What Are Titanium and Zircoium Rings?
Contributor September 29th, 2011
A modern material for the modern age, now available for state of the art jewellery and especially for the making of rings, these metals and their fantastic properties have revolutionised the jewellery world.
In colour, titanium more closely resembles platinum than white gold. It’s amazing properties make it a much treasured and exclusive material for rings designed to last forever, such as engagement and wedding rings. In addition, unlike white gold, it will never show any tinge of yellow even under the strongest and brightest light.
White gold, which is basically gold with an addition of rhodium to whiten the gold, will appear less than pure white in ordinary daylight.
Titanium also compares extremely favourably with the more traditional metals used for rings, in its durability and resistance to knocks and scratches. Whilst no metal will be guaranteed to remain free from scratches, the properties of Titanium will ensure it remains unblemished long after other softer metals such as gold or silver, for example.
It has therefore become a highly popular premium material for rings designed to be worn every day.
Particularly prized for tension rings where precision and strength are vital to provide maximum security to the stone, something even platinum cannot guarantee.
In creating titanium jewellery, the designer is freed from the constraints of weight and cost associated with other traditional metal. Your dream will be boldly expressed your into the solid and everlasting reality of your chosen wedding rings – a true marriage of art and science.
Titanium is as strong as steel but about 50% lighter making it one of the strongest metals currently available. Such is its durability that titanium has been used in space, at the bottom of the ocean and in the medical industry. Its strength to weight ratio favourably rivals that of steel and because it is non-reactive with air it will not oxidise and is hypoallergenic.
Titanium has many varied applications due to its particular structural characteristics and beneficial properties; it has become the preferred metal for prosthesis devices, such as hip replacements.
Zirconium is a sister metal to titanium. Zirconium is an ideal metal for rings, especially suited to state of the art and high tech designs currently favoured by modern couples. It comes in either a silver finish or a dark metal finish that is often favoured by men. This enables couples to have rings of similar design with the woman wearing a white ring and the man a black finish.
A special 5-hour heat treatment process that transforms the surface into a very hard and protective coating creates black zirconium rings. Nothing is added to the ring so the finish will remain and make the ring even more resistant. It is extremely rare for black zirconium rings to get damaged that may explain why in addition to its stunning and eye-catching colour, it is a favourite among men choosing a wedding band.
Extremely strong like titanium, it too will wear considerably better than a traditional 18 carat gold ring. Zirconium is also hypoallergenic and will not tarnish, making it a material of choice for wedding rings and engagement rings alike. Zirconium, much like titanium, is much lighter than other metals and its thermal properties have earned it a place in nuclear reactors.
Wedding rings made of zirconium will be light and extremely strong, making it an ideal choice for those involved in manual activities and worried about damaging their rings.
No other metal has had more of an impact on our modern lives. By choosing titanium or zirconium for your wedding ring you will be making a statement of durability. It has been said that if titanium and zirconium had been discovered earlier and mankind had possessed the skills it now possesses, they would now be the preferred metal over platinum and gold for all jewellery.