I wear my ring all the time, though when I first got it it bothered me, as I’d never really worn jewlery before, so I took it off at night.
If I leave it on the windowsill after a shower and go downstairs it bothers me and I have to get it right away. This over-reaction is probably caused by the first time I left the house without it. We were 200 miles into a 400 mile journey to the airport for our honeymoon when I realise the ring is still on my bedside table.
Among wedding ring wearers I have noticed that some are quite militant about it.
“Chela you’re not wearing your ring and neither is Kim what’s up with you two, having problems?”
“If the rings don’t fit anymore you must get them resized. Whattsa matter which you dont you like sparklies? Its an investment, go to Jarrods!”
meh, just don’t place much importance or attachment on jewelry. What I would like is a silver bangle for each of us to wear (at given times together), i like bracelets on guys (my guy). 
I’ve been married twice. The first time I didn’t wear my ring but here and there. I never wanted to, didn’t like it. I think it might have a bit to do with the fact that the two of us argued all the time.
I now wear my ring almost all the time. I don’t always wear it swimming since I used to think it would come off duirng fly workouts, but it doesn’t. I don’t wear it during swim meets because I’m afraid to get it caught on the starting blocks. There are times at night when my fingers swell a bit and it hurts I’ll take it off, and if I might be doing something that I could get my ring caught. Other then that I wear it.
I would wear one, but I certainly understand the tradesman who doesn’t. It isn’t just a convenience thing - it could be hazardous.
By the way, on the “symbol that he’s taken” argument…
Unfortunately no. Well, yes, technically it’s a symbol that he’s “taken”. But my husband gets more flirting and dates when he wears his ring than when he doesn’t. The presence of a ring not only doesn’t discourage other women, it seems to *encourage *them. (I wish the same could be said of men! 
)
We have an open marriage, remember, so it seems we’re uniquely positioned to notice such things without drama.
I wear mine all the time (except when doing heavy cleaning). Only Mostly Dead wears his in the same manner, except he also removes his when golfing (mine’s too thin to bother me, while his has some heft to it.)
I’d be a little upset if he chose not to wear it (as he has a job that does not run any risk of losing a finger), since not only is it that “symbol of our love” junk, but we had it custom made and it’s awesome. (cite) His is the white-gold mobius band on the left. Mine’s the boring one on the right. (I wish I had one too, but it wouldn’t work well with my engagement ring.)
I wear mine pretty much all of the time. When I used to box, it got really bent out of shape. So I started taking it off when punching.
My dad was a machinist, and would not wear any rings.
My wife has several different sets of “wedding” rings - gold, white gold, etc. Wears different ones at different times.
I just have the one thin gold band. It used to have a pretty brushed pattern, but has worn smooth and shiny over the decades. Has acquired quite a few nicks and dents along the way. Right now I don’t think I could get it over the knuckle without a major effort.
I recently mentioned to my wife the recent thread on tungsten rings. They sounded really cool to me. She asked me if I would like to get a new ring. But this old ring has been through a lot these past 20 years. That means more to me than the pleasure I would get from a new ring.
My girlfriend has a positively beautiful ring, and never wears it. I have no problem with the symbolism (or lack of it); I just like looking at that ring! Her husband doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, so there it sits in a drawer, depriving me of the occasional “ooooh! Aaaaaah!” when I see her.
ID Bracelets! I love that retro idea!
My husband doesn’t wear his at work - he’s a service manager so I don’t expect him to, he could lose a finger that way.
I sometimes can’t wear mine because my finger occasionally develops a reaction - but my finger has a ring shaped scar from previous reactions. I may not wear it during photo shoots as it’s better not to call attention to the fact you are married - it can typecast you.
Neitehr one of us mind - we know we are married and have no concerns about either one cheating.
My husband wears his pretty much all the time, but he’s a mathemetician so it doesn’t really get in the way of his work.
My BIL doesn’t wear his often, since like the guy in the OP, he works with his hands. I wouldn’t wear my wedding ring if I was going to get axle grease and oil on it all day, either. Doesn’t seem to bother my sister. He does usually wear it when he’s not working.
My father has one but never wears it. It’s too small now, but he’s actually allergic to something in it so he never got into the habit, and by the time my parents could afford a better ring, they decided it didn’t really matter and they’d rather spend the money on something else. He still has the ring, though.
I wouldn’t wear one. I don’t wear any rings or watches with metal bands because of concerns about safety. I’ve seen too many pictures of what can happen to your fingers when a ring completes an electrical circuit. Rather than have to remember to take the stuff off, it’s simpler to not wear anything that could create a safety hazard.
I wear mine almost all the time, though I do take it off ocassionally when shaving or working with solvents and stuff (shaving lotion and other stuff can get under the ring and chafe or burn my skin.) Otherwise, it’s on my finger, 24/7. I’ve cleaned concrete, wood glue, dog poop, baby puke and house paint out of the dozens of indentations and crevices in my wedding band, but it never occurs to me to just take it off.
