Have you noticed that tungsten rings for men have become more popular in the last few years? At least I’ve come across that new jewelry trend within my friend circle lately.
Moreover, as a jewelry fashion writer, I’ve noticed that female tungsten rings are also on the rise. Equipped with these facts, it’s maybe time for an in-depth overview of the pros and cons of tungsten rings before you purchase a tungsten carbide ring for him or her.
What are The Benefits of Tungsten Rings?
- Metal strength (the highest melting point metal)
- Scratch Resistance
- Production (cheaper than e.g. gold or platinum)
- Design (easier to shape and form top-notch rings)
- Durability (with proper usage)
- Health benefits (non-allergic skin reaction wearing)
- Low maintenance (unlike other metals)
- Ring engraves easily
- Price (in comparison to the metal quality or others)
- Resizable ring and much more
Tungsten Metal Strength Advantages
Tungsten is one of the hardest metals to date. In fact, it has the highest melting point of all natural metals mined and produced, which makes it a perfect jewelry even for men who would otherwise label themselves as non engagement ring wear men kind of type.
Jewelry Metal & Gemstone Hardness Scale
| Metal or Gemstone | Hardness Scale |
| Diamond | 10 |
| Tungsten Carbide | 9.5 |
| Titanium | 6.0 |
| Platinum | 4.0 |
| White Gold | 3,0 |
| Source: Litawear.com |
As you can see on this gemstone and metal hardness scale: Tungsten (chem: wolfram), also known as a tungsten carbide compound, is second only to a diamond stone when it comes to strength.
Where Tungsten is used
Many ice spikes and other winter machinery manufacturers use tungsten carbide for their products due to its steel stiffness. Moreover, even guitar strings and medical instruments facilities prefer tungsten metal quality.
So, it’s not just jewelry designers, but entire industries who are making use of the strength and sharpness advantages of tungsten metals.
Like many metals, tungsten comes in different quality grades.
This metal steel strength has many advantages when it comes to jewelry making of weddings bands and other fashion metals for men and women alike.
The highest melting point of all metals resistant to high temperatures translates tungsten into a unique metal with key features and benefits for producing, designing, and eventually selling tungsten jewelry rings of different shapes and price ranges.
What is Tungsten?
Tungsten is a metal alloy that consists mainly of tungsten metal mixed either with carbon or other metals like iron, nickel, etc. to give it its distinctive appearance. This turns tungsten into the hardest metal alloy harder than e.g. titanium. Tungsten rings come in different shapes, colors too.
#1 Tungsten Scratch Resistance Benefits
The strength and hardness of tungsten carbide have a direct positive effect on the daily usage of the jewelry piece of choice ranging from tungsten cuffs to earrings or necklaces.
For example, black tungsten jewelry rings for men are popular because of their practicability in blue-collar, engineering, outdoor, workshop, and other fields of work where many men still often find themselves.
A tungsten ring is, due to its above-mentioned hardness scale, quite scratch resistance and therefore a perfect match for many jobs that require to make one’s hands dirty, literally.
No surprise then, more and more tungsten rings for her in colors other than white (mostly white-silver, gray, or “gold”) are too being designed and sold. Tungsten scratch resistance is a selling point for all genders, of course.
Tungsten jewelry (9.5 hardness scale) is a great alternative to more widespread fashion accessories like white gold engagement rings, the latter possessing a 3.0 out of 10 hardness scale only.
White or rose gold is indeed a beautiful ring for her, however, it tends to scratch easily when not taken care of and may need to simply be put off before you make your hands dirty.
Tungsten, on the other hand, is as previously established quite scratch resistance and therein a perfect work and leisure jewelry, among other advantages.
#2 Tungsten Production Cost-Benefit
Besides metal strength and scratch resistance, tungsten carbide is a great metal regarding the cost of production, although the price is slightly on the rise (see further below for more).
As you may or may not know, mining most metals or gemstones is a tedious, dangerous, and often controversial undertaking as seen in the famous 2006 movie Blood Diamond with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, and Djimon Hounsou.
Tungsten metal production on the other is mainly mined and produced in China and Russia. From the reliability and future cost perspective maybe not a great deal, since the more producers the better.
However, from a precious metal investment standpoint definitely a viable stock to pick (you can’t trade tungsten in the US as it’s seen by Washington as a strategic, scarce resource, but you can buy tungsten mining company stocks instead).
