Wedding Gowns & Bridal Gowns

Men don’t really wear a lot of jewelry and there haven’t been many options in men’s wedding bands, until recently. Scott Kay, one of the world’s authorities on bridal and platinum jewelry, has recently launched an alluring collection of men’s wedding jewelry. The collection features engraved cuffwear studded with onyx, as well as wedding bands that allow men to speak their personality beyond their wedding day. The tattoo-inspired rings in particular use an interesting process to bind ink with metal, creating quite literally a tattooed wedding band.

Who says brides get to have all the fun? Look under the jump for our top picks among Scott Kay’s collection of men’s wedding bands.

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Bridal jewelry is an important element of your overall wedding look. Not only will the right jewelry make your dress look perfect; it can even bring out certain features of your body, like your collarbones. When it comes to wedding jewelry, however, most brides only think of the wedding ring and fail to consider the effect of choosing the right necklace, earrings, and bracelets. Read on to find out how to choose the right wedding jewelry, according to your personal style.

Classic Bride

Classic brides take their cue from Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Onassis, and Grace Kelly. With a fashion sense that’s timeless, traditional, and tasteful, the classic bride should go for delicate diamond studs to add some sparkle to her A-line wedding dress or sheath silhouette. Single-strand pearl necklaces and simple gold bracelets will look luminous and refined against an unembellished wedding dress, and will echo the gown’s graceful lines.

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Every girl who has always wanted to be a bride must have already envisioned the glittering diamond ring her fiance would give as he asks for her hand in marriage. Every starry-eyed young man who intends to propose marriage is probably saving a considerable sum of their salary just to be able to afford the fancy engagement ring every woman desires. But did you know that women in Africa can’t wear wedding rings just so that consumers all over the world can?

Brand new diamonds, also called blood diamonds, are what funds and fuels wars in conflict-ridden countries in Africa. Not only does the sale and trade of blood diamonds maintain violence in nations like Zambia and Botswana; the mining industry has almost completely destroyed their natural resources while encouraging corruption in the government and back-breaking slave labor. Although the diamond industry has attempted to establish regulations to make sure that jewelers only buy conflict-free diamonds, the system is not entirely fool-proof. It’s easy to smuggle the diamonds across borders and sell them illegally. Chances are, the big shiny rock you’ve been admiring at the jewelery store window was mined by slave labor or child labor.

So how can you avoid patronizing blood diamonds? If you really must buy your fiancee a diamond engagement ring, make sure your jeweler sells only conflict-free diamonds. Ask the sales person or the jeweler where their diamonds come from, if their company has a policy on conflict diamonds, and if they have a written guarantee from their diamond suppliers stating that their rocks are conflict-free. Alternately, you can check out vintage jewelry stores and see if they carry diamond engagement rings. Vintage jewelry has more character and history than brand-new ones, and are just as elegant and classy as those you can buy from a store.

You can also choose to get your fiancee an engagement ring or wedding bands made out of semi-precious stones like opals, sapphires, moonstones, or your birthstones.

With a little awareness and ethical decision making, you can play a small but significant part in reducing the demand for blood diamonds and putting a stop to the blood diamond trade.

For more information on blood diamonds, check out the following articles and websites:
Combating Blood Diamonds: The Diamond Industry’s Failure
Stop Blood Diamonds
Measuring a Diamond’s True Price
The Consumer’s Guide to Blood Diamonds

If you ask me, antique engagement rings have more character and taste than modern engagement rings. They’re more than just jewelry; they’re a testament to history and good old-fashioned fine craftsmanship. Even with modern technology it is difficult to replicate the intricate detail of antique engagement rings, so they will continue to appreciate in value over time.

The best antique engagement rings are the ones from the turn of the century (the late Victorian era) up until the 1940’s. Jewelry from different eras have their own unique characteristics. Victorian era engagement rings and jewelry made until the 1920’s have fine, filigree detail on the mounting and were often made in platinum or white gold. Engagement rings in the 1930’s and 1940’s had smaller diamonds and intricate carvings on the ring shank. They were made out of yellow gold and white cold (or a combination of both) and the diamond is set in a gold, square-shaped box which enhances the size and color of the stone. Diamonds in a 1940-era engagement ring looks larger than diamonds in the traditional solitaire setting.

The carat and clarity of the diamond is still the primary determinant of an antique engagement ring’s price. The larger and clearer the stone, the more expensive it will be. If you don’t have a lot of money to spend on an antique engagement ring, consider an art deco ring, a style popular in the 1930’s and 1940’s. As mentioned earlier, rings made in the 1930’s and 1940’s were mounted in elaborate, square-shaped boxes that gave the illusion of a larger diamond, giving you the look of a bigger diamond for the price of a small one.

When looking at antique engagement rings, make sure that the diamond and other stones are secure and their prongs are not work. Watch out for thinning shanks or any breaks in the filigree work. To maintain and care for the antique engagement ring, have a trusted jeweler clean the ring every year.

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If you thought that the veil is the only thing you can wear on your hair during your wedding day, think again. To me, the most versatile hair accessory for brides out there is the bridal tiara – and I’m not talking about the ones that beauty queens wear on their head. A bridal tiara is basically a lightweight beaded band worn around the crown of the head or around the bun of an up-do. Any material can be used on a bridal tiara but the most elegant and romantic look can be achieved with Swarovski crystals – high-quality glass beads from Austria which are cut in such a way as to reflect light and make the entire accessory glitter and sparkle.

The best thing about Swarovski crystal bridal tiaras is that they can’t normally be bought off the shelves – you have to have one made by a jeweler. This means that each piece is unique and fully customizable. When choosing which Swarovski crystals you want on your tiara, I suggest that you look at the color combination of your bouquet and pick out beads that will complement and match your bouquet. For instance, a white and pink bridal tiara would look stunning on you while you carry a peach, white, and pink rose bouquet.

Ask your wedding planner if she knows of any local jewelers who makes custom bridal tiaras.

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