My husband wears his every day. He’s not really a jewelry kind of guy, but loves the ring I picked out for him. If he still worked construction, like he did before we were married, I’m sure he wouldn’t wear it. Too dangerous.
My dad rarely wore his when he and my mom were married. The original ring didn’t fit and the one he got to replace it barely fit. He has huge hands. I don’t know if he’s got a wedding ring now, in his second marriage. Hmmm … now I’m curious and will have to be sure to check the next time I see him.
I rarely wore mine before I was separated. It just wasn’t my style although it is beautiful and will be passed on to my daughter. My (soon to be ex) always wore his and refuses to take it off even after the divorce is final. If he cared that I didn’t wear mine (other than special occasions), he never mentioned it.
First of all, my husband does wear a wedding ring. He wears it almost all the time (except when he is doing some sort of hand work which would make it dangerous). He works a desk job, so it isn’t dangerous on a day-to-day basis. I wouldn’t care if he didn’t want to wear one. In fact, he lost his first ring while aboard a ship that didn’t want them worn in spaces – he forgot to leave it in his stateroom and put it in his pocket when he went to work. Then he forgot to take it back out of his pocket before he sent the shirt to the laundry. He was much more upset about this loss than I was – I told him not to bother to buy a new one if he didn’t want to. But he did want to and he’s worn the new ring for the last 15 years. We’ve been married for 21 years, BTW.
My dad has never worn a ring. He was a welder and has a number of extremely gory stories about men who lost fingers through the wearing of rings while working. Anyway, he just isn’t a jewelry guy. My mother doesn’t care. When my folks were married (in 1957) it wasn’t at all uncommon for a man not to own a wedding ring – particularly in the blue-collar circles they ran in at the time.
In fact, wedding rings for men are not at all traditional. They were ‘invented’ by the jewelry industry (the same folk who brought you the ‘traditional’ diamond engagement ring and the ‘traditional’ 3-months-salary budget for engagement rings) at around the turn of the last century. Prior to that almost all weddings were single-ring, and only women wore wedding rings in the vast majority of cases. Wedding rings for men caught on slowly – they didn’t really become popular until WWII and it wasn’t until the 1950s that more wedding ceremonies were double-ring than single.
To wrap up – I think that the wearing of jewelry ought to be up to the wearer. I hate to see women pressuring their men into wearing rings they don’t want to wear for whatever reason. The comparison I like to make is with a woman changing her name after the wedding. None of us would be insisting that a woman take her husband’s name if she didn’t want to. Most of us consider that decision to be her business, since it it her name. And yet there is a great deal more tradition behind the notion that a wife takes her husband’s name than there is behind the notion that all husband’s must wear wedding rings. His hand; his business, as far as I’m concerned.
My husband wears his ring more than I wear mine.
This is because I take mine off before I shower and sleep at night. I do this because it’s a little loose and if I don’t take it off before I shower, it has a tendency to fly off the finger, which leads to a really quite awkward naked scramble around the shower playing “find the freaking ring”. Also, I’ve had it come off at night while I was sleeping. As our cats tend to view any object on the floor smaller than a pair of pants as a toy, the ring is in serious jeopardy of suffering the fate of cat toys (i.e., disappearing under a random bit of furniature until the next time that piece is moved).
Also, there’s the fact that I have contact metal allergies. Finding a ring that didn’t trigger an exceptionally nasty rash/burning itch/sudden swelling/hives was tricky. After a lot of experimentation (which was a little aggravating because one can’t generally return a ring because “it made my finger ooze”), we found that sterling silver will work (gold, platinum and titanium did not). I still don’t want to tempt fate by leaving it on 24/7 though.
My husband, however, wears his at all times.
I wouldn’t be particularly bothered if he didn’t. He insisted, actually. He also insisted on getting himself an engagement ring which he also wore 24/7 until the wedding at which time the same ring magically morphed from engagement ring to wedding ring
Besides degloving, if you work around electricity a ring or a metal watch band can provide a dandy path to ground for very large amounts of current resulting in second or third degree burns.
I had a technician reach for something in an engine compartment. His watch band shorted out a non fused battery lead. It arc welded itself in place, and gave his a nasty set of burns. By the time he tore his arm free, he had some very serious second degree burns. :eek:
You might want to think about that **1920s Style “Death Ray” **
Sheckstress wears hers all the time, except for gardening and cleaning.
I rarely wear mine, mostly due to forgetfulness. I can’t do it while diving or biking without fear of it slipping off, and at work and school I talk about her constantly.
In short, I know I’m married, I never put out signals to the contrary. Actually, at the University, having the ring on made me MORE of a target for the creepy girls with something to prove.
Word. I saw a picture in a model aircraft mag about what happened when a wedding ring shorted out a biggish NiCd battery. It wasn’t pretty.
Mind you, if it had been a LiPoly battery, the short could have ignited the battery as well. :eek:
I wear mine most of the time. I take it off when I’m doing something that would beat up the ring or hurt my finger. When my finger joints start talking rudely to me, there’s a little less pain without the ring.
This Saturday, March 10, we’ll have been married 28 years.
