Purchase any Engagement Ring and receive a $250 Gift Card for your Wedding Band. Ends soon.

Are You Allergic to Your Wedding Ring?

It’s the classic story:

Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Boy loses girl. Boy gets girl back. Boy marries girl. Girl develops allergies to wedding ring…

*Record scratch*

500Days

As you can see, being allergic to your wedding ring or engagement jewelry can put a damper on the whole Hollywood romance thing. However, the problem is relatively easy to solve with a little bit of knowledge and some precautions.

Here’s the deal:

What we want to avoid is a condition called “wedding-ring dermatitis,” a skin infection caused by a metal in your beautiful jewelry. It can strike years after you first say “I do” and put on the engagement ring.

What’s the cause of “wedding-ring dermatitis?”

The most common cause is an allergy to a metal in your ring. For most people, the culprit is nickel, which is included in various amounts in different jewelry, especially white gold engagement rings. That’s a big reason people will choose alternatives to gold, including platinum and palladium.  (read more about gold vs platinum jewelry here)

Allergies-Alternatives-for-Engagement-Rings

Nickel allergies are so common, in fact, that nickel was named Allergen of the Year in 2008. Apparently, nickel allergies affect about 24-36% of women and about 7-15% of men. So you’re not alone if you’ve got nickel allergies.

But here’s the crazy part:

You can develop nickel allergies at any time in your life. You could be married happily for 5 years when suddenly you develop allergies to your ring.

The other common cause of wedding-ring dermatitis is simply when moisture or soap get trapped under your ring. It can happen to anyone – allergies or not – and it can happen with any type of ring.

Both causes of irritation result in the same symptoms: a red, scaly rash under your ring that is itchy and annoying.

How Do You Tell The Difference?

Here’s a chart to explain the differences in causes:

AllergyIrritation
There’s nickel in your ringThere’s no nickel in your ring
Reaction comes on slowlyReaction comes on quickly
Reaction lasts longerIrritation clears up if you take the ring off and keep your finger clean and dry

Possible Solutions To Your Wedding Ring Allergies

First off, the best way to solve this problem is with prevention. Are you allergic to nickel? If you don’t know, you can tape a nickel coin to your arm for a day. If this results in a skin irritation, then you can assume you’re allergic.

If you have nickel allergies, look into alternative engagement and wedding rings. Rose gold is a good one. So is yellow gold. Indeed, platinum is wonderful as well. Whatever you do, ask your jeweler to make certain there is no nickel in your ring.

Check out this site for other nickel alternatives as well.

What if you developed nickel allergies late in the game?

Three possible solutions:

  1. Coat your ring in nail polish.
  2. Buy nickel guard.
  3. Have your jeweler plate the ring with rhodium.

None of these solutions are permanent, though. So you should have a long term plan as well.

If the problem isn’t allergies, but skin irritation, try these solutions:

  1. Use hand sanitizer instead of soap and water.
  2. Keep your hands dry.
  3. Use lotion on the affected spot.

In summary:

Prevention is best. If you’re allergic to nickel, look for alternatives that don’t contain nickel. The only way to be sure is to talk to your jeweler (call us!).

However, if allergies develop later, or if the irritation is due to trapped soap and moisture, there are steps you can take to resolve the issue (listed above).

If you have any question, don’t hesitate to reach out!

 

 

A Primer On Gold Wedding and Engagement Rings

A Primer On Gold Wedding and Engagement Rings

Karats and Metal Alloys

To start, pure 100% gold is measured by 24 karats. This means that anything less than 24 karats has metal alloys in the mix, which produces the different colors in gold engagement rings. Since most gold jewelry is either of the 14k or 18k variety, let’s explain what these mean.

  • 14 karat gold is comprised of 58.3% gold.
  • 18 karat gold is comprised of 75% gold. 18k gold is more expensive and more vivid than 14k gold, but it is more prone to tarnishing (as it is softer). All golds are cheaper than platinum though.

Because there are different metal alloys used (and different percentages), we can make different colored gold wedding rings.

Colored Gold

While pure gold is a sort of reddish yellow, colored gold can be produced in a few different shades.

The color of different gold engagement rings is actually determined by two factors:

  1. The type of alloy metal alloys in the mix.
  2. The percentage of said metal alloys.

Let’s look at the different types of colored gold:

White Gold

White gold is a mix of gold and at least one white metal – probably nickel, manganese or palladium. The gold is then plated with a hard element called rhodium. The silver hue that embodies white gold engagement rings actually derives from the hard rhodium-plating.

(note: white gold is often the worst for allergies, as it nickel allergies are fairly common)

Here’s a good example of a white gold ring, our Einstein band:

Einstein-White-Gold-Wedding-Ring

Rose, Red, and Pink Gold

Rose gold is widely used for specialized jewelry. It is a beautiful and warm gold and copper alloy (good as an alternative for those with nickel allergies). Variations such as red or pink gold are in the same category – the only differences coming from the amount of copper in the mix.

Here’s a rule of thumb: the higher the copper content, the stronger red the ring will be.

Here’s one of our favorite rose gold wedding rings, the Dunia:

Rose-Gold-Wedding-Ring

Yellow Gold

Yellow gold is what many people think of when they hear the world ‘gold.’ It is a distinct and warm yellow hue created by mixing pure gold with alloy metals like copper or zinc.

Here’s a photo of one of our favorite yellow gold wedding bands, the Tesla Band:

Tesla-band-yellow-gold

Purity

As explained previously, the gold engagement rings that you’re probably shopping for are not pure 100% gold. That would be 24k gold, and it would be far too soft to use in jewelry. Instead, in jewelry we use either 14k or 18k gold (58.3% gold and 75% gold respectively).

Which is better? Well, that’s all your preference. (note: read our guide on the differences between 14k and 18k rose gold for more information)

Here are the basic differences:

14k gold18k gold
58.3% gold75% gold
Less expensiveMore expensive
Less vividMore vivid
Less prone to tarnishingMore prone to tarnishing
Normal jewelryFine jewelry

Of course, it’s a bit more complicated than that, but this chart is a good heuristic.

Cost

As mentioned above, the cost of your gold engagement ring will depend on a few factors.

  1. The percentage of pure gold used.
  2. The types of alloys used.
  3. The craftsmanship of the ring.
  4. The market value gold.
  5. Where you buy it (taxes and whatnot)

Overall, though, gold rings are less expensive than platinum rings and are more expensive than silver rings.

Maintenance

Certain gold rings are more subjected to wear and tear than other rings (higher karat gold, especially). However, there are multiple ways you can care for your ring (we even put together this guide on cleaning your engagement ring).

Do Amore also offers free maintenance if you purchase a ring through our site (probably our second best benefit – behind providing two people with water for life!)