The Tungsten Alternative
Over the past several years, tungsten has become an increasingly popular alternative to the more traditional metals used in wedding rings. This is especially true among men. After all, why walk around with a gold band when you could be strutting down the block sporting the latest designs in tungsten carbide alloys! There are several reasons why tungsten has become so trendy of late, and I believe it is time we examine some of the main points surrounding its surge in popularity, as well as some of its little known drawbacks.
First off and foremost, as stated earlier, tungsten is by far a more popular choice with men when buying wedding bands than it is for women. There are perhaps two practical reasons which could account for this: expense and durability. Tungsten, though difficult for jewelers to work with and extremely labor intensive due to its high melting point (at 6,192* F, it has the highest melting point of any metal), is none-the-less a far more cost efficient alternative for those budget minded individuals shopping for wedding rings. Should you balance it against any of the more common precious metals often used in the making of wedding bands, tungsten weighs in at pennies on the Dollar when making ounce-to-ounce price comparisons. Couple such considerations with tungsten’s durable, high ductility characteristics (it is very difficult to bend or dent, unlike gold or platinum); the metal becomes one desirable element for those seeking a wedding band of lasting quality and beauty.
“Beauty?” you might ask. Indeed! Do not let tungsten’s reputation as an industrial metal throw you off course. Tungsten has an unusual silvery luster, an almost mirror-like quality in its pure and polished form that many buyers find acutely appealing. Moreover, as a wedding ring, tungsten alloys can be just as desirous to modern buyers as more conventional metals due to the varied “color” schemes it reflects. Tungsten alloy wedding bands, though lacking in any true natural coloration, can run the black and white spectrum from the lightest of grayish hues all the way down to a high gloss black! Aesthetically speaking, many a ring shopper has been drawn to tungsten and its myriad of fine jewelry alloys due to their very nontraditional visual appeal. One final catalyst for excitement occurring within many buyers is the fact that tungsten is hypoallergenic, and so skin rashes and discoloration are non-issues when buying a tungsten wedding band.
However, like roses and thorns, tungsten too can find ways to prick the unaware consumer. Tungsten is such a hard, dense metal that specialized crafting techniques such as engraving and resizing are all but impossible. In the event you should purchase a Tungsten-carbide wedding ring, these types of feats of workmanship are impossible. So let the buyer beware!
When all is taken into account, it is easy to see why tungsten is becoming a more and more popular choice across North America and Europe for today’s conscientious wedding band consumer. Fair prices, fine craftsmanship and durability are phenomenal characteristics for any ring to possess, and tungsten wedding bands score high marks in all three categories.
Tags: alloy, alternative, bands, beauty, carbide, carbon, cost, durable, engrave, modern, resize, ring, rings, tungsten, wedding
