Diamonds on wedding band - are they supposed to go all the way around?

It's personal preference. Even the best fitted rings have a tendency to spin around to some degree and you would have to readjust it constantly. Wear and tear comment from a jeweler is highly suspect to me because most everyone knows that a diamond is the hardest material on the planet and the only thing that can damage it is another diamond. Find another jeweler who will let you buy what you want.


Symbolism is subjective to whatever the marketing is at the time and the bridal magazines are going for.

That's funny, my jeweler recommended the opposite. I got diamonds all the way around because when they're halfway around I constantly have to rotate it. I have a set of fake sterling silver/cubic zirconia rings that I use for international travel and the diamonds are halfway and he was right--I constantly have to rotate the ring. I have diamonds all the way around on my real ring and never have that problem

I would agree with the jeweler on this one - anyone I've known who's had diamonds all the way around mentions that they need to take it in for repair every so often. Not because the diamonds/stones themselves are broken, but because the constant wear and tear will damage the prongs, and the diamonds are much more likely to fall out. The point about re-sizing it also makes a ton of sense. Personally, i wouldn't spend the extra money on stones for the underside of the ring because of the above points (and because if I look down at my hand, I look down at my hand....I don't look at my palm), but it's your ring...if you and your future spouse want your wedding band to have rings all the way around, I'm sure the jeweler will oblige!

View Quoted Comment Exactly. It’s not the diamonds you have to worry about it’s the prongs. Unless you are committed to getting the pro bf a checks at least every 6 months and confident you will not need a resize for for 3/4 around. It isn’t expensive to get those little stones replaced but the more work you do the weaker it is.

I feel like this depends on you and your personal preference.

I like the look of a half eternity band, and prefer those over a full eternity band. I just like the idea of not having to worry about the bottom prongs damaging and the potential for diamonds to fall out.

Wedding bands have no rules. Get the one you like. If you worry about wear/tear, get it insured 😉

It's different for every ring. There's no rule.

You can wear whatever you want, but a true eternity band is going to undoubtedly be damaged by wear and tear. I’m a little confused on your thought process about this though. Tons of women have wedding bands with zero diamonds, and almost all men. Are their commitments not eternal because they don’t have a band of diamonds around their finger?

View Quoted Comment I agree. 23 years ago I and dh didn’t have money to buy rings when we eloped, and dh brother gave us plain gold rings for the church blessing. However, the rings didn’t fit, so we didn’t wear any until dh bought a pair in 2020 for our renewal. Dh didn’t wear it and probably would hate to wear it even after our renewal in 2022, but I know he is loyal and we are committed to this marriage, even if he is not wearing any ring.

Do whatever makes you happy. I opted not to have mine go all the way around because I didn’t want to damage them but it’s a personal choice.

For me, comfort wearing the ring is almost as important as looks (because I am wearing it every day for the rest of my life). I also prefer low maintenance things. I agree with everyone else that the prongs will wear out faster on the underside of your ring. I don't know why a jeweler's advice about that would be considered suspect (*especially* if they are consequently trying to sell a ring with fewer diamonds).

Anyway, try on a bunch of styles and really think about the comfort and your every day life (active hobbies? work with your hands?). Pick the ring you like the look of AND will enhance your life instead of become a hindrance.

I would get a 3/4 band. You can resize it. If it spins, the bare metal won't show


My e ring has 3/4 pave. Full eternities makes no sense to me.

View Quoted Comment What size is your ring? He said the sizing bar would be too small with my ring size if we did 3/4

My mom and uncle are jewelry wholesalers (sell to the stores) and they don't recommend eternity bands for that reason and that the prongs can be uncomfortable on the bottom half of the ring. My engagement ring and wedding band have pavé diamonds half way around. My rings spin sometimes, so I just flip them. It takes a fraction of a second. However, it's more comfortable, less risk of damage to the prongs, and also less expensive to not have extra diamonds that people won't actually see.

Some go all the way around, some go halfway, some have no diamonds on the band! It’s just a personal preference.

View Quoted Comment My ring was a 6.5. I had it resized to a 7
I'd get a second opinion about the 3/4 band in your size. I don't get why it's a problem if the sizing bar is too small. That shouldn't hurt the integrity of your ring.

Between a full eternity and a half, I would absolutely get a half. To me, the ability to wear a resizable ring for the rest of my life matters a lot more than the symbolism of a full eternity.
Finger sizes change with weather, diet, pregnancy, age.

View Quoted Comment Thank you! My ring size is a 4, which is pretty small. Thats why he’s concerned about the sizing bar being too small to be able to make any changes.

View Quoted Comment A size 4 ring would have to be special ordered, so the sizing bar size should be commensurate to the size of the rest of the ring.

Since gold is somewhat soft, over time your fingers make the rings more oval than circular, for most people. So they don't fit in just any position, and ones on the bottom begin to always be on the bottom. I inherited 2 rings, wedding with small diamonds all the way round. and engagement with a solitaire and stones all the way around. Neither is wearable until they are completely redone . The bottom of the bands that got a little rub every time my great aunt flexed her fingers, wore half the gold away over 40+ years, on the side toward the palm, so the stones are bigger than the remains of the band, which is more cutting edge thin. Used to seeing them only on auntie's hand, I had no idea how awful they had become. She had developed a huge callous on the underpart of her finger, on to the palm, almost half an inch round . Without that hard cushion, my mom and I tried them and though we have more slender fingers, ouch. I never thought about the gold that wears away under a ring til I started as a nurse. Some older people's wedding bands are worn til more like earring wire size. Now that I have ones with stones under, to look at, the problem becomes clear. These should have been reset, probably twice in the time she wore them.

I would also agree with the jeweler. Definitely would suggest a diamond wedding band that is an eternity band. A wedding band with diamonds all around the band. I have already chosen my wedding ring from diamond hedge in 18K white gold.