Eternity bands - full or half?

[Polkadottablecloth]

DH and I have hit 25 years and are considering an eternity band. Does anyone wear a full eternity band all the time? I want to wear it constantly, on my right had not stacked with my wedding ring, but the full ones look uncomfortable with the stones at the bottom on the ring as well as bulky. have tried some on and obviously they feel a bit weird but I don’t wear rings much anyway so anything would!

Does anyone wear one full time or would a half band be a better idea?

There are various settings that aren't bulky, ie channel, bead, shared prong.

I wear a half band, though mine is stacked between my wedding and engagement rings

I have a half and i wear it with my wedding and engagement rings

Thanks, I was looking at a channel setting and even then it is quite bulky but the stones are more protected. I haven’t yet met anyone who wears a full eternity band all the time but have read lots about them being uncomfortable.

i don’t want to spend money of a ring I won’t wear, much prefer to get a half and wear it all the time. It will be cheaper too but I like the look of the full.

I tried on a few full eternity bands when looking and just wasn’t quite sure they’d be comfortable, plus I’d be worried about damaging the stones on the palm side.
I went for 1/2 eternity and don’t regret it

I have a half channel as my engagement ring and have always loved it . I tried a full one on but it didn’t “sit” well for some reason on my finger

I have a full band channel set, I liked the idea of equating eternity with an unbroken circle - sorry, can’t attach a proper image. I’ve not found it bulky at all (worn 24/7)

And how comfortable is the cat? Does it get in the way? 😺

Im a jeweller and would usually recommend a half eternity ring rather than full. If setting with (natural) diamonds its usually cheaper, and if needed at a future date, its much easier to re-size. Also diamonds (or other stones) are much more liable to break on the inside of your hand.

Also (and this applies to full eternity or half eternity rings) look for designs, or ask, if you are having one made, that are solid on the inside (not fully drilled) This means its stronger and less likely to get mis-shapen and avoids dirt building up on the back of the stones

My husband just bought me a half band channel diamond set. He was going to get full band but asked me beforehand and having seen some of my elder relatives full band I’d decided that for me to wear everyday it would be impractical. I’m really happy with half band and think full band would have been annoying to wear daily. My half band stacks nicely with my wedding and engagement ring.

The half is definitely more comfortable. I can always feel stones between my fingers when I wear a full ring. The half is also more practical if you're going to wear it all the time, for instance if you're going rock climbing you don't need to worry about hitting the stones against the rocks.

I have a full band that I wear all the time on my right hand. I think it’s rub over setting.
It’s not at all uncomfortable to wear. The place it is most awkward i guess is the sides between the fingers, as I can’t get my fingers fully together. But it’s not uncomfortable in any way - I’ve just looked at my hand now and tried to think about it.
I have definitely damaged the stones but then I’m quite clumsy and one cracked when otherwise it would have been my finger being crushed so not to bad a result! The only drawback I would say is that I scratch things like the inside of car door handles with it over time.
Personally I prefer the look of a full band, so that’s what we went for. I had it designed and made for me and hadn’t ever tried on an eternity ring before, so I’ve no idea if others are more or less comfortable.

@Defiantly41 love your cat, how fluffy! Yours is a similar style to the one I was looking at. I like the idea of the unbroken circle too but all the points you are making @Anonmousseare almost the opposite to what we were looking at. I am concerned about resizing, my mum and grandmother had significant arthritis in their finger joints and I have my grandmother’s ring that was resized to fit over her knuckles, it’s huge. Is it possible to resize a full eternity ring? Does it basically need to be remade?

When did they stop being called eternity rings?

Ditto wedding rings, come to that.

@Polkadottablecloth, sadly not my cat, a rescue kitten I just got a quick chance to cuddle before he went to his new home (with his brother, also adorable).

as far as I know, full bands have to be remade to have size adjustments, although my weight has varied by +/- 30kg and I’ve managed ok with mine, appreciate this is different with arthritis as chubbiness can usually be squeezed through!

It depends on the setting - if it's rub over or channel set it shouldn't cause discomfort.

Another consideration, unless money is no object, is aesthetic vs price - do you want fewer, better quality stones or a full ring of stones that might not be as high quality, and similar for metal carat/type - bearing in mind that only half the ring will be 'on show'?

Ultimately the best thing to do is try on different styles - hopefully you'll fall in love with one and feel it symbolises your marriage in the way you're looking for.

I have a wishbone shaped wedding ring, which my diamond cluster engagement ring fits nicely on top and then a wishbone half eternity ring sits with the wishbone point upwards...all fits nicely together.

My wedding ring is a half eternity. When I tried an eternity ring, it felt bulky and annoying between my fingers.

Half eternity here, I’ve had a full long ago and it lost sones, claws would catch.

I have a full eternity instead of a wedding ring and it is very comfortable. Excuse the wrinkly fingers but here’s a picture. I had it made by a jeweller at Hatton Garden and initially asked him for a Chanel set one but when I tried it on it looked much too chunky for my hand.

Sorry @Polkadottablecloth im not trying to put you off! Full eternity rings can usually be resized (without being remade) but its quite tricky. If you think about a plain piece of metal being inserted to make the band bigger, you can cut a piece to the exact size you need - or to make smaller, cut out the exact size. With diamonds its a bit more difficult because you are guided by the size of each stone iyswim.