthday. Returning to the topic of weddings themselves, Irish weddings are famous for being steeped in ancient traditions and ceremony, while still conforming to the accepted norms of various established churches. As such, a claddagh ring makes for a great wedding ring, regardless as to the style or location of the wedding ceremony itself. And again, and I cannot emphasize this enough, do not be led to believe that a claddagh ring is the exclusive province of an Irish themed wedding ceremony… or the Irish in general. 
Another style of not only ring, but Irish themed jewelry in general, is what many would call Celtic knot-work. For those individuals who may not know, a Celtic knot is a line or series of lines designed to interconnect with each other in what are physically impossible ways. One continuous line that loops around and overlaps itself in an intricate, oftentimes repeating pattern, is probably the most common design of Celtic knot-work. Such intricate patterns when overlaid on a wedding band can make for stunning beauty. In the event that you would like to purchase a Celtic knot work wedding band that would be truly unique, it is more than possible to either design it yourself, or have drawn out a line of Celtic knot-work that would exist solely as an original plan and design on the final wedding ring. A skilled and experienced jeweler should be more than capable of incorporating said design around the circumference of the wedding band. Though this may seem odd to many, in this blogger’s opinion, one of the best places that an individual could hope to find original Celtic knot-work designs, may in fact be at your local tattoo parlor!