Many people today prefer white jewelry to the more formal looking yellow gold version , but in most cases, switching from yellow to white does not have a huge impact on price. White gold is almost as expensive as yellow gold, and lavish platinum jewelry always has a big price tag. So for a contemporary twist, investigate sterling silver rings. Sterling silver is very popular these days both because of its color and because it can be bought at far more affordable prices than its white gold or platinum cousins.
The other trick to think about when shopping for a ring that has a gemstone – especially if you had your heart set on it, but the budget didn’t stretch far enough – is to consider avoiding gold and looking at a sterling silver ring that has the same, or similar diamond, or whichever jewel you wanted. This way you get to save a lot of money on the metal band itself, but can often still get a beautiful stone set into it.
If you compare sterling silver rings set with diamonds against a similar ring made from yellow gold, you will notice how much cleaner the gemstones appear. Silvery white rings are great for their ability to show off diamonds in all their sparkling wonder, whereas yellow gold can sometimes make diamonds look a little murky. So your silver ring will, surprisingly, look better in many cases even though it was cheaper.
All genuine sterling silver jewelry should have a stamp of authenticity on it somewhere, and sterling silver rings are no different; the mark will be on the inside surface. More often than not, the stamp will be a maker’s mark and a “925″. The number refers to the parts per thousand of silver in the alloy, the rest being copper. When you are buying, ask the jeweler about authenticity, as sometimes there will not be a “925″ stamped into the jewelry; some makers use pictorial symbols such as a lion to denote that it is sterling silver.
If in doubt, always walk away and check at your local library or online to make sure the symbol really is a genuine maker’s mark. You can always go back and get your sterling silver ring later, once you are comfortable that it is the real deal!