The Wedding Ring Blog

Wedding ring trends for 2012.

Should the economy stay relatively the same in 2012, two precious metals for wedding rings bridal jewelry will be more prominent due to their price points.

Palladium is a naturally white precious metal that has been around for years and years. In fact, my Grandmother’s wedding ring was created in palladium, and she was married during World War II. Not a lot of consumers realize that palladium is a less expensive white metal option, and that wedding rings created with palladium are closer in price to 14kt white gold designs (which are not naturally white and eventually develop a yellow hue if not rhodium plated). However, the benefits of palladium far outweigh the benefits of white gold. Palladium rings are lightweight, hypoallergenic, retain their color, and can be sized, which is something that can not be said about much cheaper alternative metal styles.

Another precious metal that should become more popular is Argentium Silver. Argentium Silver is more pure than standard sterling silver, is tarnish resistant, and Argentium alloys are nickel-free, so those with a reaction to nickel have noting to fear. Rings created with Argentium Silver also fill in a price point that falls in between cheaper alternative metal designs and that of 14kt gold. They can also be sized, while titanium and tungsten can not. All in all, Argentium Silver sounds like a great deal.

Novell Design Studio has been a leader in palladium wedding ring manufacturing, and has recently introduced a new collection of In Union wedding rings. In Union rings are made by pairing a very thin layer of 14kt gold and Argentium Silver with a very unique bonding technology.  A light-weight gold band is designed, finished, and carefully fused to a strong Argentium Silver liner.  This results in a wonderfully resilient product with great potential for color, design, and flexibility. In Union wedding rings are priced to be the precious metal answer to alternative metal products – a need that jewelry stores have been asking about!

By the way, Novell uses pink and yellow gold as the outside layer of In Union rings strictly for fashion. Rings that are all white are 100% Argentium Silver through and through.

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New Argentium Silver video on YouTube.

I blog about the benefits of platinum and palladium quite a bit, but there’s also another white metal that is bright and wears well over time. Argentium Silver is a good choice for a naturally white affordable precious metal. With the economy still being quite a challenge for many individuals, affordability is important, so Argentium Silver is a logical choice for a wedding ring or jewelry if price is an issue. And unlike tungsten or titanium, a ring made with Argentium Silver can be resized! That’s right – most alternative metals can not be easily sized. So unless you intend to stay exactly the same weight for the rest of your life, sizing can be a real issue down the road.

Here’s a video which illustrates the beauty of Argentium Silver. The benefits of Argentium Silver are clearly explained. Test results for the metal are shown and a wide variety of Argentium items are showcased. It really is a good starting point if you are interested in Argentium Silver.

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Wedding ring trends from the JCK Show (Jewelry Fashion Week).

 

Wedding blog and website Your Engagement 101 recently wrote about all the latest jewelry trends that they came across at this year’s JCK Show in Las Vegas. They also refer to this event as Jewelry Fashion Week, which is much catchier and accurately describes this industry-only event. But if you couldn’t find the time to keep up with everything that was going on in real time, here’s a nice summary of the best jewelry trends to come out of the show this year.

If you have been looking for a wedding ring that is out of the ordinary, then here’s TATU ring by Novell. TATU rings were initially created in only stainless steel, and they are inspired by actual tattoo and tribal designs that can be seen from coast-to-coast. Now many styles in the TATU ring collection can be created in Argentium Sterling Silver, palladium and more. Argentium Sterling Silver is a step above regular sterling silver – it can be easily cleaned and does not tarnish as easily. And palladium is a more affordable choice than white gold if platinum is not an option. But keep in mind that platinum is the premium metal for all jewelry, and many of the TATU rings can be specially created for you in platinum. Platinum is also worth the investment.

Read Your Engagement 101’s Top 14 Bridal Jewelry Trends from Jewelry Fashion Week.

And ask a Novell wedding band retailer in your area for more information about TATU rings.

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New wedding rings debut on YourEngagement101.com.

 

YourEngagement101.com, a leading wedding planning website and blog, recently unveiled new one-of-a-kind wedding rings by Novell. Novell’s new Unity wedding rings are specially created by pairing 14kt gold and Argentium Sterling Silver with a very unique bonding technology.  A light-weight gold wedding ring is designed, finished, and carefully fused to a strong Argentium Sterling Silver inside piece – or what is also called a liner.  This results in a wonderfully resilient wedding ring with great potential for color, design, and flexibility. Unity wedding rings are priced to be the precious metal answer to alternative metal products – a need that both jewelry stores and consumer have been asking about!

See new one-of-a-kind wedding bands from Novell.

 
Novell wedding bands

 
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Affordable silver wedding rings available at LarsonJewelers.com.

 

Online wedding ring retailer LarsonJewelers.com, a leading Internet source of men's alternative and precious metal wedding rings, is proud to announce the introduction of a new silver wedding rings line - and just in time for Valentine's Day! These new silver wedding rings include some of Novell Design Studio's best selling wedding rings styles, and are an affordable precious metal wedding ring choice for young couples who don't have a huge budget for their wedding rings, yet would still like bridal jewelry created from material that has intrinsic value. Silver wedding rings can also be re-sized if need be, while alternative metal designs typically can not.

Novell's silver wedding rings are specially created with Argentium Silver, which is a non-tarnishing silver metal. Traditionally, silver jewelry's downside has been that it needed to be cleaned frequently as it tarnished easily due to the fact that it is typically alloyed with copper. The Argentium Silver that Novell uses is alloyed with germanium to avoid this tarnishing problem.

