As men’s jewelry gets more popular, the collection of jewelry available to men only gets bigger! Everyday gold, sterling silver, and even diamond chain are available, and hundreds of styles of men’s rings and wedding bands are being produced. It may be tough to know exactly how to shop, and for what.
We at Clean Origin know trying to select your dream ring is a challenge, and we want to make sure that from search to shipping, find the perfect men’s ring. If this is for a gift, we tried to add lots of help for you too! Featured throughout are visual examples of gift possibilities, so you know exactly what size, materials, and even color your gift should be.
What Is the Best Ring For a Man?
While men are not a monolith, they are united in the search for ring styles that match their unique selves. All men want the perfect ring for them, so the best men’s ring is one well-matched to the man.
Whether rings are his favorite accessories or you are looking at wedding bands, the key is to ensure that the man in question’s interests is heard. He might want gold, sterling silver, black silicone, or even ruby red jewelry, and all of those are the correct ring for him. As long as the experience shopping is positive, and he gets something that matches his personal style, you will see that it is the perfect ring.
What Metal Do I Choose For a Men’s Ring?
Gold Rings
Gold is a classic color for rings and generally is seen as illuminating, sacred, and passionate. It is almost universally associated with the Sun or the highest stage in spiritual development.
When wearing gold, those rings are symbolizing a united soul, or a higher passion, free of judgment or stress. Gold is seen as the heart of the earth. Along with being the heart of the earth, gold represents heart, love, and blood.
Of course, gold has many meanings that draw people to the material, but the metal must not only mean good things, it must also be ready to use. Gold rings if they are too high in gold (stretching towards 24k) can be easy to break or scratch. If you work a heavy labor job, try to pick a gold alloy, because the united metals will survive long term. 18k and 14k gold are both reasonable metal options.
White Gold Rings
White gold men’s rings are a great replacement for sterling silver, as sterling silver is a fairly weak metal that cannot withstand everyday wear or tough hands-on labor. It is best to look for a wedding band shop that features each collection in multiple metals, like Clean Origin.
The price will go up, but they will be much more durable bands at the end of the day with a higher value overall. The search to save on price must be balanced with something that will be a pleasure to view long term. United, those two conditions will yield a long-lasting, gorgeous ring.
Rose Gold Rings
Rose gold is growing in popularity for men due to its natural warmth, and fun red and pink tones. This stunning design features lab grown diamonds. The language around what rose gold really is can be vague. It is important to note that it is united with some copper, which makes it one of the more durable materials to choose from.
If you do heavy hands-on labor, or you just want your ring to be guaranteed to last, it might be worthwhile to look at rose gold bands. You can save your ring from wear and tear with this metal, and shop for relatively similar prices compared to other metals. The color is so gorgeous in rose gold though that many cannot resist the allure, since they do contain copper in their alloy, rose gold rings are not hypoallergenic.
Rose gold is often associated with elegance, an abundance of style, and wealth. Because they contain similar levels of gold, just different alloyed metals, white gold, gold, and rose gold are have a very similar price.
Platinum Rings
Platinum and rose gold are both incredibly durable options for a ring. Platinum is often chosen because like white gold, it mimics sterling silver well without any of the weaker metals aging issues. You won’t have any tarnishing like a more pure silver ring, and you will have a much more durable piece compared to a sterling silver option.
Platinum does run much more expensive than sterling silver, silver, or white gold though, so it is a price that is balanced by the ring’s longevity. You won’t end up saving money on a platinum purchase, but when you shop platinum you will save your ring in the long term.
Sterling Silver
Sterling silver is a tempting ring choice due to price and color, but there is a reason none of the Clean Origin collections come in this metal. It is hard to get silver ethically through the mining process, and reclaimed silver is rare and expensive. Rather than provide an expensive metal that is not necessarily durable or to the naked eye different than some others, we chose to carry white gold and platinum.
Men’s fashion often requires a level of durability that can be featured in heavy denim, so while we hope you find a ring that best speaks to the unique man in your life, we do not recommend you select this metal for the longevity of your ring. Do not attempt to save your wallet with a silver ring, you will likely have to select several more and eventually eat up the price difference.
Can Men’s Rings Have Gemstones?
Of course! As men’s rings grow more popular, they now include white diamonds, red rubies, and even black onyx. Men bring plenty of color into their styles now, including large size stones in their rings to express themselves in a new way.
Many men wear a chain or ring to display the price alone as a statement about financial status. Some use their chains and rings to enhance their style or help elevate their fashion. The menu of options for men’s rings has grown immensely in the last few years, and it would be a shame not to search for something exciting.
