The basic answer is a solid band but there are many styles to choose from. We will walk you through 20 of the most popular designs with photos of course.
We hope that once you finish this guide you will know exactly what style of ring you like the most.
The world of men’s rings has drastically changed in the last 20 years and there are more choices than ever. These days it has become common place not only for guys to wear a wedding ring but promise rings as well.
With this becoming more common place, there are more style choices than ever. The classic squared off edges are being replaced with beveled, domed and many other interesting and unique designs.
We will cover some of these design options as they pertain to promise rings but many of these rings will work perfectly as a men’s wedding bands as well. The large selection makes it hard to choose a men's promise ring and we hope this helps you narrow the search.
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Engraved men's promise ring
Number one is not necessarily so much a design as an option but at the same time is the fastest growing trend for men’s promise rings. Engraving a promise ring for him has become so hot because there are so many options.
Just engraving a date or a saying can make any ring unique to an individual or couple.There are a ton of quotes and sayings for engraved ring but be sure to use something personal to make it extra special.
If you need some help with engraving ideas, be sure to check out our article-
130 wedding band and promise ring engraving ideas
So if you want something unique you can buy just about any design you like and make it your own.
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Comfort bands promise rings
You may have noticed that just about all men’s rings are comfort bands these days. The act of slightly doming the inside of the ring and slightly rounding the edges of a ring has made a tremendous difference.
A lot of men don’t appreciate the edges of their rings biting into their fingers and this has for the most part solved this issue.
It has become rare to find a ring that has the straight drop edges without being slightly rounded because of this.
It is probably a good idea to make sure that any ring you get is a comfort band to avoid irritation or cutting.
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Beveled Edge Promise Rings
Another design that has become very popular is to bevel the outside edges. This creates a 2 dimensional look and often the edges and the center are different tones or color to add more of a designer look.
The outer band is usually small on center than the inner band creating an edge that has lower band and upper band and this is what crates the bevel.
The main drawback to this design is these rings usually have to be cleaned more often as it is easy for dirt to build along the beveled edge.
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Domed Men's Promise Rings
Domed bands have been around for as long as the straight edge bands but have more of a sleek look that has stood the test of time.
A great benefit of the domed promise ring is that it doesn’t seem to catch or snag on clothing or other objects as easily as the squared edge bands and this makes much more popular in terms of functionality.
We have found that domed bands are still very popular and you don't get the build up on the edges like you do with a beveled ring.
This style comes in just about any color but unlike the beveled band it is more common for the ring to be one solid color.
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Promise Ring With Gems
Men’s rings with gems seem to have dramatically fallen off over the last 20 years. While demand has fallen off there are still a lot of men who like gems in there rings.
This has kept many simple designs on the market fill the demand for men's rings with gem stones. These rings can vary from one gem to massive cluster rings. Not only that but the gems can vary widely in color, cut and size. Really it’s all about personal taste.
The type, size and color of gems are also a matter of personal taste but be aware that as with all jewelry rings with precious stones can dramatically increase in price.
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Men's Birthstone Rings
Times are changing and while this has been very much a niche for women’s promise rings or mother’s rings, this has been a rising trend for men.
While this is still more of a niche for guys, we have seen a gradual increase in men wanting birthstones in their rings.
These can represent their own birthday or in many cases their children’s, families or even their girlfriend. People just love a physical reminder of their loved ones and most guys are no different.
Just as with promise rings with gems, the prices can vary dramatically depending on if you get a ring with CZ gems or precious stones. CZ look great and are always much easier on your budget.
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Nugget ring or Cluster Ring
This trend has faded tremendously over the last 20 years but it still has a following. These usually consist of a gold ring with gold nuggets on the face.
Usually large, they are best for functionality but are definitely a statement piece. We’ve all seen them in the gangster and Vegas movies and these definitely carry a sort of BAM factor.
If you get one of these that are purse gold, they can be very expensive as they are large and carry a lot of weight. Would be great for someone that has a big personality and enjoys something different.
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Men's Signet rings
These rings usually have some sort of initials or letters but can also have symbols. These are more popular as class rings or special group rings such as Templar and Mason rings.
We have seen these used as promise rings by having the initials of the girlfriend on them. These are not common as promise rings but there is definitely a following for them. Again a promise ring is all about personal preference.
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Men's Spinner Promise Ring
Spinner promise rings are one of the fastest growing new trends in promise rings for guys.
These rings have a traditional band but have some sort of outer band or chain that can spin. We have seen these have band over band designs as well as chains set in a channel on a band that can spin.
These are great for guys that like to fidget and have been over been described as soothing or relaxing.
