Your Love Has Just Gone Platinum

Getting ready to shop for wedding bands? here's our cheat sheet on the most commonly used materials – and what to know before you buy.

Precious Platnium

Here Are Some Tips:

• PLATINUM You can expect to pay a bit more, but this is the wedding ring equivalent of royalty. Pure white and far more rare than gold, platinum is also naturally hypoallergenic.

• SILVER Sterling is the most budget-friendly. Durability varies based on what alloys are mixed. For example, a platnium-silver blend is less expensive than pure platinum and has a whiter, more tarnish-resistant finish than regular sterling.

• TITANIUM The metal in your golf bag is incredingly showing up at the jeweler's. It's less shiny than traditional options, but strong and lightweight–perfect for the gal on the go.

• WHITE OR YELLOW GOLD A classic choice: it's cost-effetive and offered in various levels of purity. The colors are created by blending alloys-like copper for yellow, palladium for white. Watch out for scratches: Gold is a soft metal and shows wear quickly.