Are Titanium And Tungsten Wedding Rings For Life?
When faced with the once-a-life-time decision of choosing a wedding band ring, everyone should do their own research in order to make sure they get the piece that can symbolize the eternality of marriage. For those who are seriously considering of buying the modern metals (titanium or tungsten) as wedding rings, here are some thoughts that are worth considering.
Will they be scratched?
Although titanium wedding bands are very strong and durable, the surface of the rings can actually be scratched. It takes another extremely hard object such as diamond to cut into the metal; however, it does not get damaged during normal daily use. For titanium rings with gold, silver or platinum inlay, the inlay part of the ring is as vulnerable as a ring that is made of the precious metal itself. In the case of minor a blemish, a titanium ring can be re-polished or refinished to restore the original appearance. On the other hand, tungsten rings are totally resistant to abrasions. Since tungsten carbide, the most common grade of tungsten alloy offered in the market, is extremely hard, it will NEVER get scratched.
Will they be bent out of shape?
Both titanium and tungsten have extremely high ductile strength. However, under extremely circumstances, titanium rings could bend out of round but a tungsten ring could not. If a high pressure is applied on a titanium ring, which could happen when being hit by a car door, the ring would bend when the force is strong enough. On the other hand, a tungsten ring stands a better chance of remaining intact, because tungsten in general is harder than titanium. However, once the force goes beyond the threshold, the tungsten ring will be fractured into several pieces instead of bend out of round. This characteristic, which we refer to as being brittle, is similar to that of diamonds whereas it is extremely hard but not ductile at all.
Will the color turn?
Neither of the metals will turn color. Titanium and tungsten alloy are biological inert and do not turn color with normal usage such as being exposed to the sun, in contact with sea water or cosmetic products.
Can they be resized?
The possibility of getting resized might be important since we gain or lose weight in the future. Due to the extraordinary high melting points of titanium and tungsten alloys, they cannot be cut and welded like traditional precious metals. Hence, resizing is more difficult, if not possible. Titanium wedding rings can be compressed or stretched up to one size, if there are no stones or inlay on the rings, with the help of special equipment. However, tungsten carbide wedding rings can not be resized at all. Therefore, one must measure the ring size carefully, possibility averaging the finger sizes at different times of the day, in order to avoid any sizing problem after the titanium or tungsten wedding band rings.
