Men's gold wedding rings: 9ct or 18ct, which width and what it weighs

Should a man's gold wedding ring be 9ct or 18ct?

9ct for most men. It is the harder of the two alloys, about 3.5 on the Mohs scale against 3 for 18ct, so it keeps its finish a little longer on a hand that works. It also costs less, because it holds half the gold.

Choose 18ct if you want the deeper, warmer colour and more weight on the finger. It is 75% gold against 37.5% in 9ct.

Every solid gold band we make comes in either carat. You choose on the ring's page and the 18ct costs more on every one.

18ct gold or 9ct gold: The two carats side by side on hardness, weight and resizing.

What is 9ct gold?: What 375 means and how 9ct wears as a ring.

What is 18ct gold?: What 750 means and how 18ct wears as a ring.

Yellow, white or rose gold: which colour for a man's ring?

Yellow is the traditional colour and the one most of our men's gold bands are made in. Of the 19 solid gold bands that are men's or unisex, 13 are yellow, five are two tone in yellow and white and one is rose: a 3mm band in a soft satin finish.

None is white all the way through. For a white precious metal on its own, look at a line of 9ct white gold or platinum set into a titanium band.

What is white gold?: How it is made white and how it wears.

What is rose gold?: Where the pink comes from and what it goes with.

Rose satin sparkle, his: The men's rose gold band: 3mm, satin, in 9ct or 18ct.

What width should a men's gold wedding band be?

6mm is the usual starting point for a man's band. Go down to 4mm or 5mm for a slimmer hand or a quieter ring and up to 7mm for a broad one.

Our men's and unisex gold bands run from 3mm to 7mm: two at 3mm, one at 3.5mm, six at 4mm, three at 5mm, four at 6mm and three at 7mm. Each design is made in one width, so in gold you choose the design and the width together.

No solid gold band here is wider than 7mm. For gold on an 8mm to 10mm ring, a gold line set into titanium or black zirconium is made up to 10mm.

Men's wedding rings: The whole men's range, gold included, with each ring's width and price.

6mm or 8mm men's wedding ring: How the two widths compare on the finger and how to test them at home.

Band width guide: Compare widths at true size on your screen.

How heavy is a men's gold wedding ring?

A solid 6mm court band in UK size N weighs about 5.6g in 9ct gold and 7.7g in 18ct. That is our ring weight calculator's figure for a band with a 1.6mm wall.

The gold bands we make are lighter than that model and each ring's page says so in grams. The men's and unisex bands weigh from about 1.1g to 2.9g in 9ct and from about 1.5g to 4.1g in 18ct. The polished 6mm wide court is about 1.6g in 9ct and 2.3g in 18ct. The heaviest is the 6mm ripple, at about 2.9g and 4.1g.

So width alone does not tell you the weight: two 6mm bands in the same carat can differ by more than a gram. Within one design 18ct weighs about 40% more than 9ct. The weights on the ring pages are approximate and a larger size carries a little more metal.

Ring weight calculator: The weight of a solid band in any metal, at your size and width.

How much does a 9ct gold ring weigh?: 9ct gold at every width and size, from the same model.

How much does an 18ct gold ring weigh?: 18ct gold at every width and size.

Plain or patterned: which gold band suits a man?

Plain if you want the traditional wedding ring. Textured if you want everyday marks to disappear into the surface. All gold is soft and picks up fine marks with wear. They polish out, though a mirror polished face shows them first.

The plain choices are the 6mm wide court in a high polish, the 4mm rounded court in satin and a 6mm band in brushed satin. The 4mm hammered band is worked all over in small facets, so a new scratch joins in.

The patterned bands go further: a milgrain edge or scrollwork at 5mm, a rippled bark texture at 6mm and a woven lattice or sharp two tone facets at 7mm. Ten of the men's bands have a matching women's ring and each is sold alone or as a pair.

Satin or polished wedding rings: How each finish looks new and after a few years of wear.

Wedding ring patterns and what they mean: The designs and their meanings.

His and hers wedding rings: The gold couple sets, each ring also sold on its own.

How does a gold wedding ring wear compared with titanium?

Gold marks sooner and is easier to put right. 9ct gold is about 3.5 on the Mohs scale and 18ct about 3, against about 6 for titanium. So a gold band picks up fine marks faster and a jeweller can polish them out.

A plain gold band can be made larger or smaller by a jeweller, the way wedding rings have always been resized. Titanium can often be machined a little larger but never smaller, so its size is settled when you order.

Gold is the heavier metal: in the same solid band 9ct weighs about two and a half times as much as titanium and 18ct about three and a half times. A plain titanium band costs less than any gold band we make.

Gold is a precious metal, so hallmarking law covers it: gold above one gram must be hallmarked. Titanium is not a precious metal and carries no hallmark.

9ct gold or titanium: The two metals side by side on hardness, weight and resizing.

UK hallmarks explained: Which rings must be hallmarked and what each mark means.

Is a gold line set into titanium a cheaper way to wear gold?

Usually, yes. A plain single or twin line of solid 9ct gold set into a titanium band costs less than any of our men's solid gold bands. The gold is real: a solid strip set into a channel in the band, not plating.

It is not always the cheaper route. A gold line in black zirconium costs about what a solid 9ct band does and the 3mm wide inlays cost as much or more.

What you get is different too. An inlay ring weighs and wears like the titanium or zirconium around the gold. Most are made from 4mm to 10mm. The gold is 9ct, in yellow, rose or white. Two bands carry a line of platinum instead. Choose the inlay for gold on show on a light, hard wearing ring and the solid band if you want the whole ring to be gold.

Inlay wedding rings explained: How the gold is set, how it is hallmarked and whether it can be resized.

Gold line, titanium: A line of solid 9ct gold in brushed titanium, in yellow, rose or white.

Gold rings: Solid gold bands and gold inlay bands on one page, with today's prices.