How Many Rings Should a Man Wear?
The only thing that should hold men back from wearing as many rings as they would like is the search and the shipping costs. Realistically, men are absolutely free to wear as many as they like, and many do select multiple rings to wear daily or even stack rings together.
United, multiple thin rings can really pack a punch style-wise. Some find they need a ring to complete an outfit, and some prefer to order their rings based on their sentimental value rather than for any aesthetic purpose. New trends demand that we see varying jewelry pieces on men, and back are the days of glittering maximalism for men.
What Do Rings on Different Fingers Mean On Men?
Back in the day, rings had deeper significance to men. Depending on what finger the ring is worn, and the style, they could denote that he was a man of means, a pope, a single gentleman, or even just a powerful political opponent. Today this unique ring language is just a fun add-on to the ring, but whether or not they apply to you, do not let them hinder your use. You can wear them, whether you are close to the meaning or not!
Pinky Ring
Pinky rings of any color or style are meant to show off power. When put into view, they were used by many as symbols of respect and leadership. This includes the stereotype of ‘kissing the ring’ as a show of respect. The idea behind these rings is that many men are united behind the weakest finger of one man. It can be tough to shop for these rings as the sizing is unusual, but plenty of jewelry makers will carry options.
Wedding Band
Of course, a wedding band on a wedding finger shows that that man has been united with another through marriage. That or he likes being united with his ring on that finger. This meaning is still very common, and many know to search for a wedding ring in view when they hit it off with someone. Wearing one can definitely affect your chances of dating, so be conscious that if you wear a ring on your wedding finger, that you should explain early on so that no one gets the wrong idea when it is in view.
Middle Finger Ring
Rings on the middle finger often were used to show strength and meant a long-lasting promise. In the past, this finger featured enduring commitments of faith and revenge, but today it makes an excellent choice for promise rings. Among the menu of ring choices for men is a promise ring, which can be an important part of a guy’s jewelry collection.
Thumb
While the size of these rings is atypical, the search can be worth it. Thumb rings tend to be large in size and given to a select few people. These select rings usually mean someone is part of a secret society or a select group, and they reference the power and prestige of the invitation. These select groups today are usually colleges, but plenty of other societies offer these large-size rings to their members.
What Is the Right Price for a Men’s Wedding Band?
Depending on if you are trying to save money on this ring or not, wedding band prices can vary. Don’t forget to add shipping costs to your purchase! Men’s bands range from $100 to $2,000 usually, though the average usually sits at $600. As men’s rings get more ornate and full of color, those prices may go up. This is largely due to people choosing to add stones or designs to their rings, whereas in the past men’s bands could be fairly simple. New fashions can fluctuate between these options, but if you want to get something fancier off the menu we recommend looking into lab grown diamonds to help level the cost and add some needed sparkle. Definitely put your diamond choices on a black velvet cloth to compare, you will likely see that for similar prices, you can add larger size stones when you go lab-grown.
How Do I Shop for a Men’s Ring?
First, you’ll need to figure out what finger to size. What finger you want your ring to sit on is important, because it can close some doors for you, or bring certain options closer into view. The size of your ring will put some choices out of availability, but that may help you make the decision faster. Some people get caught up in the sort, pouring through collections of rings for hours and never deciding. It is better to rule out a few things before you even look at a ring. Size, budget, and style are three major questions you need to answer.
Ring Size
Measure your finger with a piece of string and a ruler, or a flexible tape measure at home to find your ring size. If you have neither of those tools, find a jeweler close to home to measure you!
Ring Budget
The size of your ring may impact this, but depending on your budget you will know what size of stones or type of materials you can afford to work with moving forward. Try to find an upper and lower bound of your budget before you shop.
Ring Style
The style of your ring is more than just the shape of it. The color of the stones, whether black, white or rainbow, can affect the style of the piece a lot. Look into your own wardrobe and determine your color pallet so you know whether a fancy colored diamond is a great choice for you, or whether you should stick with a neutral tone material or stone. If you wear a lot of black, you can choose almost anything you personally enjoy for example, and if you wear a lot of blue and beige, maybe stick with blue, white, black, yellow, and orange. that way you can have some contrasting color options, but overall your color pallet won’t be too disturbed. The color of your stones or material needs to be a neutral, matching, or complementary so as to emphasize your personal style rather than fight against it. Pull up a color wheel with complementary color pairings to help you choose if you’re unsure! If that does not help, ask for a second opinion (or try our virtual appointment service for some professional tips and tricks) or stick with black and white stones.