These have the same basic concept as a fidget spinner but instead of declining in popularity, they are becoming more popular.
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Grooved Promise Rings
The designs on this style of ring can vary greatly but basically it is any kind of band ring that has some sort of grooves running along the outer band.
These make great two tones rings as the inner groove can often be a different color than the outer part of the band but there are also many solid color choices on the market.
The designs can be sleek and low in bling or they can really stand out with multi colors. Gold and silver are both shiny and add bling but something like black and blue are solid choices if the person getting the ring is more laid back and doesn't like to stand out as much.
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Hammered Finish Promise Ring
These are traditional style bands that have the look of being hammered on the outer band.
These have a great rough look to them while still looking great and sleek. I know a contradiction of sorts but that is the impression I personally get looking at one.
The patterns can vary greatly on this style of ring as well. We have seen these rings available in just about any color including black, silver and gold.
While this is actual one of my favorite styles, they seem to have a decent fan base but are not yet main stream.
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Wire or cable inlay rings
These rings feature some sort of wire or cable laid into the outer band and in few cases the side of the ring.We have seen these in single wire up to 5 or 6 wires.
This seems to be one of our fastest growing styles as far as sells and also another one of my favorites.
This style seems to really be gaining traction over the last few years and we have noticed the design options have increased dramatically with the increased following. These rings can have many variations from a single wire to multiple wires inset.
The only draw back we see with this style of ring is getting gunk under the wire, making it a little more difficult to clean but nothing a toothbrush can't handle.
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Prayer ring and cross rings
These are popular as promise rings in a slightly different way.This is actually the first thing that comes to some people mind when you say "promise ring".
These are usually worn as a promise to stay pure until marriage rather than a promise to a person. this is a great choice for Christian couples.
These are even used as pure Christian rings and sobriety rings.
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Roman Numeral promise rings
These are available in a wide range of styles and while most already have numerals on the outer band, we often have requests to custom engraved numerals standing for a special date.
Most often when we get a request for this type of engraving, it is for the outside of the ring but that doesn't mean it has to only be on the outside. Some people just like the way numerals look compared to regular numbers.
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Heartbeat Band Promise Rings
These are one of the newest designs to hit the market and have been very popular as couples promise rings.
The styles can vary slightly but they all have some kind of heart beat line etched or engraved on the outer band. Some will have a small heart along this line and some will not.
Definitely a design that is quickly growing in popularity since the heart and love go hand in hand.
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Tribal Pattern Ring
The designs on these rings can vary greatly but usually they consist of some sort of tribal design on the outer band.
These designs are either engraved or laser etched onto the outside of the ring. Great for a unique look, you can find these in many different colors and with many different patterns.
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Two Tone promise rings
This basically covers any kind of ring that have more than one color tone. These designs vary widely and there are a massive amount of unique and traditional styles available.
These are great choices if you don't want a band that is one color. Just about every any shape promise ring can have more than one color so the variety can be endless.
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Sandblasted Band
This is one of the newer styles on the market and consists of a band that has been sandblasted on the outside or has a rough sandblasted texture.
This style can be a little rough as the outer band has an almost sand paper like feel to it. This can also cause some snagging but overall that doesn't seem to ever be much of an issue from our customers that have bought this style in the past.
While these have gotten some traction, it remains to be seen if they catch on.
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Tire Track Patterns
This style definitely has a niche following. This includes any ring that has some of tire groove pattern.
We have seen the tread patterns vary on these but there doesn't seem to be a really big variety of these on the market.
We are not sure yet on how popular these will become but seem to have a good following so far.
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Wood Inlay
These men’s promise rings consist of a band that has some sort over wood inlaid around the band.
The type of wood will have an effect on the pattern and color of these rings.
We have seen these sale in spurts. One month they seem to be very popular and then they drop in other months. The jury is still out but they do have some fans.
I wanted to add as an extra tidbit that men's promise rings are usually stainless steel as the are cheap promise rings but still look great and are very durable.
As far as price rang goes the order from lower to higher cost is stainless steel, titanium, tungsten and sterling silver, gold and platinum.
There you have it, 20 styles that our fans seem to enjoy the most. There are many more styles not even listed here, notably camo rings. It all comes down to personal preference, do you like flashy, traditional or even something completely unique. No matter what category you fit into, there is definitely a design for you out there.
Be sure to check out our collection of men’s promise rings. All of ours rings come engraved and we have many of the designs listed. Check them out here.
We want to thank Jewels for me for some of their great ideas.
Also Awesome Stuff 365 has a cool blog of unique men’s rings in general. These aren’t all promise rings but they have some cool stuff listed. A Swiss army knife style ring… How cool is that!