Life in the Facet Lane cool man

Diana Jarrett GG RMV

The history of men’s wedding bands doesn’t go back as far as the story of women’s bridal jewelry. Not until the 20th century did the practice of men’s wedding bands even come into vogue. Men could choose a wedding band that matched with the bride’s ring—or not. But while men have not historically enjoyed a wide variety of wedding rings, their day has come. Today, men’s wedding bands are colorful, imaginative and produced in a wider array of metals than the bride’s ring.

Designer Etienne Perret, celebrated for his innovative men’s wedding bands says, “The cool factor is very important to men.” Their requirements are very different from that of the female shopper. “Most men don’t care if their ring is made of precious metals. They just want to wear it every day and not worry about it breaking.” Men’s wedding bands are not considered a status symbol like the bride’s wedding jewelry so they may opt for metals that are high on style. Stainless steel and ceramic are innovative choices finding a new fan-base since they are low maintenance. And cobalt chrome is ideal for tension mount rings, notes Perret.

Men’s 18 K white gold wedding band with fancy intense greenish yellow diamond. Courtesy Leibish & Co.

Richard Lewis at Leibish & Company finds men enthusiastically embrace more options available now, and that includes using fancy color diamonds. “It’s surprising how the envelope has been pushed with what men are willing to wear,” he reports. “Celebrities like David Beckham for instance, have made it ‘cool’ for men to adorn themselves with jewelry which was traditionally a woman’s domain. With more masculine tastes, men often plumb the darker, cooler colors like a deep gray, black, brown, or a deep green diamond. But we have also had a large number of men who prefer very bright canary vivid yellow diamonds that match the stones their partners adore.”

Black ceramic band with mokume pattern two, 18 k yellow, white and rose gold courtesy Etienne Perret

Whether choosing alternative or traditional metals, or even matching bands, the men’s ring category offers more personalized options than ever. Contact Diana Jarrett at diana@dianajarrett.com and read color-n-ice.blogspot.com and check out www.dianajarrett.com