Both titanium and tungsten are considered “model metals” in the jewelry industry because they were not available to the consumer market as commodities until ten years ago. They have gained tremendous popularity since the introduction and become an integral part of the jewelry material spectrum. Due to the rather little exposure, many questions arise concerning titanium and tungsten when it comes to choosing jewelry. The followings are some points of consideration if you are seriously thinking about buying a titanium or tungsten wedding ring.
Under normal conditions our rings will never scratch or lose their mirror like polish, in some rare instances rings may develop small micro-scratches that are faintly visible but do not diminish from the rings polish or look, if this does happen again, we will gladly exchange your ring for a new one. What does this mean? Whether working in the shop, outside, in the office, or on the mountain you can wear your ring without ever having to worry about scratching or damaging it.
If you are curious try rubbing your tungsten ring on a file, if it scratches it is not tungsten carbide, if it does not scratch, it is tungsten carbide. Our rings will not scratch. Titanium rings look great new, and usually are less expensive. It is very common for people to mistakenly believe that the two metals are either the same thing or equal.
Titanium is a strong metal but not resilient like tungsten carbide. Over time titanium rings will scratch and lose their polish thus needing to be refinished. Tungsten alone (not tungsten carbide) is also much like titanium. Without the carbide it does not gain its extreme hardness and durability.
4. Weight Titanium is lighter than tungsten, or more precisely, has a lower density. Titanium alloys are about 43% lighter than stainless steel and tungsten carbide is about 90% heavier than stainless steel.