A lot of men have difficulties with jewelry. With most only wearing a cross or a simple golden chain, a lot miss rings. Rings have a very rich history going from an accessory only the rich and the noble would wear to signify their status, to wedding rings becoming a sign of commitment, to today, where rings can send all sorts of messages.
As a ring lover I myself have a collection which does not lay dormant on the shelf, but rather accompanies me every day. Wearing rings became so usual, that whenever I am without them I feel that my hands are missing a bit of weight. It is, however, important to understand what you are wearing and how to wear them.
First of all you have to understand that no matter what ring you wear it will probably be noticed. So if you have a ring with a burning skull, maybe consider not wearing it to a job interview, because as soon as you sit down, it will be noticed very quickly and undoubtedly raise a few questions. In fact, rings offer a massive amount of ways to express yourself, however they send messages whether you like it or not, so be conscious of what your ring choice might communicate to others. I love wearing at least one wooden ring. They are not the type a ring you see every day. Also when you make those rings yourself, when asked you leave a lasting impression.
You will have to determine which metal suits you best. In my case I leave gold untouched. Gold has to look very well and have an appropriate design. A golden wedding band is one of very few designs that I find to look good and be appropriate. Due to a large amount of counterfeiters and platers gold has lost a lot of its charm. High quality gold, made to suit the wearer is unmistakable and if you manage to find, afford and wear it with confidence, nobody will doubt its legitimacy. However in most cases when people see bulky amounts of gold the first thought that comes to mind is sprayed-on. No, it will not make you look like a gangster, rather it will make you look like someone who is easy to scam with worthless trinkets.
Another thing to consider with metals, is their ability to match. If you decide to wear multiple rings, you don’t have to go only gold or silver. I prefer wearing my silver ring with one out of stainless steel, one out of titanium and, and by no means do this if you are not 100 per cent certain of what you are doing, I like to throw another wooden ring into the mixt to give some indecisiveness. With gold, it depends on the shade, but the best choices are brass and copper.
When you get more adept and confident, when you also develop the feeling that there is something missing, when you are not wearing a ring, feel free to look at some funnier, brave options. Once I got a ring that covered the entire pinky-finger. Another time I visited this ethnic shop in Lithuania with my friends while we were looking for interesting accessories and I picked up this beautiful brass ring that was shaped like a snake. It would wrap around your finger three times and since the metal was quite soft, you could resize ant customize the ring right there.
So now that you know what a ring looks like let us talk about some very basic rules to wearing them:
The first thing you have to make sure you get right is balance. If I wear a wristwatch on my right hand, but I also want to wear a bulky, heavy ring, I should wear it on my left hand. Without a wristwatch, you might want to wear three rings. You should split them, wear two on your dominant hand.
Remember, you are not Nick Foulkes, just because he manages to wear a ring on every finger and still look as formal as he wants, doesn’t mean you can too. Fundamentally speaking, the more rings you wear, the less formal you look. This is a good thing if you are like me and find yourself one step away from sleeping in a suit. With a few more rings your overall look becomes less formal and your suit, though not unnoticed, eventually does not stand out as much. If you go to a wedding, job interview, or generally a formal gathering, however, one ring, no more, basta.
Make sure you also understand which finger to wear your ring on. Your fingers are as important as any other part, gentlemen. Your choice of fingers will yield different results. Let us start with your thumb. Historically some people would wear thumb rings, either to help them in archery, or to show their position in society, displaying that they do not need to work. Do not wear these rings. Yes they break the convention of ring wearing, however they are very uncomfortable and will hinder you in every day-to-day task. The pinky rings, traditionally, the signet ring, is designed to show off your family crest and your heritage. Feel free to wear a ring like that, be advised, however, that the outer fingers: pinky and index finger, will put your rings in the biggest danger of being scratched.
Your ring finger is literally called the ring finger. Though traditionally reserved for the wedding band, feel free to wear any ring you like. If you are feeling confident, put one ring on top of the other. This creates a fresh look as well as makes you stand out. Your middle finger can be the place for you most fragile rings, since they are protected by other fingers on either side. Finally your index finger. This is the finger that can take the most punishment. I like to put on the heaviest and the bulkiest rings on it. The finger offers little protection, so naturally the best rings are titanium and stainless steel. The only downside is your writing utensil might be bumping into your ring a lot.
Lastly and most importantly, break all the rules if you feel confident. If you know what you are doing go ahead mix metals while creating misbalance with unlatching rings in a black tie event, but only if you can get away with it.