Gold Rings

Gold rings are a very popular form of jewellery. Of course the golden band is used to signify marriage and sometimes both parties wear one and sometimes only one.

Wedding rings can also be silver or platinum and even palladium has been used but by far the most popular are gold rings.

Gold rings come in numerous styles and designs from the plain to the extremely ornate and or intricate. All have the same common theme in that they are composed of gold in various carat weights.

The carat weight of a gold ring refers to the amount of gold contained within the ring. A solid gold ring would be 24 carat but also would be extremely rare. Gold is a very malleable substance (soft and can wear away quickly, particularly with constant use.

Wedding rings are designed to stay on the finger for life and of course would receive extreme wear as a result. This means that they can wear away, get thin or even break.

Therefore most gold rings are made with 18 or even 9 carat gold. Here the gold is alloyed with copper, silver zinc and bronze. This makes the ring much more hard wearing and longer lasting. Probably a more practical ring would be a platinum ring as platinum is much more hard wearing and will last for many years. However gold rings are not usually chosen for practical reasons but for romantic ones and it seems there is nothing quite so romantic as a gold wedding ring.

When buying a gold ring also ensure you know what the carat is and that it fits well. You don’t want to have the ring lost during normal use because it is too loose. Gold rings are rarely resold but if you do have occasion to sell a gold ring keep in mind that you are not going to get anywhere near the price you paid for it. The gold content is not very large and, if it is of a much lesser carat for example, you will be surprised to find the value is not a lot.

But gold rings are not bought to be sold of course but to be treasured as a lasting memento of a day to remember.