What Is a Diamond Wedding Band?
A diamond wedding band (or diamond wedding ring) is any band set with diamonds. The five common configurations:
- Full eternity — diamonds all the way around.
- Three-quarter eternity — front and sides, bottom plain.
- Half eternity — diamonds across the top only.
- Pavé — many small diamonds set tightly across the upper surface.
- Accent — a few diamonds on an otherwise plain band.
Diamond bands are now ~65% of women’s wedding bands sold in the US — nearly 2-to-1 over plain metal.
Diamond Eternity Bands — Full, Half, and Three-Quarter
The diamond eternity band — diamonds running around the band’s circumference — comes in three variants:
- Full eternity — diamonds all the way around; most carat-dense (1.5–4 ct total). Cannot be resized, and the underside can press the next finger.
- Half eternity — diamonds across the top only; resizable, more comfortable, ~40–50% less than full eternity. The smart default.
- Three-quarter eternity — diamonds front and sides, bottom plain; the middle ground, still resizable.
Pavé Diamond Wedding Bands
A pavé band (French for ‘paved’) sets many small diamonds tightly across the top surface, with metal barely visible between them — a continuous strip of sparkle.
- Stones: 30–90 accent diamonds, each 0.005–0.02 ct (0.30–0.80 ct total).
- Setting: shared-prong or beaded-prong; inspect every 12–18 months (lifetime prong-tightening included).
