Men’s Wedding Rings: How to Choose One He’ll Love

Once you’re officially engaged, it’s time to start thinking about men’s wedding rings.

Have you already read plenty of articles on choosing a woman’s engagement ring? There are so many articles talking about how much money you should or shouldn’t spend on your girl’s ring. My fiancé and I had spent plenty of time looking at women’s engagement rings. Outside of a few Google searches, however, we had neglected to learn about men’s wedding rings.

It was common knowledge that men’s bands are often more simple and more affordable when compared to women’s engagement rings. I was aware there were some companies producing rings with non-traditional materials like wood or rubber. But that was the extent of my knowledge base on men’s rings. What was I even supposed to look for? What was he going to care about?

I knew my fiancé had put some serious effort into researching and choosing the perfect ring for me, so it was very important to pick something for him that was both meaningful and that he would love for the rest of our lives.

These are the three big things you should consider when it’s time to pick a ring for your sailor.

Consider Your Wedding Ring Style

In many cases, you might already have an engagement ring when you’re trying to pick out a men’s wedding ring. Make sure you factor in your ring’s unique style into your choice for his wedding band. After all, your rings are a physical reflection of your commitment, so it makes sense for them to share a common thread.

My ring has a sapphire instead of a diamond, and the pop of color is a huge focal point for my ring. When it came time to choose my sailor’s wedding band, I wanted to incorporate some of the style of my ring but I didn’t want to force him into sticking sapphires into his ring when sapphires were my thing, not his. Instead, I found a ring that would utilize some of the same metal – rose gold.

Consider His Style Outside of Jewelry or Fashion

What colors and materials does your sailor like already? If you asked him, my guy would swear the only color he loves is black. But I know he loves copper tones, very similar to rose gold, and now that we’re married, we have a growing collection of rose-gold and copper colored household goods.

When considering his style, it’s important to think about the things that bring him the most joy. My sailor loves being on the water (shocker, right?) as he grew up right on the gulf coast. Nature also plays a really important symbolic role in our relationship so it made sense to choose a ring with materials other than metal and rubber.

Consider Safety When Researching Men’s Wedding Rings

Regardless of the style preferences that you incorporate into your ring, make sure you don’t overlook safety. What does your sailor do for a living? Do they need to be really careful with conductive materials like metal rings? Many couples choose simple rubber rings for this reason.

Another thing to remember is that married recruits in boot camp may be allowed to keep a simple wedding band, but they may not want to subject their ring to boot camp sweat & grime.

My husband will work with electricity so he can’t wear a regular wedding ring while working. We decided that a ring which uniquely fit him and our relationship was the most important factor, and that a rubber ring didn’t suit us. Instead, he’ll get a small line tattoo around his ring finger so that even when he has to remove his real ring for safety purposes, he’ll still have something there.

Make Your Decision

In the end, I chose a men’s wedding ring that was handcrafted in Charlotte, NC from a small company called Rustic & Main. The ring itself has a center strip of teak from the WWII battleship USS North Carolina, which is surrounded by two thin rings of rose gold, and accented with elk antler. My husband was so impatient for it to arrive, but it was worth the wait!

This isn’t an affiliate post in any way, but I did reach out to Mike, the creator of Rustic & Main, asking him if we could get you guys a discount if you fall in love with their rings too. He graciously set up a 10% off coupon code for my readers who are looking for their sailor’s ring. You’ll get the discount if you follow any of my links to the Rustic & Main website, or by entering the code MYSAILORSDEFENDER at checkout.

The ring I ordered is no longer available at Rustic & Main, but you should definitely take a look at this Purple Heart wood ring. 5% of the proceeds is donated to The Independence Fund, a group that “empower[s] our severely wounded Veterans and their Caregivers to take control of their lives.”

What is the biggest factor in choosing your sailor’s ring? Leave your answer in the comments below.