Difference Between Titanium and Tungsten Jewelry

Since their introduction, they have gained tremendous popularity and have become an integral part of the jewelry market spectrum.

Due to their newness and little exposure, these metals are often mysterious to customers. People have many questions about titanium and tungsten when shopping for jewelry. The followings are some points to consider if you’re thinking seriously about buying a titanium or tungsten wedding ring or other jewelry.

Hardness characteristics. Titanium and tungsten are both known for their superior hardness over traditional metals such as gold, silver, and platinum. It’s worth noting that it’s not just the pure metals themselves that possess hardness; it is their alloys that do. In general, the hardest alloy of tungsten is harder than the hardest alloy of titanium. It can only be damaged under extreme circumstances, such as abrasion from diamonds.

Ductility characteristics. In common jewelry alloys, titanium is more ductile than tungsten. This means, for example, that a titanium ring subjected to sufficiently high pressure, such as being hit by a car door, would bend out of round, while a tungsten ring would fracture into several pieces. In such a situation, a tungsten carbide ring is safer to wear than a titanium ring.

Hypoallergenic properties. While you might have to be concerned about having an allergic reaction to gold or silver jewelry, titanium jewelry is virtually safe for anybody to wear. Some tungsten carbide jewelry, however, contains cobalt, which some people are allergic to. Interestingly, a tungsten alloy using nickel as a binder metal is hypoallergenic even to people with an allergy to nickel.

Weight. Lighter than tungsten, titanium has a lower density. Titanium alloys are about 43 percent lighter than stainless steel and tungsten is about 90 percent heavier than stainless steel.

Coloring. Titanium, commonly gray, can be heated or exposed to different chemicals to produce alloys of different eye-catching colors. Jewelry makers anodize titanium to coat colored patterns on the surface. Black titanium is an alloy of titanium that is very popular. Tungsten carbide, on the other hand, is usually available only in black.

Cost. Titanium jewelry is usually cheaper than tungsten jewelry. This is primarily due to the difference in equipment and environment needed to work with the metals. The temperature for forming tungsten carbide is about 6000 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature can only be produced in either a vacuum or a hydrogen atmosphere.

Resizing and engraving. While titanium wedding rings can be engraved and resized, tungsten carbide rings are too hard to do this properly. Although tungsten can be engraved, the letters are very faint and difficult to read. If you want your rings or other jewelry to be engraved, choose titanium.