With a flurry of engagements over the festive season, we’re now into prime wedding planning territory. While choosing the right engagement ring is fretted and mulled over for months, its life partner the wedding band can be something of an afterthought. But as a piece of jewellery you’ll wear for the rest of your life, it pays to spend a bit of time finding the perfect wedding ring.  The sheer volume of wedding bands out there is overwhelming so it’s worth narrowing your search by deciding on the basics. Traditionally the material will be dictated by the engagement ring – yellow gold is a timeless choice (14- or 18-carat is stronger than 22-carat gold and therefore more suitable for everyday wear), while white gold and platinum (the strongest, most durable metal) have become the most popular contemporary styles. Rose gold has seen a surge in popularity in recent years, as has mixing and matching metals.  “Whilst it is nice to have a wedding ring that complements the engagement ring, don't worry if you choose a wedding ring that does not perfectly match your engagement ring,” says Boodles director James Amos. “They are two separate rings for two separate reasons and sometimes it is good to be able to see the distinction.”  It’s also important to consider how the wedding band sits with your engagement ring. “I would always recommend choosing a wedding ring that is a similar width to the band of the engagement ring as you want it to be noticed but not to dominate,” says Amos. If the engagement ring has a very large central stone then this may cause a gap between it and the band, in which case it’s worth considering a shaped band or one which interlocks with the stone. Adds Amos: “You also might want to think ahead (sorry chaps) and leave room for an eternity ring”.  From then on, it’s a matter of taste – plain or diamond-set, classic or contemporary, timeless or a little unusual? To help with the search, we round up some of the best wedding rings to suit all styles and budgets.  Traditional and timelessBond Street’s big names offer traditional designs crafted using years of expertise and stamped with that all-important prestigious marque. Boodles’ Vintage half-hoop wedding band in platinum is a timeless eternity style; the perfect partner for a classic diamond engagement ring. De Beers’ Infinity ring is an elegant crossover design that’ll never date, while Messika’s Joy wedding band is a beautiful vintage-style choice.  “Engraving the inside of a wedding ring with initials, the wedding date or a romantic inscription is a perfect way of adding to the symbolism of such an important piece of jewellery,” says Amos.  In pictures: classic diamond engagement rings  “King of diamonds” Harry Winston offers reassuringly hefty, carat-heavy sparklers while Louis Vuitton’s white gold Monogram Infini band, inspired by the brand’s signature monogram print, is a more understated option for the modern bride. And if money is no object? It’d take a spectacular engagement ring to compete with David Morris’s one-off rose-cut diamond eternity band, complete with a mighty 3.76 carats of diamonds.  Classic with a twistFor the bride who wants something a little distinctive that she’ll still love come her ruby wedding anniversary, many of the traditional houses offer contemporary twists on classic designs – we love the jagged edges of Chaumet’s diamond-paved Bee My Love ring, and Bulgari’s Serpenti wedding band, inspired by the house’s snake motif.  She can still get her dream “name” without matching the bride next door: Tiffany & Co’s Schlumberger rope design is an individual spin on a traditional eternity band. If she can’t decide between white, yellow or rose gold, why not embrace all three, with Cartier’s triple-colour Trinity de Cartier ring – the pink signifying love, yellow fidelity and white for friendship.  Alternatively, look to modern and independent designers for inspiration: Anna Sheffield and Ruth Tomlinson both offer interesting interpretations of the simple gold band, while fashion-forward jewellers bring the diamond-studded eternity ring up to date with unique finishing touches; such as Alex Monroe’s hand-made, rough-textured Heritage band, or Tilda Biehn’s open-ended Comet ring.  Vintage-style and coloured stone engagement rings are becoming more popular, and coloured gem wedding bands complement them wonderfully. Historic London-based jeweller Heming offers a variety of classic and contemporary eternity rings set with blue, pink and yellow sapphires and rubies, and modern British designer Hattie Rickards creates Ultra rings with rubies, sapphires or a multi-coloured cacophony of precious stones.  In pictures: coloured-stone engagement rings  Rose goldThe allure of pink gold doesn’t seem to be waning and there’s been an explosion of rose gold engagement and wedding rings on the market in recent years. Chopard and Boucheron have recreated classic wedding bands in rose gold; the latter’s Quatre White Edition ring marries warm pink metal with white enamel and diamonds, reminiscent of the most princess-perfect wedding dress. The Perlée range from Van Cleef & Arpels is a popular alternative wedding ring choice, and the interlinked beads of metal now come in rose, as well as yellow and white, gold.  In pictures: rose gold engagement rings  Contemporary brides will love the bling of Theo Fennell’s 5 Row Spangle ring, while New York designer Monique Pean creates a vintage feel with her faceted Ascun band in recycled rose gold. Colorado-based jeweller Todd Reed proves that rose gold works just as well with black diamonds as with white sparklers, and Fabergé adds a dash of colour to proceedings with blue and pink sapphires, rubies, amethysts, fire opals and tsavorites neatly punctuating quilted pink gold.  Contemporary and unusualFor the bride whose tastes are left of centre, perusing rows upon rows of plain gold or predictable diamond eternity bands can be a thankless task. Luckily there are plenty of designers – big and small – who cater for unusual tastes.  The fashionable bride will love a forever ring from stylish French fine jewellery house Repossi – the brand’s heart-shaped Coeur d'Antifer diamond ring is a romantic choice, but the squiggles of the White Noise ring are “rock my wedding” territory. A big name doesn’t have to mean boring: Dior’s My Dior ring traps diamonds in a delicate cage of intertwined ropes in yellow, white or rose gold, while Asprey’s diamond-encrusted Oak Leaf ring has us dreaming of a woodland wedding and Chanel’s white ceramic Ultra ring screams modern minimalism.  In pictures: unusual engagement rings  Even houses not usually associated with bridal jewellery have a trick or two up their sleeve: the Allegra ring by de Grisogono (named after the eldest daughter of the brand’s founder) is an exuberant spiral of several bands, representing endless love over and over again. Rings which interlock with the engagement ring, as opposed to being worn alongside it, are also gaining favour: Hatton Garden-founded jeweller Shaun Leane’s Entwined wedding rings entrap a diamond solitaire in an eye-catching and edgy embrace.  And to prove that married life needn’t lead to banality, Raphaele Canot’s Oh My God ring starts things off in a playful vein: what looks from above like a delicate band of diamonds reveals itself side-on to be a cheeky pair of lips carved from red enamel. Who said marriage was boring?
Festive engagement? From traditional diamond eternity bands to contemporary rose gold designs, we choose the best wedding rings with which to seal the deal