Labor costs in Vietnam, Russia, or Bolivia are much lower than in Canada, the other top tungsten producer, albeit all tiny players in terms of output compared to China (Source).
For jewelry creation, the metal alloy is combined with other metals like carbon to have a shining jewelry finish, either with a light or dark appearance.
The cost of tungsten production often results in lower labor and transportation prices in comparison to comparable metals or gemstones like platinum or diamonds.
Precious Metal & Gemstone Prices vs Tungsten Carbide (Comparison Table)
| Metal & Gemstone | Price in USD ($) |
| Diamond (1carat) | 1.910 |
| Platinum (in gram) | 27.60 |
| Titanium (lb) | 30.00 |
| Tungsten (lb) | 200 |
| Source:Litawear.com, Market prices vary, different units calculations for metals/stones applied. |
The comparison table above gives you a good overview of different metals and gemstones regarding the asking price on the various marketplaces.
Tungsten metal is, regarding production and costs reliable metal jewelry from production centers that are mainly interested in keeping the price and product at a stable quality.
Though future risks may arise due to higher demand, increasing labor costs, and related factors in a recently turbulent global market volatility.
#3 Tungsten Jewelry Design Edge
One of the great advantages of tungsten jewelry is its ability to create great designs while making it near unbreakable for daily activities.
One can even purchase tungsten-plated wedding rings that resemble luxury jewelry that is usually expensive.
From processing technologies to jewelry ring design the high density and low thermal expansion combined with high-temperature resistance is a dream come true for some creative jewelry makers to design a unique tungsten ring (Source).
This welcomed metal quality may also be considered by some as a design weakness since a high melting point can also lead to more difficult jewelry forming.
Nevertheless, personalized tungsten rings for men in black with different customizations ranging from a simple name to special dates and events is a great gift from her to him, which is not always an easy fit to accomplish.
Though big girls too enjoy wearing a unique promise ring, that is comparably low in maintenance but high in durability.
#4 Tungsten Jewelry Health Benefits: Pros and Cons
Another benefit of slipping a tungsten ring on your finger is health. Not all pieces of jewelry are created equal when it comes to health-related issues.
Benefits of Tungsten Health-wise
- Tungsten is a typical non-allergic metal due to its ability of corossion-resistance
- Doesn’t turn green, tarnish or wear off easily (if any)
- Withstands oxidation process, acids, and alkalis
- Unlikely to cause allergic reaction
- No known tungsten chronic disease effects
With this knowledge at hand, you can rest assured that your tungsten jewelry band or couple rings are safe, though if in doubt, please, consult your medical practitioner should tungsten problems arise.
Disadvantages of Tungsten
However, for a complete health overview and transparency when dealing with tungsten metal it is good to know that dust from tungsten is considered toxic and should be avoided at any point (Source).
Although this may be more relevant for tungsten producers rather than jewelry tungsten consumers, it is still good to share the entire story behind it.
Is tungsten good for your health?
The tungsten metal alloy is considered rather safe when purchased in good quality and used according to its purpose as a jewelry ring for example. Dangers, like toxicity, as referenced above, may be limited to professional use by manufacturers while processing it.
#5 Tungsten Jewelry Ring Price Advantage
Tungsten-based pieces of jewelry from rings to unisex bands are generally cheaper to purchase than otherwise comparable titanium or platinum metals regarding fashion design appearance or metal structure.
Again, tungsten is a higher and hence harder scaled metal than these two precious metals. The price of an engraved tungsten ring, however, is on average much lower, which translates tungsten into interesting metal jewelry for sure.
Combined with the other aforementioned benefits from scratch resistance to color variation, tungsten jewelry pricing is reasonable, though limited mining resources of it could change those cost advantages down the road.
Until then, you can get your personalized tungsten ring for her or him to offer here with peace of mind knowing that durability, health, and price are in your favor.
How Do You Know If a Tungsten Ring is Real?
If a ring shows signs of wear off, turns green, or tarnishes as well as changes its otherwise shinning color while rubbing it, then it is not a real tungsten ring. A real tungsten carbide ring is durable and typically maintains its metal quality, color, and stiffness.
Can I Shower With My Tungsten Ring?
Tungsten jewelry rings are anti-oxidant, the hardest metal is known, and possess an extremely high-temperature melting point of 6,192 °F (3,422 °C). Moreover, tungsten is scratch-free and usually does not fade. Therefore, with proper usage, you can safely shower with a tungsten ring, but avoid chlorine pools.