Is it safe to wear jewelry while playing sports?

I wanted to take a moment to a topic which was raised in the blog post “Are Halo Settings Easy to Break” wherein our client indicated that his girlfriend is extremely active and plays a lot of sports, while expressing concerns as to whether a halo setting, like the Kristy’s Halo from Brian Gavin which is pictured below, would hold up to her active lifestyle. I explain within that article that jewelry is designed to look delicate and be decorative, thus it is not really designed to hold up to the rigorous demands of most sporting activities. This is not to say that rings like halo settings are extremely delicate, but they are more delicate than a classic Solitaire.

Should jewelry be worn while working out?

Jewelry should be taken off before working out, and stored in a safe, secure place, to avoid the possibility of damaging the ring, and possibly even injuring yourself. While it might seem like working out with light weights does not present the potential to damage your ring, the reality is that over the course of time, repeatedly grabbing those weights can cause the bottom of your ring to bend; and if there are diamonds set within the band, the change in the arc and tension of the band can cause the diamonds to pop out.

Other activities such as clutching a bat, paddling a kayak, grabbing on to the handles of a treadmill or a stair stepper, and even repeatedly tapping the base of your ring against the steering wheel of your car can cause the bottom of the ring to bend and loosen the diamonds set in the ring.

Wearing your jewelry while working out or playing sports also presents the risk of bodily injury, because it is possible to catch the ring on a piece of equipment. Just the other day while I was at the gym working out, I witnessed a woman get her long necklace caught on a bolt that was located on the underside of the bench that she was lying on while doing an exercise… she was essentially pinned in place by the chain which was dangling loosely from her neck, thankfully her workout partner was able to unfasten the necklace and free it from the bolt without incident.

I realize that one of the challenges with advising our clients not to wear their engagement ring and other fine jewelry while working out, playing sports, and participating in other rigorous physical activity, is that most women don’t want to take their engagement ring off, especially in the gym where it also serves the purpose of signaling to the world that you’re off the market… this is where a classic wedding band which can be worn in place of your diamond engagement ring or wedding set can come in handy.

Many of our clients have purchased plain wedding bands to wear in place of their diamond engagement and wedding rings while travelling, and many of them report that they have found the rings to be a great investment because it provides them with an inexpensive ring to wear at work, or at times when they don’t want to appear too flashy.