10/5/11

The Fantastic Selection of Tungsten

By Francine Cerise


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.

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.

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.

Tungsten carbide rings are twice as hard as steel, four times harder than titanium and virtually unscratchable. For decades tungsten carbide has been used in mining, aerospace, and other industries that have required a metal that is extremely hard and long lasting. Watch makers were the first to begin using tungsten carbide in jewelry, making watch bands that would never scratch. Since then tungsten carbide has emerged as a serious competitor in the ring industry due to its resilience, strength, and beauty.

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.




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