How to Choose the Best Metal for your Wedding Ring

There are slight variations in the colour, depending on the carat of gold used. The photos below show how the three metals compare. You can read more about the ethical gold we use to make our wedding bands here.

Your budget is an important factor. How important to you is the intrinsic value of your ring? The higher the carat, the more pure gold in your ring thus the higher value it holds.

The first thing you need to know is that no matter what metal your ring is made from, the structure of the ring is guaranteed for life. When we talk about durability, we mean the surface dings and scratches that your ring may encounter as you go through life wearing it. The surface of your ring can always be brought back to its original finish (every ring comes with a care kit), but it can be annoying if you don’t want to maintain your ring. Generally, the higher the carat, the harder the metal.

By itself, gold is too soft for everyday wear. So we alloy it with other metals. The term carat is a measure of purity. 24 carat is pure gold.

9 carat is 9 parts gold and 15 parts other metals - or around 1/3rd gold.

14 carat is 14 parts gold and 10 parts other metals - or around 5/8ths gold.

18 carat is 18 parts gold and 6 parts other metals - or 3/4 gold.

In general, the higher the carat, the harder and heavier it is.

In general, the higher the carat, the less chance of a reaction. Most often, people are sensitive to either nickel or copper. None of our rings contain nickel, but our yellow and rose gold rings do contain copper (the higher the carat, the less copper). If you end up with a ring that irritates your skin, we'll work with you to find a suitable alternative.