Wedding Bands

A bevelled band is a flat band whose two outer corners have been cut back at an angle, so that a narrow sloping face runs along each edge of the ring.

The bevel catches light as two continuous lines around the band, which gives a plain ring a pair of bright borders without adding any pattern to the face.

It also softens what the neighbouring fingers feel, since the square corner of a flat profile is removed while the flat top face is kept.

A knife-edge carries a ridge along the centre of its outside, and when the hand grips a handle or a wheel that ridge is what meets the palm and the neighbouring fingers.

It is not sharp in any real sense, but it is noticeable in a way a domed or flat band is not, and the wearer tends to be aware of the ring for longer.

The ridge is also what the thumb finds when it reaches across to turn the ring, which many people come to like as a habit.

Yes, and the difference is felt by the fingers on either side rather than by the finger wearing it. A flat band presents two corners to those neighbours; a half-round presents a curve.

On the inside the two are often the same, with a flat interior in both cases, unless the listing says the band is comfort fit.

The choice between them is therefore about the edges. People who hold their fingers close together, or who wear rings on adjacent fingers, tend to notice the corners of a flat band most.

Because a listing photograph fills the frame with the ring, while on the hand the band is seen at arm's length against the whole back of the hand, and a stripe of a few millimetres is a small part of that view.

The knuckle makes the effect stronger, since a prominent one shortens the visible segment the band sits in, and the band reads as a line rather than as a surface.

Comparing the stated width with a band the wearer has already worn, rather than with the photograph, is the reliable way to picture it in place.

Milgrain is a row of tiny raised beads running along the edge of a band, cut into the metal with a small knurled wheel after the ring has been shaped.

It gives a plain band a fine decorated border and an antique character, since the technique was widely used on rings made a century ago.

Because the beads stand very slightly proud of the surface, they soften with years of wear, and a jeweller can re-cut them if the crispness is wanted back.

It refers to a surface treatment rather than to any stone. Small flat facets are cut into the metal with a sharp tool, so the band flashes as it moves in the same way a faceted surface does.

On a band the facets are usually arranged as a pattern across the face or as a border along each edge, and the listing describes where they fall.

The effect depends on the facets staying crisp, which is why diamond-cut bands are more often chosen for hands that do not take heavy daily contact.

With more freedom than usual, since there is no existing ring to agree with. Width, profile, finish and colour are all open, and the band carries the whole role of marking the hand on its own.

A band worn as the only ring is often chosen slightly wider, and is more likely to carry a bevel, a milgrain edge or a pattern than one bought as half of a pair.

Profile can be decided for comfort alone, because nothing will be sitting beside the band to influence how its edges should be shaped or how much room it needs to leave.

A high polish is the most formal surface, because a mirror finish reads as new and deliberate. It suits a band that comes off for work and is worn on occasions.

Brushed, satin and matte surfaces read as everyday, partly because they look at home beside a watch or a bracelet and partly because they change less with contact.

Milgrain and diamond-cut sit between the two, dressier than a brushed band and less severe than a bare polish, and both are worn as daily bands by people who want a little ornament.

Plain bands in a familiar colour. A wearer who already owns yellow gold will accept a yellow band; someone whose pieces are all white will notice a change of colour at once.

A plain design can also be resized after the fact, which a pattern running the whole way round the ring cannot always accommodate cleanly, so plain is the forgiving choice.

Looking at whether the wearer's existing pieces are polished or brushed, and whether anything they wear is wide, answers most of the remaining questions before the purchase.

Usually, provided the design allows it. A plain band with an unbroken section of metal can be taken up or down by a jeweller, and a small correction is routine work.

Designs that run a pattern, a bevel or a row of beads round the entire ring are harder to alter without the join showing, so the listing is worth reading with that in mind.

The practical step is to note the size ordered and keep the paperwork, so that if the ring needs changing the starting point is known.