[Music]
Hey gents, I'm Kyle from The Distilled
Man. This channel is all about providing
actionable advice for the everyday
gentleman. So it's funny, until recently
no one really talked about mens wedding
rings. As men, we agonize over the
engagement ring, and we want that to be
perfect for our bride-to-be. But once
that's out of the way, we don't really
think about rings too much. I mean, sure,
we'll wear a wedding band.
Probably something close to what our
bride's wearing. But surprisingly we pay
very little attention to something that
(1) we're going to be wearing every
single day and (2) is supposed to
symbolize our lifelong commitment to our
future wife. The truth is, more men are
starting to care about their wedding bands.
So if you're considering proposing or
you're already engaged, here are six
things you need to know before you go
wedding band shopping. And real quick, I
want to give a big thanks to Rockford
Collection for sponsoring this video and
for supporting the channel. Number one,
respect tradition but do your own thing.
One of the coolest things I remember
from when my wife and I were getting
married is, you know, researching all
these traditions about, you know,
ceremonies and stuff, but then adapting
them to suit us as a couple.
For instance, we research classic vows
and we borrowed some elements and we
ignored others, and ultimately we wrote
our own. So when you're wedding band
shopping, you know, it's good to know
about what the traditions are but
ultimately you and your bride are gonna
choose what works for you. The ring
finger? Well there are certainly
exceptions, but here in the US most people
wear their wedding band on what we call
the ring finger, which is between the
middle finger and the pinkie. With four
other digits to choose from, why did this
one become the ring finger? Well, before
medical science understood the
circulatory system, ancient cultures like
the Egyptians and the Greeks believed
that this finger in particular had a
special vein that led directly to the
heart. Of course, now we've learned that
all fingers lead to the heart equally,
but still, it's such a common convention
that you may just choose to carry it on.
Who buys the wedding rings? So, while the
tradition about who buys the engagement
ring is a little more clear, wedding
bands are a different story. With modern
tradition the couple would either buy
both rings together as a couple, or the
bride could buy the groom's ring and the
groom could buy the bride's ring. Either
way, you know, it's a decision that you
want to make with your bride-to-be. Do
the rings have to match? Well,
contemporary tradition suggests that the
rings should coordinate somehow, but that
doesn't mean they need to match by
any means. In fact, a lot of couples will
simply just choose to have some sort of
shared element in between the two rings.
Maybe both rings are made from the same
metal, or perhaps both rings share a
similar design feature or shape, or maybe
they just include a shared engraving. And
unlike the engagement ring, which let's
be honest guys, is all about your
bride-to-be, you do have a say in this.
I mean, you're the one who's going to be wearing
this ring after all. Number two, know your
metals. Once you've started your search
one of the most basic questions you need
to ask yourself is, what do I want my
ring to be made of? So here are some of
the most common metals for wedding bands.
Platinum. So it's white/silver in color.
Platinum is a great choice for a wedding
band. Surprisingly it's more expensive
than gold because it's more rare. It's
also extremely durable, and rings made
with platinum are typically about 95%
platinum with only 5% other metals mixed
in. White gold. So white gold is an alloy
made of pure gold mixed with white
metals like nickel silver or palladium,
with rhodium plating. And so this plating
gives it a look similar to platinum, and
it's often used as a coating on jewelry.
So over time that coating actually may
fade and the metal can become more
yellow in appearance with white gold.
But it can always be recoated later. White
gold is also less expensive than
platinum. Yellow Gold. So most people are
familiar with yellow gold, but it's
important to note that gold rings are
never pure gold. There's always another
metal mixed in for stability. So more on
that in a second when we talk about
karats. Rose gold. A mix of gold and
copper and sometimes a little bit of
silver. Obviously, the amount of copper
versus gold is going to affect whether
that rose gold appears more reddish or
more of a lighter pink. Palladium. So it's
a soft silver white metal that looks
like platinum. Technically it belongs to
the Platinum family, and it tends to be a
little cheaper and a tiny bit softer. I
think of it as kind of the poor man's
platinum. My wedding band is actually
palladium. And finally, sterling silver.
And again silver you're probably
familiar with. And while it is a precious
metal, it's actually much cheaper than
the others we've mentioned because it's
easier to find. Sterling silver is silver
mixed with copper or other metals to
make it more durable, and the appearance
ranges from bright white to
grayish-white. All these precious metals
are pretty common for wedding bands, but
there's also been a recent trend of
going with much less expensive and more
unique materials like titanium or
tungsten carbide, both of which are
really durable but not necessarily quite
as elegant. Or or even you know silicone,
which is obviously very casual because
it's the same thing that you make
kitchen spatulas out of. Or even wood.
Number 3, know your basic jewelry vocab.
So beyond understanding the basic metals
it's helpful to understand a few key
terms that you might hear. So I think a
lot of what you're gonna be doing when
you're shopping for rings is actually
asking questions of the jewelers, so it's
helpful to speak the language a little
bit. Comfort fit versus standard fit. So
standard rings are simply flat on the
inside whereas comfort fit rings are a
little bit rounded on the inside to
conform to your finger. Carats with a "c"
versus karats with a "k." Totally
confusing, I know.
Well carats with a c is a unit of
measure used for diamonds and other
gemstones. So a carat is equal to 200
milligrams or 0.2 grams. Now the
only catch is that since diamonds and
gemstones have different densities, one
carat of one stone may not necessarily
be the same size as another stone. Karats
with a k refer to the purity of gold. And
for whatever reason, gold is measured in
24 parts.
