Choosing the perfect ring for your man may have been the easy part or the hard part. Either way, you’ve finally chosen the perfect ring for him - and you couldn’t be more excited!
Now, you need to choose the right width for the band. If choosing the ring was the easy part, you’ve only got one headache to contend with. Kudos! If choosing the ring gave you some serious grief, then think of this as the last of your pre-marital headaches.
Luckily, there are options out there - from total surprise to simply marching him up with you to the jewelry store - for finding the perfect width for his wedding band. And, while you’re here, we’ve also added some helpful hints and tips for fixing broken bands, and how to protect your rings from wear-and-tear.
So what is the best width for a man's ring?
Although, this can depend on things like the size of the man's finger, the standard width is 8mm. This seems to be a good width for a man's ring butwWith that said we often see men that prefer smaller 6mm and even some that prefer 10mm.
But… first things first.
Options to finding your man’s perfect ring width
Every hand is different. For example, if you tried to wear your friend’s ring, one of three things will happen:
- The ring will fit perfectly.
- The ring will look bulky and way too big.
- The ring will seem to disappear due to its thinness.
As ridiculous as it sounds that the width of the band has any importance, it’s true. If a ring is too big, it will look ugly and bulky. If a ring width is too small, it will look fragile and, sometimes, almost nonexistent. Not to mention, if the width is too large, it can actually decrease the mobility of the hand due to its bulkiness. Alternately, if a ring is too thin, the man may take extra care, which may also decrease the mobility of his hand - especially if he’s a handyman, in which case, he may not feel comfortable wearing the ring while working at all.
That being said, there are a few things you need to keep in mind when choosing the perfect band-width for your man.
1. Understand his Needs
As simple as it sounds, it’s not. Choosing a perfect ring takes a lot of thinking, re-thinking and mental effort. Keep in mind your man’s lifestyle and hobbies.
For example, if your man just can’t wait until the weekend to go dirt-biking or go to the gym, it may be best to stick with the thicker band width’s - usually 8mm and up are a good width for this type of character.
Another example would be if your guy is a relaxed guy who enjoys playing video games or writing in his free time. This type of man may actually appreciate the thinner bands because it allows his hands to move more freely.
2. Choose for Lasting Love… and Durability
Another crucial thing to keep in mind is durability. What is your man’s job? Does he work on cars or work with his hands all day? Is he in a role that requires a suit-and-tie with keys at his fingertips? Knowing this can help you gauge the width that he’ll appreciate, not just the width that will look good.
Choose a stronger width for men who work with their hands. This allows him to wear his ring proudly around his work without having to worry about it slipping off, breaking, or having some other horrible thing happen to the symbol of your love he wears on his hand.
Choose a thinner band for men who do light-hand work - such as typing, writing, or light-lifting. These rings allow for better hand movement. A good width for a thinner band is 6 - 4mm.
3. Know your Man’s Hands
While looking at wedding bands, I’m sure you’ve kept your man’s hand-size in mind. Try visualizing each ring on his hand. For extra help, put it next to your own hand. It sounds ridiculous, but if you place the ring next to your own hand (just as it would be next to your man’s hand) this can act as a crucial visual aid to assist you in choosing the best width.
4. Know the Ring
You also need to keep the ring in mind when choosing the right width. Is the ring encrusted with a lot of jewels or design work? Or, is it a simple band? You can also only scale a ring as large or small as it will allow, without destroying the overall look and feel of the ring.
A jeweler can help you in this area by recommending a good size or showing you multiple sizes of the same ring if they have any in stock.
It wouldn’t matter much if you got the ring in the perfect width if the ring as a whole looked botched and disorganized.
5. The Price Check
Regardless of the ring you’ve already got in mind, it’s important to note that rings of a smaller width tend to be less expensive due to the lesser amount of precious metals used to create them, while larger bands tend to be more expensive for the same reason.
Therefore, you also need to keep in mind that the price is going to increase for wider bands and possibly decrease for smaller ones.
6. Drag him Along
When all else fails and you no longer care if he knows about the ring or not, you can always drag him to your nearest jeweler and have him pick out a width he likes. It doesn’t have to be the actual ring you’ve picked out. You can let him choose a width using any ring in the store! This is great if you want to keep the ring you’ve chosen a surprise.
After he chooses a width, you can bring the recommendation to your jeweler and have the ring re-sized to fit the width if necessary. Bonus points if they have that particular width in that particular style already in stock!
Now that we understand a few things to keep in mind when choosing the right band-width, let’s talk about some of the most common sizes for men’s rings and how to gauge each size (which may also come in handy when choosing the perfect width for your soon-to-be hubby!).
The Guide to Ring Widths (and how to gauge them)
[ref. https://www.larsonjewelers.com/t-ring-width-guide.aspx]
- 2mm - A 2mm ring is around the width of a nickel on its side (not a nickel as a whole). This is the smallest recommended width for men’s bands.
- 4mm - A 4mm ring is around the size of 2 nickel’s stacked on top of each other.