Read - Larson Jewelers Introduces Silver Wedding Bands Line.

And see more Novell wedding bands at LarsonJewelers.com.

 
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Classic wedding ring - wedding ring made in Argentium Silver

 

Here’s a classic yet conservative wedding ring that’s available from Larson Jeweler’s Argentium Silver wedding ring line. Argentium Silver is an affordable precious metal that looks whiter than white gold.  Argentium Silver is at least 92.5% pure silver that is alloyed with Germanium, so it does not tarnish like normal silver jewelry. 

Buy this brush-finished silver wedding ring with polished grooves at LarsonJewelers.com.

 

Argentium Sterling Silver rings not quite catching on!

 

For years, I have heard jeweler after jeweler cry about their customers just wanting something affordable. And for this reason alone, I always thought that wedding rings created with Argentium Sterling Silver would take off. But so far – they haven’t.

The benefits of Argentium Sterling Silver are that the metal is affordable and a step up from common sterling silver. It supposedly does not tarnish as easy, and can be cleaned with mild detergent and a soft cloth. Sounds like a winner to me.

View the featured Argentium Sterling Silver ring at a different angle.

Looking for silver wedding rings? Try Argentium Sterling Silver.

 

The idea of silver wedding rings is becoming more and more popular. But when considering silver as a metal for your wedding ring, you may wish to consider Argentium Sterling Silver, which is a step up from regular sterling silver. Here are some basic facts about this metal:

• Argentium Sterling Silver stays bright and beautiful for years. 
• Argentium Sterling Silver is a naturally hard metal, which lends itself to greater strength than regular sterling silver. It is durable and can be considered problem-free by most standards.
• Argentium Sterling Silver is highly tarnish resistant – so its shine is long lasting. There is no need for additional professional polishing or excessive care. Warm water and a mild detergent are all that are required to maintain its appearance. Smudges can easily be removed by using a soft dry cloth only.
• It is a “green” metal – friendly to the environment. Chemicals are not required to correct potential fire scale (or fire stain) damage to metal which sometimes occurs when metals are heated during the manufacturing process.

View wedding rings that are created with Argentium Sterling Silver.

Read another article comparing Argentium Sterling Silver to titanium.

Argentium vs. titanium - the benefits of two metals.

 
  
I just noticed that some traffic has been driven to The Wedding Ring Blog by the following  phrase being typed into the search engines – “argentium vs titanium.” Therefore, I decided to offer a simple explanation of the differences. Ready? Okay, because here we go!

Argentium Sterling Silver can be considered a precious metal that is new to the wedding band and wedding ring scene. It fills the price point between lower-priced titanium rings and palladium products. Argentium Sterling Silver wedding bands and wedding rings are affordable, do not tarnish easy, and can easily be cleaned with mild soap and a soft cloth. All-in-all, it is worth asking your jeweler about wedding bands and wedding rings created with Argentium Sterling Silver. In fact, Novell is one manufacturer that does currently work with this metal. Argentium Sterling Silver wedding bands and wedding rings can also be sized.

Titanium is a sleek looking man-made metal that can not be considered precious. A titanium wedding band or wedding ring can not be sized, but I have noticed that a lot of e-commerce websites and manufacturers have a liberal exchange policy. This can be because unlike a precious metal, the market value of titanium does not seem to fluctuate much due to supply and demand; more titanium can always be made. And titanium wedding bands and wedding rings are very affordable. They also wear very well. There is a lot of flexibility with designs and colors, the latter which limits precious metals in some ways. Check out the selection of titanium wedding bands and wedding rings that are available on Amazon.com so you can get a good idea of the wide variety. Or if you are looking to strictly purchase in a jewelry store, Wright and Lato carries basic titanium designs as well.

Here's the argentium vs. titanium query on UK Google that inspired this post.

More about Argentium Sterling Silver wedding rings.

I recently posted about the pros and cons of Argentium Sterling Silver wedding rings. Argentium Sterling Silver is a cool looking metal that falls right in between tungsten and palladium. And best of all - Argentium Sterling Silver wedding rings can be sized! Try THAT with tungsten or titanium.

Here’s another article about Argentium Sterling Silver wedding rings (used with permission):

There’s a new silver in town that’s great for wedding bands, and it’s known as Argentium Sterling Silver. Actually, Argentium Sterling Silver is not new at all. But it’s currently very affordable and is great for jewelry in general.

Read more...

The pros and cons of Argentium Sterling Silver rings.

 

When searching blog posts for wedding bands and wedding rings on IceRocket.com and Google, I came across an interesting query – “Argentium wedding rings pros and cons.” And curiously, the number one result showing up in Google comes from BlueBuddahBoutique.com. Here is how they explain Argentium Sterling Silver’s pros and cons:

Argentium Silver
Pros: Unlike regular sterling, this silver will not tarnish. All the prestige of silver, with none of the hassle of polishing. Argentinium is an alloy of silver that includes the element germanium. If you solder your pieces, note that Argentium does not develop firescale.

Cons: Expensive! This is a new material (on the market as of 2005) and so not much information is available, especially regarding long-term use.

Ouch! That’s the problem that turns up sometimes with search. This post from 2005 is irrelevant. Well – the pros are relevant. But not the cons, and it is not the author’s fault. There is actually not a lot of information out there about Argentium Sterling Silver.

As of March 9, 2010, Argentium Sterling Silver is very affordable. It is not expensive at all when compared to gold or palladium. Argentium Sterling Silver is more expensive than tungsten (have you seen these wedding band prices on Amazon.com?), but it is a great option for an affordable precious metal.