The Crest

Out of the box, size 10, it felt rigid next to the Enso silicone band I had been wearing at work. A week later that rigidity read as substance rather than discomfort. The box held the ring, a sizing set and a cloth.

Chosen by my wife for our fifth anniversary over the Tiffany band we had looked at. Day one the ridge felt higher than I wanted; by the end of the week I was running a thumb over it without noticing. She had expected that to take longer.

I had assumed a raised centre ridge would look like a bolt. Then it came out of the box, size 11, and went on clean at the base. Seeing the polished ridge sit between two brushed shoulders rather than on top of a flat face was what changed my mind. The box had a sizing gauge and a cloth.

Size 11, close at the base and over the knuckle without force. At a wedding in Kent in July the polished ridge held a single hard line of sun while the brushed shoulders stayed matt, and the bride's father asked whether it was two metals.

The band before this was flat and went dull all over. Two years of daily wear on this one and the marks have collected on the ridge, leaving the brushed shoulders as they were. Better arrangement.

The polished ridge sits maybe half a millimetre proud of the brushed shoulders, which is enough to catch light without turning the ring into a statement. Only gripe is that the ridge is where every mark lands, so it wants a wipe more often than the rest.

The first thing I did on opening the box was run a thumb across it, and the step up onto the ridge is defined enough to feel. Size 9, and it went on close at the base without needing soap.

My wife bought it for my fortieth. She had expected me to say it was too wide, and instead I have worn it every day for a year, through work gloves and a house move. Ridge is still crisp.

From seven in the morning to the end of our September wedding I never adjusted it once. The ridge is only on the outside; the inside is domed. It has been on since.

My husband bought it to replace the plain band I had worn since university. The difference is the centre ridge, which stands proud of the shoulders and is polished where they are brushed. The old one was flat the whole way across.

A year on from our October wedding, worn daily in a size 12, and the fit is where it started. It clears the knuckle and stops at the base without turning.

I clipped the ridge on a door frame in month two and went looking for damage. Size 10, close at the base, and the ridge had taken a small polish mark that has since blended into the rest of the polished line.