When looking for a wedding ring, one of the biggest factors influencing your decision is the price of the ring. Most people tend to go with the cheaper option which usually results in a ring with worse quality. Weddings involve tremendous expenses, from renting venues, arranging food, purchasing a wedding dress, and more. Because of this, it's easy to yield to temptation and purchase a ring of lesser quality to save money while retaining a refined look. In these cases, people often purchase a plated ring.

On the surface, these rings seem like a viable men's wedding ring choice. However, the truth is plated wedding rings lead to more problems than they solve. What kind of problems, you ask? To find that out, you'll have to read on!

When you're browsing online at places such as Amazon, you'll often see terms like "gold plated" or "gold filled"used to describe the ring. This means that the ring's base is likely tungsten or stainless steel. While these aren't poor metals in themselves, they're not up to par with gold. So, how do these rings get the same look as a standard ring?

Typically, designers accomplish this by coating the ring in a thin layer of gold. Now, because that gold is the most visible element, it looks just like a gold ring to the untrained eye. Unlike gold rings, though, these alternatives are much cheaper to produce, especially on a wide scale. If you ever see a ring that looks like it's made from gold but is extremely affordable, then it is likely plated gold and not solid. While this may sound amazing on paper because you get the best of both worlds - durability and affordability without having to worry about maintaining a solid gold ring, problems will quickly arise.

The chief problem with a plated ring is that the gold layer will inevitably fade. Depending on the maker of the ring, this fading could occur over months. Often though, it will only take weeks. This goes for painted gold plated and gold filled alternatives.

Gradual wear and tear on the ring's surface will cause the ring to fade. This fading accelerates through water exposure. Once the plating begins to fade, it will reveal the base metal underneath and you'll be left with a ring that looks nothing like the original one you ordered. Luckily, most jewelers who sell plated rings are wholesalers from China that will let you replace your ring when it inevitably fades. These sellers do not care if they have to replace your ring for free every few months because of their mass-producers with incredibly high margins. Still, you don't want to have to replace your wedding band every few months because you cheaped out for a ring of lesser quality.

If you buy a plated ring, understand that it's impossible to polish it without wearing down the filament. This filling is especially vulnerable to high-power polishing machines. These machines remove the entire layer of gold within seconds. This also means if your plated ring dulls over time and you want to touch it up, you cannot polish it without altering the overall look of the ring.