Non-sucky wedding rings
Stuff we love
By
on January 15, 2007
53 Responses
While my sweetie and I DO want to exchange rings, we DON'T want to spend a lot of money on them, and we have no interest in traditional, mainstream wedding rings. We want something simple, different, and not made out of gold. We live in a town that doesn't have anything like that, so online is our best bet. But once we start looking around for wedding bands, all we find are expensive, boring, overly-decadent gold and diamond style rings... There's just too much online to know where to start! -Sara
I applaud your decision to go the non-diamond, inexpensive route for your wedding rings. Diamonds are grossly overpriced, and of course there's that whole blood diamond thing, so you're so much better off going for either a different stone or no stone at all.
First things first: are you SURE there aren't any custom jewelry makers in your neck of the woods? There's nothing more awesome than designing your own bands, and if you find a good jewelry maker they can usually work within your budget. Plus, it's cool to support a local artisan.
That said, if there really aren't any around, you're right: there are TONS of online options. Here's a first tip: Don't look for "wedding rings" — they always cost more! There's this strange phenomenon of somehow if it has to do with a wedding it costs twice as much. Seriously. This isn't just for rings, it's for dresses, flowers, suits, chair rentals, everything. It's a total racket. So when shopping online for rings, don't search for "wedding bands." Just look for rings that you like.
Here are my favorite non-traditonal wedding rings:
As always with posts like this, CLICK THE PICTURES to learn more about a product!
Offbeat Lite
These rings are on the more traditional/diamond-y end of the spectrum, which means they can be more expensive.
This 18K White Gold Art Deco Filigree Diamond Ring from Brilliant Earth is a diamond you can feel really and truly awesome about. There's a reason both Megan and I wear Brilliant Earth rings — they simply rock the non-blood diamonds like no one else. They're an amazing company, and they've got insanely awesome designs, like this Deco engagement ring.
It's a diamond. But it's black. LIKE MY HEART.
Ooh, blue diamond. Hexagonal setting. Insanely gorgeous. Super pricey. *Le sigh*
Non-diamond rings
Rubies, sapphires, moissanite, and ooh, so much more. I arranged them in a rainbow because I'm a dork like that.
Garnet hearts. Aww. And less than $300! Double aww.
Did you even know yellow sapphires existed? Now you do.
This oval peridot ring is only $200! Plus, it's from Turtle Love Co, so you know it's ethical and awesome.
Ooh, it's blue topaz. Ooh, it's big. Ooh, it's less than $120.
Tanzanite is that kind of blue that makes you want to go sailing or explore space or something. It's not just blue, it's like BRAIN-BLOWING BLUE.
Repeat after me: PINK TOURMALINE! Awesome square cut. Love!
Another square cut ring, but this time it's a princess sapphire. So pink. So gorgeous. So classy.
Men's rings
Tungstun! Titanium! Trees! Threes! For Offbeat Brides who want to get down on one knee and propose to HIM.
I love the simplicity of this black Tungsten Carbide ring. The grooves give it a modern twist, and Tungsten Carbide is an awesome material — denser than steel or titanium! It's also super affordable: this ring's only $109!
EVERYONE loves Fabuluster's rings custom-made with the finger-print of your beloved. We featured 'em on Offbeat Bride a few months ago and shit went crazy viral. No wonder why — they're awesome.
This stainless steel screw ring is so cheap that it's clearly not meant for a lifetime of wear, but it's a cute way to say "Let's screw for the rest of our lives!" Aww.
This ring is one of the reader favorites from the Offbeat Store. It's actually unisex, so it's ideal for any beloved geek you're proposing to, male or female. From Etsy seller Metalsmitten.
Who says only girls want engagement rings with bling? This titanium ring features a little diamond for that masculine bling action, and the asymmetrical silver inlay is hawt. Plus, it's less than $150.
The Tree of Life Wedding Ring from Turtle Love Co is a longtime Offbeat favorite. It's a little eco/hippie while also being totally classy and timeless. $200.
Now, let's talk about deals!
Here are a few coupons and special deals being offered by Offbeat affiliates:
- Discounted Men's Wedding Rings
- $20 off rings costing $100 or more at Stauer.com
- Cobalt Chrome Wedding Rings at discount prices with free shipping!