So 24 carat gold would be pure gold but
because gold is such a soft material you
pretty much never gonna see that with
jewelry. Typically you'll see 14 an 18
karat gold. And 14 karat gold is fourteen
twenty-fourth's gold and ten parts other
metals, which is I guess 58%
gold. And eighteen karat gold is 18 parts
gold and six parts other metals so it's
75% gold. And finally, clarity-enhanced
versus natural diamonds. So more and more
men are actually starting to put
gemstones and diamonds in their wedding
bands. As you probably know, natural mined
diamonds have natural impurities. So with
clarity-enhanced diamonds they are
technically natural diamonds to begin
with but the jeweler will use various
techniques to either laser drill or fill
in some of the impurities.
Clarity-enhanced diamonds are generally
considered lower quality and are usually
about half the price of natural
unaltered diamonds. Number four, find a
ring you connect with personally. While
it's more common for women's rings, often
people will use family heirlooms for the
wedding rings and that personal
connection is obviously going to be well
beyond the value of the material of the
ring. If you're not wearing a family
piece you've got to find a ring design that
speaks to you--one that represents you as
a person. If you want something more
understated, there's really no shortage
of, you know, sort of classic, simple
designs for men's wedding bands. But a
lot more guys don't want just a boring
old wedding band anymore. Men are
starting to wear more interesting
looking bands that have more personality.
Our sponsor Rockford collection
actually does a really good job of
creating truly unique men's wedding
bands. In fact, that's all they focus on.
What's cool is that many of their
wedding bands have some of the similar
flair and design touches that you'd find
in luxury watches. So, you know, even if
you don't consider yourself a jewelry
guy, if you like the idea of wearing a
handsome-looking watch that, you know,
people stop you in the street to comment
on, then some of these designs might
really interest you. Also, as I mentioned
earlier, some men are starting to put
diamonds in their wedding bands. And
Rockford Collection actually has a lot
of different ring designs that integrate
diamonds in a really tasteful, masculine
way. Not just using natural diamonds
either, also using black diamonds, which
are essentially diamonds coated with
rhodium, that plating that I mentioned
earlier.
The other interesting thing that
Rockford Collection is doing with their
debut collection, which is called
"American Legend," is that each ring is
named after a specific gold mine in the
US. Each one has its own backstory
that you can read about, and it's
interesting because it gives, you know, it
gives each ring a whole other layer
of personality for you to connect with.
All their rings are designed and
produced in New York using us gold, and
also platinum and natural mined diamonds.
But to keep cost down, they don't
actually have a retail location. They're
online only. And since some guys are a
little worried about making a major
purchase online without seeing the goods,
Rockford will actually ship you a silver
replica of the ring so you can
try it out before you buy the real thing.
Rockford Collection has been kind enough
to give us a special offer code for
Distilled Man viewers. If you enter DM50FREEKIT
you can get a free cleaning kit
with the purchase of any ring. And of
course I'll leave that in the
description below as well. Number five,
don't take any chances with sizing. Now a
lot of guys don't pay enough attention
to this step. In fact, I wish
I would have paid a little more
attention when I was getting my ring
sized. My ring is actually a little too
big, and there's been a few times where
it's fallen off and I've almost lost it.
And I have to take it off when I go
swimming so that it doesn't end up at
the bottom of some lake or, you know,
stuck in some pool drain somewhere. Of
course with most materials you can
resize the ring of if you mess up the sizing, but I
mean, come on, it's much easier
and much less of a hassle if you just
get it right the first time.
Some companies, including Rockford
Collection, will send you a free sizing
kit that you can use yourself if you ask
for it. But I think it's a bad idea to
measure yourself. I think it's better to
have a jeweler do it for you in person.
Even if you plan to buy a ring online
you should still go to two to three
jewelry stores in person to get sized by
different jewelers. You know, it helps to
have multiple opinions because sometimes
measurements can vary. Also it's
generally better to go to a smaller
jewelry shop and deal directly with a
professional jeweler rather than just
deal with the sales clerk at the jewelry
counter at a larger store. The other
thing to remember is that your fingers
change size and shape depending on how
warm it is. So during the summer your
fingers may actually be a little bit
bigger and puffier and then during the
winter. If you come inside into a warm
environment your fingers may also swell
up because of the change in temperature.
With that in mind, it is better if you
can try to get sized when your body
temperature is fairly neutral, not one
extreme or the other. And obviously if
you can give yourself some time to
adjust to the environment before trying
the ring on that helps too. Finally, some
men can get false readings if they
continue to put the ring on and take it off,
put it on, take it off. "Does it fit? I
don't know." You know, it's much better if
you can try it on once and then leave
the store and then come back again for
another sizing. Number six, take care of
your ring. While many of these rings are
made with materials that are really
designed to last a lifetime you still
have to exercise common sense so that
you don't put your ring through any
unnecessary ware. You may just want to
take your ring off if you're handling,
you know, harsh chemicals or abrasive
cleaners or things like that.
Same goes with rough outdoor work where
your ring might come in contact with
hard surfaces and rocks and stuff like
that. I generally take off my ring when
I'm doing any sort of work, like, out in
the yard or when, you know, going to the
gym just I don't scratch it on a barbell.
Because, you know, it can be rough on a
ring when you're benching like five
hundy like me. Not. No, but beyond that
it's also good to give your ring a regular
cleaning now and then. Get a bowl of warm
water and soap and soak your ring for 10
minutes or so and then use a soft cotton
cloth to dry it and wipe away any dirt
or oil. And you can also use a soft
toothbrush to clean any nooks and
crannies. So that's it, gentlemen. 6 things
to know before you start shopping for a
wedding band. If you like this video
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So thanks again for watching, and I'll
see you soon.