- 6mm - A 6mm ring is around the size of 3 nickel’s stacked on top of each other.
- 8mm - An 8mm ring is around the size of 4 nickel’s stacked on top of each other.
- 10mm - A 10mm ring is around the size of 5 nickel’s stacked on top of each other.
- 12mm - A 12mm ring is around the size of 6 nickel’s stacked on top of each other.
The most common size for a man’s ring width is 8mm, however, many men choose to get a 6mm or 10mm ring. The majority of men with a finger size of 9.0 and under tend to choose the 6mm width, while men with finger sizes above 9.0 prefer 8mm and up. This is thought to be because the men who’s finger sizes are 9.0 or smaller don’t want their ring to look too big for their hand.
These sizes are not the only sizes for width. There are some width’s above 12mm - up to 20mm - and below 2mm - mainly for women - and many sizes in between. This is simply an easy guide to decide what ring width may be best suited for your man’s hands.
So, we’ve talked about figuring out the perfect width, and what to keep in mind when choosing the perfect width, for your man’s band. Now, let’s talk a little bit about fixing broken bands and preventing wear-and-tear on your symbols of love.
Fixing Broken & Bent Bands
[ref. https://www.callagold.com/jewelry-repair/fixing-bent-rings-and-cracked-rings/]
Broken wedding rings and bands are excruciatingly painful and disappointing. However, don’t get discouraged - you didn’t get gypped. There are causes of broken bands that are outside of our control. Some of the most common are:
- The ring shank - the part of the ring that goes around the finger - is too thin.
- The ring is too large for your finger.
- Lifting heavy objects or tightly grasping heavy or hard objects.
When the ring is too thin, it is more delicate, or less durable. This is why, if your man works with his hands a lot, it’s necessary to keep this in mind and aim for a wider band-width. This will prevent the ring from wearing down and getting “out of round”.
Alternately, when the ring is too large, it is more susceptible to bending and snapping because it is not protected by the finger. The larger the ring is to the finger, the more prone it is to getting “out of round” and breaking.
When your man is constantly lifting and gripping things tightly, the pressure of what he’s lifting or grasping goes into his hands, finger, and ring. This causes the ring to bend from the pressure over time, and eventually snap.
Solving the Problem
If your ring has a warranty, which it should, and you notice that your ring is starting to bend, catch the problem before it becomes a problem! Cracked and broken rings are much more devastating than bent ones.
Take your ring back to your jeweler, or any jeweler who performs ring repairs, and see if your ring can benefit from being resized to better fit your finger.
If the ring shank is extremely bent or too thin or thick, consider having your ring completely re-shanked - which is simply the process of cutting out the cracked or bent piece and replacing it with a thicker, more durable piece. This will most likely solve your problem.
Protecting your Ring
[ref. https://www.weddingbee.com/rings/5-ways-to-protect-your-wedding-rings/]
There are plenty of things that you can do to prevent damage to your ring. We’ve listed some of the best tips below.
1. Have Insurance
Most rings come with a warranty of some sort. However, you may benefit from having the ring appraised and insured for its full value should anything ever happen to it. Rings get lost, stolen, or damaged all the time, so having that “security blanket” can help you sleep a little easier at night.
2. Keep it Clean
On top of the recommended bi-yearly, professional cleaning and inspection, it’s also recommended that you clean it at home once and a while. Since these rings are worn all day and all night, they can get dingey pretty quickly.
Luckily, it’s pretty easy to clean them at home. All you need is a few drops of Dawn dish soap, warm water, a soft towel, and a soft-bristled, unused toothbrush.
Get a bowl of warm water, place a few drops of Dawn dish soap into the bowl and swirl it around a little. Place your ring in and let it soak for a few minutes then gently remove it and brush with the soft toothbrush. When that’s done and your ring has been restored to its shiny glory, place it in a separate bowl of regular warm water to rinse it, then dry it with a soft towel.
Note: Do not wash your ring in or near any sinks! It’s likely to fall into the drain and you’ll have to call a plumber to hopefully extract it.
3. Take it Off
As unfortunate as it is, we all use our hands. Therefore, when you’re doing any lifting, cleaning, showering, or other hand-strenuous activities, it’s a good idea to remove it - just in case.
Another recommended time to take your ring off is while sleeping. As silly as it sounds, this is actually extremely beneficial. There are plenty of sleep-horror stories about rings - from losing it in the sheets to ripping out the jewels by snagging them on the bedsheets to accidentally shanking your partner in their sleep. Things happen, so take your ring off when it’s necessary rather than chance it.
4. Have a Safe Space
When you aren’t wearing your ring, it’s a good idea to have a safe space to put it. Regardless if you’re doing dishes, taking a shower, or doing an activity, always leave your ring in the same place. This eliminates the possibility of forgetting where you put it.
Don’t just take your ring off and leave it on the counter to do dishes. Take the extra steps to your bedroom and place it on your nightstand like you always do. This way, you don’t have to worry about knocking it down or forgetting where you left it.
There you have it. The complete guide to choosing the best, most durable ring band for your man. Now go get it!