Men’s Diamond Wedding Bands

Diamond wedding bands for men is a fairly new concept. Prior to the 1950s, most wedding bands in the Western world were made of pure gold, silver or even bronze. It was the DeBeers Company who brokered the idea of diamonds as being the gem of choice and from there on the concept spread to include men's diamond wedding bands. A marketing executive for the company thought of the soon to be “gem” of a catchphrase, "a diamond is forever", which tugged at the hearts of people and led to a surge in interest in diamonds. It did not take long before diamonds became standards in jewellery pieces, including men’s wedding bands.

The practice of putting gems in wedding rings began almost 800 years ago. Traditionally wedding bands were unadorned and were just made of pure metals such as gold, silver, and brass. The type of material used was dependent on a person’s economic standing and social status. The first documented case of people using marriage rings set with gem stones was in 1477 when the Archduke of Austria married the Duchess Marie of Burgundy.

The more recent emergence of men's diamond wedding bands is due mostly to clever advertising techniques. Originally, diamonds were not on the list of gemstones that embody and symbolize love. Gems that were traditionally associated with romance and commitment were emeralds, rubies, and rose quartz. However because of diamond’s unmatched durability and strength, it being the strongest of all stones, people began to relate diamonds with love. A love that is pure and sincere is like a diamond, indestructible and eternal, so clever ad people say.

There are many different types of diamond that are used in men’s diamond wedding bands. Most people think that diamonds come in just one variety, white and transparent. In reality there are many variations, one of which is colored diamonds. There are two types of colored diamonds, the enhanced and natural coloured. In color-enhanced diamonds, a material is injected into the gemstone to change its appearance and color. Jewellers typically use low to medium grade diamonds since they usually are less shiny and translucent compared to Class A diamonds.

Precious metals that are used to make men’s diamond wedding bands include gold, silver, platinum, and titanium. Platinum is a hard metal and is relatively expensive. Platinum does not need to be used in combination with other metals since on its own it is already very sturdy. It is also quite heavy compared to gold or silver.

Yellow gold is the most popular wedding band material followed by white gold. Gold is malleable and can easily be formed into various designs and shapes. But this attribute of gold makes the metal unstable and so jewellers usually incorporate it with other metals to improve the ring’s strength and hardness.

The hardest metal that can be used to make rings is titanium. It is slowly gaining acceptance especially among the younger set who like the fact that it is such a lightweight metal for men's diamond wedding bands.