- Discounted Tungsten Carbide Bands
- Find the perfect Engagement Ring for the special someone. Build your own Engagement Ring only at Ross-Simons
- 30 FREE Wedding Save-the-Dates
About Ariel Meadow Stallings
Author of Offbeat Bride: Creative Alternatives for Independent Brides, Ariel acts as the publisher of all the Offbeat Empire websites. She lives, loves, and dorks out hard in Seattle, WA.
Elaina said
My fiance and I are going to the wedding ring workshop, where we're going to make our own rings. A jewler coaches you through melting the metals, shaping, and polishing. It's about as expensive as a wedding ring set (engagement ring, and both bands). We're super excited!
Ariel said
Wow, Elaina — what a cool concept! More info at http://www.weddingringworkshop.com
Elisa Camahort said
My fiance and I designed my engagement ring with Brilliant Earth, a San francisco company that makes rings with conflict-free Canadian diamonds, recycled metals, and who donates 5% of their profits to a charity in Africa. It was not cheap, no doubt, but I love it
TheGlimmering said
How about stainless steel? A plain or black anodized stainless steel band with a CZ tension setting runs $5.50, $2.00 for a plain band. I've seen many around $4.00 with tribal etching, and there are rainbow anodized or eternity bands with rainbow hued stones for $12.00 tops.
Julia said
I like some of these ideas – thanks. I do wonder why you would get a ring in order to say "fuck you" to some one who's just trying to make friendly conversation. Why not get a ring because you like it, and accept that some people ask about your ring because they're trying to be nice. Thanks.
Ideagirl said
Check out www.GreenKarat.com. That's where we're getting ours. Everything they use is either recycled (the gold, platinum, and white diamonds), or lab-created (all the other gemstones). We're getting custom rings, but some of the non-custom rings are way affordable, and there's the added bonus that they don't mess with the environment at all (apparently this place even uses wind power for its offices!) and you don't get "conflict diamonds" or other jewels mined by people in the Third World who live like slaves.
Ideagirl said
I just noticed that Green Karat was already mentioned above. But it says they're expensive!!! What?! We ended up going with custom rings, but they have gold wedding bands as low as $125: http://www.greenkarat.com/deta…id=WBRG001
Also a bunch in the $400-$500 range, from totally normal looking: http://www.greenkarat.com/deta…_id=RCG002 to totally offbeat:
http://www.greenkarat.com/deta…t_id=CD007
I dunno, that seems reasonable to me. Particularly in this world of $5000 or $10,000 diamond solitaires (ack!!! what a waste of money!)
Ariel said
Good point! When I was going through the gallery, all I was seeing was rings in the $500-$2k range — thanks for pointing out their more affordable bands, as well. Not sure how I missed those!
Camille said
My fiance decided he wanted something in a "geek metal" so he's going with something from titaniumrings.com. They've got a LOT of styles from plain to funky. Prices are midrange, I'd say…not cheap but not insanely spendy.
Andrell said
We got ours from them- they had the pattern that my fiancee and I have had since our first fight and bonding, which is what we wanted on the ring. Their prices have come down since we first looked- and even found mine on the supper sale ($100 off the lowered price). Beautiful work, great people, fast, throughly happy!
sally said
check out rings by sally brock of fancy in seattle:
http://www.fancyjewels.com/wedding.php
i like her binary ring even better that green karat, and her robot bands make me so so happy. (also, i am a different sally than the sally who owns the store, lest you think the poor girl is running around the internet shamelessly self-promoting)
Dana said
We had a heck'va time finding a ring. We found a local jewler who was going to design something for us, but as soon as I said "wedding" & "engagement", he lost any sort of creativity. I had pictures of rings by Jamie Joseph & Pippa Small as inspiration…and he went round and round with me, telling me I couldn't do something like that and it had to be gold and it had to be either sapphires or diamonds (because of how "hard" the stones are).
I don't like being told I "can't" do something, and eventually gave in and just bought a Jamie Joseph ring that's gold, silver & labradorite. I will wear a wedding band once we get married (moving the engagement ring to my right hand). I love my ring because it is entirely me, even though it wasn't designed specifically for me.
