Why Tungsten Wedding Bands
TUNGSTEN RINGS
Tungsten rings have become one of the most popular choices in the past decade for men’s wedding bands. According to jewelry industry sources, many jewelers report selling more tungsten rings for men than white gold or platinum rings. As of September 1, 2011, a typical tungsten wedding band is in the $225 price range. A similar ring in platinum will run about $1900, while a white gold wedding band will be around $750.
Many guys report that they like the coolness factor of wearing a tungsten ring. It’s a newer metal choice than what their fathers had, has a “manly” look and feel to it. Tungsten rings have a permanent polish to them, and very seldom ever exhibit scratching. No other metal choice can say this!
Tungsten Rings are a steel-grayish color, when highly polished exhibit a mirror like reflection. However, just like wedding bands of other materials a Tungsten Ring can also have other finishes, like matte or satin.
Why Choose a Tungsten Ring for your Wedding Band?
There are many benefits to choosing a Tungsten Ring for your wedding band. Probably the most appealing aspect is that a Tungsten Ring will probably never scratch! Imagine wearing a ring for decades and it always has that new polish. Because of its hardness, very few things that ever come in contact with a Tungsten Ring will scratch it.
Another feature that many men like is the heavier weight of a Tungsten Ring. It feels and looks masculine. The material used in a Tungsten Rings is very dense, unlike a titanium ring.
But probably the biggest influencing factor in so many men choosing a ring or wedding band of Tungsten is that of budget. Most Tungsten Rings will be in the $200 range, whereas a similar ring of platinum is close to $2,000! And a typical 14K white gold wedding band is near $750. (Prices as of September 1, 2011.) So a Tungsten Ring is affordable, stays looking new forever, and feels really cool when you wear it!
Q & A:
What exactly is a Tungsten Ring made of: Most Tungsten Rings are actually made of a combination of Tungsten and Carbide. Equal parts of ground Tungsten powders are combined with Carbide, then formed into shape using a binder, typically nickel. The ring is forged together at over 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit! Then the ring is polished with a diamond compound resulting in a finish that is almost impervious to scuffing or scratching.
Tungsten Carbide, with the chemical element symbol of WC, is listed on the periodic table of elements.
How hard is Tungsten Ring?
Tungsten Carbide Rings are actually harder than a Tungsten Ring without Carbide. A Tungsten Carbide ring is between 8.5 – 9.0 on the Mohs hardness scale, comparable to mineral Corundum (sapphire or ruby.) By comparison a diamond is a 10.0 and the hardest substance on earth. So the only thing that can scratch or scuff the surface of a Tungsten Ring is something that is of equal or greater in hardness. For example, a metal file with a diamond edge can scratch it, as could some concrete products that contain Corundum in them.
Compared to other jewelry materials, a Tungsten Ring is 3-5 X harder than steel rings, 4 X harder than titanium rings, and a whopping 10 X harder than a 18K gold ring!
For those of you tech people, Tungsten Carbide has a Vickers hardness of 2242.
Where does the name TUNGSTEN come from?
From the Swedish words tung sten meaning heavy stone. A steel-gray metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as a metal in 1783. Its important ores include wolframite and scheelite.
What is the history of Tungsten Carbide?
Tungsten Carbide was originally developed in Germany in the 1920’s as there was a requirement for die materials that were able to stand up to the high wear encountered in the drawing of tungsten filaments for light bulbs.
How long have Tungsten Rings been made?
This writer has personally spoken with a Tungsten Carbide tool and die shop located in the south eastern part of the U.S. that saw the benefits of Tungsten Rings and began manufacturing them back in the 1960’s. However, the first successful jewelry designer using tungsten was Trent West with his TREW TUNGSTEN collection of Tungsten Rings in the 1990’s.