Tungsten Titanium
Comparing Titanium and Tungsten wedding rings
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.
1. Hardness
Titanium and tungsten are both known for the superior hardness over traditional metals such as gold, silver and platinum. One thing worth noting is that it is not the metals themselves in a pure form that possess the hardness, it is their alloys that do. Roughly speaking, the hardest form of tungsten carbide is harder than titanium alloys, and only under extreme circumstances, such as abrasion from diamonds, can it be damaged.
2. Ductility
Titanium is more ductile than tungsten in the common alloys used in jewelry. In other words, when a wedding ring is under high pressure, such as hit by a car door, a titanium ring would be bend out-of-round whereas a tungsten carbide ring would fracture into several pieces. Hence, in terms of safety, a tungsten carbide ring is “safer” to wear.
3. Hypoallergenic
This is the very same concern as buying silver jewelry to some people: Will I be allergic to the jewelry? In general, titanium jewelry is virtually safe to wear for everybody. Yet, some tungsten carbide jewelry contains the element cobalt that some people are allergic to. Interesting, another form of tungsten alloy using nickel as a binder metal is hypoallergenic, even to people who are allergic to nickel.
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.
5. Coloring
Titanium reacts with different chemicals and produces alloys of different colors. jewelry makers use anodization to coat colored patterns on titanium rings. Black titanium is another form of titanium alloy that has a different color than the commonly used grey color. On the other hand, tungsten carbide is usually offered on in black color only.
6. Pricing
Titanium jewelry is in general cheaper than tungsten jewelry primarily due to the difference in equipment and environment control need to produce them. The temperature for forming a tungsten carbide is about 6000 Fahrenheit, which has to be in either a vacuum or hydrogen environment.
7. Engraving and resizing
Titanium wedding rings can be engraved and resized. However, a tungsten carbide ring is too hard to be engraved or resized. Although engraving can be done, the letters will be very faint and difficult to read. So if you are buying to ring to engrave, get titanium rings.
About the Author
Scott Murff got his MBA from MIT business school and currently is the marketing manager in Titanium Kay that specializes in men’s titanium rings, titanium bracelets and tungsten wedding rings.
VIRTUALLY SCRATCH PROOF Tungsten jewelry Rings
|
|
W-Ti-Re-Sb’88: Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Metallurgy and Materials Science of Tungsten, Titanium, Rare Earths and Antim $319.00 Proceedings of the conference held in Changsha, China, Nov. 1988. In some 200 papers, participants from 27 countries discuss the latest research and developments on wide-ranging aspects of these key metals: from novel results on high temperature superconductors to cold rolling of tungsten, from mod… |
|
|
Cemented Tungsten Carbides: Production, Properties and Testing (Materials Science and Process Technology) $177.13 Written by an international expert, this book covers the processing, microstructure, and properties of cemented tungsten carbides. It is divided into 18 chapters covering wide areas from crystal structure to phase equilibria, production of metal and carbide powders, and much more. This book is ideal for researchers, plant engineers, and senior level students in metallurgical/mechanical/materials e… |
|
|
Studies in the Photo-Activity and Therapy of the Tungsten-Titanium Arc … |
|
|
… |
|
|
… |
|
|
EZOPower 2 USB Port 5000mAh Universal External Rechargeable Backup Battery+USB Charging Cable for CellPhone, PDA Mobile Phone, Ebook, MP3 Player, Portable Video Games Players and More!! $24.99 EZOPower External Backup Battery is the perfect solution for emergency power and power on the go. It includes a built-in battery that can be recharged by provided USB cable. 2 USB output could charge 2 devices (Cellphone, iPhone, iPod, MP3, Kindle, NDS, GPS, etc) at the same time. This is the perfect unit for campers, travelers, gadget enthusiasts, hikers, and power hungry consumers. Brand new E… |
|
|
… |
|
|
Prince TT Sovereign Prestrung Squash Racquet with Case $130.00 Headsize: 74.5 in/480cm; Cross Section: DURA 20-18 MM; Weight: 135g unstrung; Balance: 34.9cm; String: Sweet Perfection 17; String Pattern: 16×17… |
|
|
Used Callaway Tungsten Titanium Single Iron The Callaway Great Big Bertha iron is made of titanium, combined with a tungsten insert, that makes the clubhead just the right size for use in all conditions â?” from tee to rough and everything in between. Callaway Golfâ?TMs unique tungsten insert represents just 15 percent of the clubhead volume but 40 percent of the weight to keep the clubhead the ideal size and the center of gravity in the … |
|
|
QEP 10117 Tile Cutter Replacement Cutting Wheel, 7/8-Inch Titanium Coated Tungsten-Carbide $9.95 7/8″ Replacement Wheel, Cuts Wall & Floor Tile Up To 19″, 14″ Diagonally, Thick Heavy Duty Rubber Pads Prevent Tiles From Shifting, Linear Ball Bearing Slides For Smooth Scoring, Extra Thick Dual Chrome-Plated Rugged Steel Rails With Bumpers, Heavy Duty 26″ Aluminum Alloy Base Is Lightweight & Durable, Extra Long High Leverage Handle Makes Cutting Easier & Reduces Fatigue, Equipped With Replaceabl… |