I have found a few really cool designers on etsy (I wish I'd found this earlier)…
PowderMillStudio makes lovely rings, and this silver ring based on a tree branch is one of my favorites {& if you ask her, she can make it in gold}:
etsy's a nice compromise–you can support an artist directly, but still buy online.
Amy said
My fiance mined sunstones in Oregon and had an artist cut and set them for him. It cost him the trip (for which he got a great story), and very little money to pay the artist since he also gave him a lot of the stones he mined for his use when he finished my ring.
More info:
http://www.dustdevilmining.com/
We'll be exchanging simple titanium bands for the wedding.
Ashby said
My fiance and I were in a similar situation, and after some pretty frustrating searching stumbled upon something perfect for us. We hike a lot, and so Jesse found an artist who makes beautiful, simple jewelery out of found stones, and had her set a tiny pebble we found hiking into recycled silver. We also had her make the band so that it nested with my little wedding band, and she made his band while she was at it – all 3 rings for less than $450. Wahoo!
Alyanna said
Okay, these are definitely not cheap – but if you want something unique and absolutely beautiful, check out the mirror-image mokume rings by George Sawyer. My fiance and I got these for our wedding bands and we LOVE them! (The images on the website don't do them justice – if you're near one of the stores that sell them, I'd suggest checking them out in person.)
http://www.georgesawyer.com/Mirror-Image.asp
Jen said
I have an acquaintance who makes titanium rings and when I saw his etsy shop I was blown away. They're really quite pretty and really fun! I'll be sure to leave his etsy shop link around for my boyfriend in the future
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5232205
Michelle said
WWW.RARU.COM!!!
I LOVE this site. My best friend and I both got our engagment and wedding bands off this site. It does a lot of celtic stuff, but they let you design your own ring, celtic or otherwise, and it is really reasonably priced, especially if you don't like diamonds or have an heirloom stone to use. They do a great job, they are friendly, quick and affordable.
intimeoflilacs said
I met a couple one time, and the husband had taken a piece of a canoe they had had an early date in on a lake and moulded the metal into two rings for their wedding rings. It brought a tear to my eye hearing the story..
Amy said
I got my hubby a tungsten ring for his wedding band. It's gorgeous. I wish my platinum one was as scratch resistant to his.
Here is a link to his tungsten band. I just love how shiny it is in the light!
Andrea said
I'm not sure if you've ever heard of these guys, but Little King Jewelry in New York does some really gorgeous custom work. I'm sure they're far from inexpensive, but…drool!
Ivy said
I have a question – does anyone know the name of a jewelry designer/artist who designs engagement rings using wood and diamonds – rough cut stones. She also did bracelets and necklaces. I remember her being based in New York. The pieces were really beautiful. Our computer crashed and they weren't able to get all the memory back so I can't find her.
Jeannie said
Check out this website:
teeda.com
They are a silver wholesaler and have awesome rings and other silver jewelry (we both dislike gold). We got our wedding bands for under $50!
Note: If your order is under $100, they will charge you a $10 handling fee in addition to the regular $9.95 S&H.
cynzia said
I found my ring set from ebay and went with a company that I got my birthstone ring from awhile back, I checked out their feedback and was able to trust them for the wedding ring set that I got from them and it turned out great. There are alot of online companys to check out but just becareful by checking for feedbacks or for past customers comments to see about ordering from them.Hope this helps anyone!!
cynzia said
Forgot to mention that sterling silver rings from places like walmart or ebay ( some companys) dont tarnish and alot of them look great and not expensive either.
Katie said
My fiance bought my engagement ring from Brilliant Earth, and I absolutely love it. It's made from recycled platinum and has 12 fair trade sapphires from Australia in a channel setting. It's absolutely beautiful — totally me. He said their customer service was great and the prices are fairly reasonable. I would recommend them! www.brilliantearth.com
megan said
My fiance and I just picked out my ring – I wanted a clear stone, but not a diamond for ethical reasons. We found Moissanite to be cheaper, and you get to make all the jokes about space rocks and kryptonite you want!
http://www.moissanite.com/