The Eclipse

I had a Vitaly black band before and the coating wore through at the base within a year. On this the black goes into the metal itself and the polished arc is machined through it rather than laid on, so there is no layer to come off.

My wife ordered it in a 12 after tracing my old band, and it went on close at the base. The detail I keep coming back to is that the polished arc does not run the full circumference. It stops about three quarters round, which you only see when you turn it.

The polished arc looked like a scratch when it arrived. A week later it was the only reason I liked the ring, because it breaks the black in one place rather than everywhere. Odd how that flipped.

I ordered it from a hotel room at eleven at night and it was at my door four days later. My last band was a plated black that had gone patchy; this one is black through, with the polished arc cut into it rather than printed over it.

It has been on since the ceremony in September. The polished arc runs along one edge only, so from most angles it reads as a plain black band and from one angle it does not. That suits me.

My partner had it sized to an 11 from a ring I never wear, and it sits close at the base without pressure. The inside is polished and domed, so the matt outside does not translate into anything you feel. It has not come off.

Size 11, worn daily for a year. The first outing was a funeral, where a plain black band was the right call. It has not loosened since.

Bought for my son when he graduated. Under a lamp the black reads flat and slightly grainy rather than glossy, which is what he wanted. He has had the size 10 on daily for seven months and it has not needed changing.

Six months in before I would say. Opening it, the surprise was the weight against my old titanium band, which had always felt like nothing. The practical difference is that I know this one is on, so I have stopped checking my hand.

Day one I thought the black was too much. By our November wedding a week later, under the candles at the reception, the polished arc was the only thing on my hand throwing light and three people asked about it. Settled.

Our second anniversary, given to me at breakfast, and my wife had expected the black to be a harder sell than it was. I put it on and left it on.

Still boxed when my wife handed it over. It runs around 15 grams, which I expected to notice and do not, and the inside is domed so it slides rather than catches. The matt black stops at the inner edge, where it goes polished.