| When you decide to marry, one of the most | | | | manufacturers of tungsten carbide wedding band |
| important decisions will be about your ring. | | | | rings use cobalt as a binder, mostly because it is |
| Traditionally, gold, white gold, silver and platinum | | | | cheaper to produce. The problem with cobalt is |
| have been used in wedding bands. But today, the | | | | that it bonds with oils in the skin and leeches out |
| selection of metals is broader, reflecting the | | | | of the ring resulting in oxidation. The oxidation |
| change in our tastes and lifestyle. Tungsten | | | | appears similar to tarnished sliver, but cannot be |
| carbide is one of the new metals from which | | | | removed by polishing or grinding. The better |
| jewelry designers have begun to craft wedding | | | | choice is nickel-binder tungsten carbide which is |
| band rings, offering a wide variety of styles and | | | | chemically inert, will not oxidize and because it is |
| designs that fit every taste and budget. | | | | hypoallergenic, there is no danger of irritation to |
| What is Tungsten Carbide? | | | | the skin. Be careful about dealing with a jeweler |
| On its own, tungsten is a very hard and dense | | | | that doesn't specify that their tungsten wedding |
| metal, with the highest melting point of all metals - | | | | bands are made with the nickel binder alloy. Many |
| 6,100 degrees Fahrenheit. Alone, tungsten is | | | | jewelry stores do not know which alloy they are |
| vulnerable to scratches and damage just like any | | | | selling, and if they don't know, it is most likely |
| other metal, it gains its extreme hardness by | | | | cobalt alloy or pure tungsten, which lacks the |
| being combined with a carbon alloy, transforming | | | | hardness of tungsten carbide and are easily |
| it into tungsten carbide, with a hardness between | | | | scratched. |
| 8.5 and 9.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. The | | | | Because of tungsten carbide's extreme hardness, |
| strength of tungsten carbide has made it widely | | | | wedding bands made from this metal cannot be |
| used for decades in industrial applications - it is | | | | sized like gold, silver or platinum rings. When you |
| four times harder than titanium, twice as hard as | | | | are ready to purchase, make sure that you take |
| steel and almost impossible to scratch. The | | | | extra care in determining the proper size. In |
| resulting metal can be designed into wedding band | | | | regards to engraving a tungsten carbide ring, it is |
| rings that are both visually stunning to please the | | | | possible, but the results will be very faint and |
| eye and durable enough to withstand everyday | | | | difficult to read. |
| use. These rings can only be damaged through | | | | Finally, since your tungsten carbide wedding band |
| extreme measures, such as abrasion from | | | | ring is not indestructible, it makes sense to get a |
| diamonds or being struck with a hammer. | | | | warranty, especially against breakage. Under |
| Choosing Your Tungsten Carbide Wedding Band | | | | normal usage there should be little or no wear on |
| Ring | | | | both the polish and the textures of your tungsten |
| Make sure you ask your jeweler which metal was | | | | carbide wedding band ring and you will never need |
| used in the finishing or binding process. Many | | | | to use your warranty. |