One ring...

[mdrnprometheus]

Well, two, actually. We're at the point of deciding on the wedding bands, and we're torn, so we are asking teh Internets for opinions.

Candidate #1 is a titanium with wood inlay. The samples we've seen look a lot better than the Web picture, but here's a rough idea:

Comments

[reynardo]

I'm thinking of the "ok, in 20 years, what would I be willing to admit to a new workmate when they ask?" I'm afraid no 2 misses out for that reason.

[bunny_hugger]

I never regretted marrying at City Hall last time around.

[gipsieee]

I decided against actual wood in mine for the reason of non-durability.

However anodizing also does not last forever. Having the color be recessed will help, but my engagement bracelet is anodized and used to be almost so bright it was in bad taste, now (about 2 years later) it's very nearly gunmetal grey throughout.

So I'm afraid I'm not really that much help at all. I got my ring from a lovely woman on etsy who does wood-like wax carvings. Link here We went with sterling because we liked the look of the oxidation. I know the texture will change over time as it gets banged about a bit, but that was okay with me.

[mdrnprometheus]

Of course, anodizing can quite easily be redone. There is also one place that offers a diamondic coating over the whole thing for better shine.

[moxie_man]

From my understanding, there are two problems with titanium:

It won't stay shiny long.

And in an emergency, should it need to be removed in a hurry, they can't just bend it to get it off your finger. They would need to cut it off...and you'd have to buy another ring.

That's all I have to say on this. We've settled for plain white gold bands. Then again, we're not doing the big "traditional" wedding route, so it's not like we have a lot of other bills to deal with when the deed is done.

[mdrnprometheus]

Shiny, eh. I can live without shiny. And as for cutting it off... the probability that this is going to happen is not high. If it does, the other bills are sufficiently high that an extra few hundred to replace the ring, meh.

[panacea1]

Wood is maybe not the best choice if either of you is in a work situation where you're washing your hands all the time.

Like, say, clinical medicine?

Just a thought.

[mdrnprometheus]

Luckily, neither of us actually washes hands; we all use alcohol gel all the time now.

[panacea1]

Wasn't sure - although assuming the wood has some sort of protective varnish etc, I'm wondering how that would hold up to sanitizing solvent under repeated application.

I mean, I'm presumably about average on the hand hygiene front, and I probably wash 'em 10-12 times a day, and I'm very conscious of my tourmaline ring as something that needs to be taken off any time I'm doing something potentially germy or sticky, or washed around thoroughly if I've left it on.

The wood is gorgeous, though. I think the wood inlay would be fabulous for something like a bracelet or tie bar, something you wear when dressed up and staying clean, just not so practical for an all day every day wedding band.

[snowcrashedone]

the titanium issue (cutting the ring off) is an issue. I've heard about problems with that before...

Also not helpful!