Man Made Diamond Eternity bands are timeless and beautiful, but understanding when to give them, how they should be worn, and the options that are available is important.
Why choose a man made diamond Eternity Band? Both the look and symbolism of Eternity Bands is beautiful. They provide a sparkling row of identical small gems that wrap around a ring in an unbroken circle. Multiple diamonds, even small ones, can get expensive. Man made diamonds significantly reduce costs without giving up quality or durability.
In the remainder of this article, we’ll explain when to give, what to buy, and how to wear a diamond eternity ring.
What are Eternity Rings Given For?
Eternity rings display an unbroken row of small gems (often diamonds) that wrap all the way around a ring without interruption. Some people refer to this type of band as an ‘Infinity Ring’. This style is said to represent eternal love.
An Eternity Ring is typically given after marriage, to celebrate significant events like milestone anniversaries or the birth of a child. They’re easy rings to wear with almost any outfit. They pair well with a nice dress or blue jeans.
The eternity style is elegant and eye catching, because sparkles dance from all sides of the ring as light exposure shifts. Women that love the look of diamond, but want a lower profile ring that won’t stand tall off of their finger tend to love this design.
These bands are easy to mix color into for those that want something over than colorless diamonds. Sometimes a gem like ruby, sapphire, or some other colored stone are interspersed in the ring with even spacing (diamonds and rubies might alternate all the way around the ring for example).
Eternity Bands provide brides with a way to get more total carat weight on their ring for less money. Large diamonds are much more difficult to find than small diamonds. Small diamonds, typically those weighing .18 carats or less, are referred to as melee diamonds. Melee stones are typically used as decorative accents around larger stones.
Demand for larger diamonds has grown in recent decades. In fact, a study of 14,000 engaged or recently engaged couples found that the average center stone is 1.2 carats. That’s a great deal larger than the average several decades ago. The average ring has a total carat weight of 1.8 carats. That means that the average ring is about .6 carats of Melee stones on it as additional embellishment.
De Beers began designing and promoting Eternity Rings to address an oversupply issue they had with Melee diamonds. Their specific focus for the product, was married women. The ring was supposed to be used to celebrate advanced anniversaries and mark other special occasions for that demographic. That use case, opened a new market for De Beers without cannibalizing the sale of larger stones for new brides.
Marketing messages conditioned Men to use the gift of a diamond eternity band as way to prove themselves while expressing love and gratitude. For example, one particular De Beers ad campaign said, “She married you for richer or poorer. Let her know how it’s going.”
Because smaller, less valuable, stones are being used for Eternity bands, the overall price per carat is typically quite a bit lower. Using man made diamonds instead of natural diamonds brings the cost down a lot further still.
The Potential Downside of Eternity Bands?
When the gems that encircle the the ring are too large, it can become less comfortable for some people to wear. Larger stones can rub against neighboring fingers. They’re also more prone to snag or catch on things than infinity bands with smaller stones.
Because gems line the full circumference of the ring, it’s a little harder to keep the stones from making contact with hard surfaces. When you’re wearing a standard solitaire, your diamond sits on top of your ring, safely out of contact with most of the things that you contact with your hands.
Since an Eternity Band has diamonds on all sides, some of those diamonds will make contact with nearly everything your hand comes in contact with. Fortunately diamonds are incredibly scratch resistant, and man made diamonds absolutely equal to earth-mined diamonds in terms of durability. In some cases, they’re even harder than mined diamonds.
If you’re concerned about any of these issues, but like the look of larger diamonds set in a row, you may want to explore a ‘Half Eternity Ring.’ The Half Eternity Ring has diamonds paved across the top of the ring, but not across the bottom portion.
How to Wear an Eternity Band
Many people wonder about the proper way to wear an eternity band. They want to know which finger it should be worn on, which combination of rings are alright to wear together, and which order those rings should be in. There are several different options.
You’ll typically wear your wedding ring on the ‘ring finger’ of your left hand (that’s the one that’s immediately to the right of the little finger, or ‘pinky,’ of your left-hand). That ring generally goes on first (nearest to your heart). The next ring that you would place on that same finger, is your engagement ring. You could then either stack your Eternity Band as the third ring on that same ring finger if it fits well visually and is comfortable, or you could wear it on the corresponding finger of your right hand.
Even though those suggestions are the most traditional approaches, the truth is, that there are no ring police. I’ve seen people wear many combinations of rings in various orders and various fingers. I’ve never observed anyone stopping to question or correct someone on their choice of placement. Ultimately, you need to wear your rings in a way that’s comfortable, and that suites the width and design of your particular rings well.
Wearing an Eternity Band Instead of Your Wedding or Engagement Ring
If you like to keep things simple, and don’t want to wear multiple rings, you can certainly wear your Eternity Band on the ring finger of your left hand in place of one, or both, of your other rings. Some women also choose to do this because the low profile of the Eternity band works better for their daily routines and activities.
The ring on your left hand reminds you of your spouse and the vows you’ve exchanged. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter much which of your rings you choose to wear on a given day as a visual reminder of that love and commitment.
Main Style Options
Aside from differences in metal options and diamond shapes, Eternity Bands come in two main varieties: Shared-Prong Settings and Channel Settings.
A Shared-Prong Setting uses prongs around every diamond to secure the gem to the ring. The set of prongs in between neighboring diamonds, helps to secure the diamond on both sides (thus the name ‘shared prong’). The prongs leave exposed sides, which allow as much light as possible to enter each diamond. Because of this, Eternity Bands with prong settings naturally have more sparkle.
The Channel Setting fits diamonds side-by-side in a channel that’s cut into the metal band. The channel walls hold the diamonds securely in place. Channel set diamond Eternity Rings are more smooth and modern looking. Because the side walls block some light, this band style won’t sparkle quite as much as intensely as a prong set version might.
Typical Cost for an Eternity Ring
The main determinants of cost, will be the type of metal that you select, and the size of the diamonds that line the ring (the carat weight, or CWT). You can find a style to match almost any budget.
I compared costs with two reputable retailers for a 14K White Gold Eternity Band with a total of 2 carats of diamond weight on the ring. The rings that I found seemed to be extremely similar in terms of design. The earth-mined version was $4,070. The lab-grown version was $1,699. That’s a savings of 58% on the lab grown version of the ring!
Man Made Diamonds
The savings realized when you buy a lab created diamond eternity band are significant, but it’s important to realize that those savings really come without sacrifice, because man made diamonds are, in fact, actual diamonds.
Lab diamonds are just as scratch resistant and durable as earth grown diamonds. They also have all the exact same characteristics regarding refraction and their capacity for fire and brilliance—they’re visually indistinguishable.
No one would be able to took at your ring and tell that your lab cultured diamonds aren’t earth mined diamonds based on appearance (not even a jeweler or gemologist). Because of that, the savings that you can realize from man made diamonds is really remarkable!
Related Questions:
Can You Resize Eternity Bands?
You typically can’t decrease the size of eternity bands, because the gems are arranged so tightly, side-by-side, all the way around the ring. Increasing the size is also problematic, because gaps are created between diamonds that loosen settings. Loose settings could lead to lost diamonds.
Is an Eternity Ring a Promise Ring?
An eternity band could be used as a promise ring, and could be worn on any finger of either hand. If the ring serves as a pre-engagement ring, it would often be worn on the ring finger of the left hand. Promise rings signify love and commitment, but can hold a variety of more specific meanings as well.