Buying rings in Ukraine.

[LatinSwede]

What's the going rate for a pair of plain wedding bands?  I never buy jewelry, even when I go to parts of the world (like Panama) where it's relatively cheaper.  To me it's just like another form of assets that'a pretty to look at, but better to lock away for a rainy day.  For sentimental reasons, I'd rather buy it in her country.  IMO it would give them more meaning to us, instead of going to whatever chain store at the mall.  Please help, because I'm a total ingoramus on the matter.

From a personal standpoint, I don't like wearing jewelry.  I feel like I got this extra weight I don't need on my person.  A wedding band won't be too bad.  Otherwise jewelry is just something more of an asset han a vanity item.  To me they are indeed lovely to look at, but much better to quietly lock away somewhere incase of a rainy day.

[Jet]

We bought our rings in Russia 3+ yrs ago, with Lil's parents along to help pick them out. IIRC they are Russian graded 526 gold. Mine is 7mm wide, her's is 11mm. The whole family was shocked and delighted when I coughed up the $80.00 to pay for both rings  .

(By contrast, her first husband had borrowed $15 from his mom for the wedding ring, and once they'd opened their wedding gifts Mother-in-law demanded full payment out of the procedes  )

[Albert]

A big consideration here is what color of 'gold' ring your gal will prefer.

Pure gold is yellow, but pure gold is too soft for practical purposes.
Therefore, most 'gold' rings are a combination of gold and another metal.

The proportion of gold to other is designated in USA by the 'karat.'
A ring with 75% gold is 18 karat, 58.3% gold is 14 karat, etc.

The 'other' metal and its proportion is what will determine the resulting color of the ring.

In USA, the standard yellow gold colored rings come from gold and copper.  41.7% gold and 58.3% copper gives a 10 karat rating and the ring will still be a yellow color.  But as the proportion of copper is increased, the ring will take on a reddish color.  This is the color that many 'gold' items look like in the FSU.  In USA, such rings (i.e. below 10 karat) cannot be sold as 'gold' rings.

But, if any particular gal is used to seeing the reddish color, she may be happy with it and, of course, it will be (or should be) much cheaper.
However, when she wears such a ring in USA, locals may consider it to be 'fake.'

Many gold rings in USA are actually a white color.  The white color comes from mixing in nickel or palladium.

So color is something to discuss with your gal in deciding where you will buy the ring.  And it will depend a lot on whether she cares what others think of the color and its 'authenticity' as a gold ring.

[jb]

I bought our rings here in Texas at the mall, 14 Kt yellow gold matching bands.  Costs about $100.00 bucks.

Of course we are not talking about her engagement ring here, the 3 ct white diamond was a little bit more.

P.S. Strangely, my wife will not wear the diamond for fear it will be lost or stolen, so I had a faux ring made with a white sapphire of the same size that looks exactly like the diamond. I bought the stone from:
http://www.simplysapphires.com/

One similar:
http://www.simplysapphires.com/whiterns319.html

[Michelangelo]

We got our gold bands in Spain about a year ago.  Hers was about $100; mine about $150.  They are a combination of white and yellow gold with a very nice design.

[Michelangelo]

We later compared prices in Yalta and Dnepr and Kiev.  Prices were similar as the US and Spain. I guess gold is gold.

[Wild Orchid*]

A big consideration here is what color of 'gold' ring your gal will prefer.

Pure gold is yellow, but pure gold is too soft for practical purposes.
Therefore, most 'gold' rings are a combination of gold and another metal.

The proportion of gold to other is designated in USA by the 'karat.'
A ring with 75% gold is 18 karat, 58.3% gold is 14 karat, etc.

The 'other' metal and its proportion is what will determine the resulting color of the ring.

In USA, the standard yellow gold colored rings come from gold and copper.  41.7% gold and 58.3% copper gives a 10 karat rating and the ring will still be a yellow color.  But as the proportion of copper is increased, the ring will take on a reddish color.  This is the color that many 'gold' items look like in the FSU.  In USA, such rings (i.e. below 10 karat) cannot be sold as 'gold' rings.

Here in Au we have even 9 karat gold which is sort of grayish yellow color and have zero of pink tones in it. In Russia you can find 585 or 526 gold which may be pink but have 58,5% or 52.6% of gold in it - 14 karat according to you..

Gold Colors
Yellow gold is alloyed with silver and copper. It is the most frequently used type of gold there is. Malleable, ductile, and generally non-corrosive, it has a high melting point and is not susceptible to compression.

White gold is alloyed with a large percentage of silver, or a selection of other white metals. The percentage of gold naturally varies, according to the amount of other metal used. White gold is highly reflective and not subject to tarnish. The ancient term for it was Electrum. Its use predates that of Palladium and Platinum.

Rose gold is alloyed with copper, and perhaps silver. The proportions are about one part of copper to three parts of 24-karat gold.

[/quote]9 KARAT GOLD . This alloy is a combination of gold with silver and copper, but predominantly silver. 9K gold appeals specifically to the player who desires a silvery tone color, but with the added depth and projection ability of gold.[/quote]

[Bruce]

I think you are better off here.  Wildorchid had some excellent points.  The rose color you may find there probably is because of copper, which is not the reason one wants a gold ring to start with.  If you get a gold ring make it 18 carats at a minimum and preferably 24 carat.

You can get a male white gold band for between $40 and $80 dollars.  I got the thinest white gold (better than platinum for a man because though it is not as bright will not wear as poorly).  My wife's is platinum (I just do not like the look of diamonds in yellow gold) with diamonds - albeit much costlier, but it compelments her diamonds and my plain white gold band well   .