Reposted September 28, 2024
Traditional and Non-Traditional Wedding Ring Materials
A few years back we got new wedding rings because the 33 year old ones were worn and didn’t fit as well as they did decades ago. The chemist in me had to investigate all of the alternative materials on the market. Here are some observations for people interested in getting rings, particularly ones you will wear a lot.
One use of having multiple rings is to have a nice looking, but inexpensive one to wear when traveling. I had a ring mysteriously disappear from my checked luggage, although a TSA inspection notice showed up in it’s place. The ring was of a design that could be purchased in platinum, but this ring was a stainless steel duplicate worth about $3.
I also choose inexpensive, durable rings for working out and doing auto repairs. I tend to damage softer materials during these activities.
Note that the TSA recommends taking jewelry with you, not in checked luggage. Unless jewelry is very large, it often does not need to be removed when going through metal detectors or millimeter wave machines.
Fit
Some rings are only worn for a few hours at a formal function, so being a bit uncomfortable or impractical isn’t a problem. The way the ring fits and feels is more important in a wedding ring that is going to be worn daily for years. A confession – my wife and I both have multiple wedding rings and swap which one we wear to match the outfit or activity.
- Before you get focused on the ring, look at four aspects of the size and shape that works for you.
- The size is the diameter of your finger. Many jewelry stores have a finger gauge, a bunch or rings that you can try to see which size is comfortable. Some stores will have a ring mandrel, a conical bar of steel with markings so you can slip a ring you like on it to find out the ring size.
- Width. For men’s rings 8 mm wide is most common and 6 mm second most, but there are wider and narrow options, with less selection. Women’s rings are usually narrower, 4 mm or less.
- Thickness. Some of the harder, more brittle materials must be made thicker so they don’t shatter easily. Sometimes they are just thicker to make them stronger, more stylish, or push up the price. Place your hand flat on the table with fingers together. The thicker rings will press into the adjacent fingers, so figure out how thick is annoying to you and thus too thick for daily wear.
- Some rings today are comfort fit (rounded inner surface). Some people find they like the ring 1/2 size smaller if it is comfort fit.
Shopping for Rings
One of the fairly nice jewelry stores we looked at carried rings made from cobalt, titanium, etc. but the example rings all looked the same. Their examples were all made of stainless steel and worth about $3 each. While this might be good security and cost efficiency for the store, it also means you don’t get a good idea of what the ring will really look like.
Most of the pictures we find online are fairly accurate, but there are a few exceptions.
- Inlays of carbon fiber or fiber optic material have a depth and refract light when you look at them at just the right angle. At other angles they just look like a band of grey or some color. The online pictures show an ideal angle.
- Some of the rose gold options we see online have the color adjusted to look more copper like than the actual ring which might look more like an off-color gold.
- High polish rings of ceramic or cobalt chrome are so shinny that looking close at them all you see is a reflection of everything in the room. It’s difficult to capture that quality in a photo.
The look of ring materials
If you like the traditional yellow gold, you have only a few options for materials. For real gold 10 karat is a bit harder, 14 karat typical, 18 karat even softer. Sometimes you can find a silver ring with gold plating, cheaper but the plating will wear off after some years. Stainless steel with an anodized gold surface doesn’t look quite the same shade of gold, and the surface will wear off eventually showing the steel below. There are tungsten carbide rings with a very thin layer of real gold plated on them, which will eventually wear off. There are tungsten carbide rings plated in gold zirconium, which is very hard, only slightly different in color from real gold, and usually the ring needs to be made fairly thick.
Rose gold is real gold with more copper in it to give a copper-like or slightly pinkish color. Black Hills gold is also real gold with impurities to make it pinkish-gold or greenish-gold.
Some people have allergies to copper or nickel, in which case you will have to avoid some of the gold and cobalt alloys. Some people are sensitive to elemental cobalt, so most rings labeled or sold as cobalt are actually made of cobalt chrome, which is biologically inert. Few vendors advertise what is in the alloy, but most should be able to find out if you ask.
If you like the pure-white mirror-like look, there are some options. White gold (real gold mixed with white metals like magnesium, nickel, and palladium) is the softest. Platinum is a bit harder and very expensive. A cobalt chrome alloy (might or might not have nickel) is very hard and a fraction of the
cost of white gold. Sterling silver is a bit softer than the gold alloys, and probably too soft to wear every day for years. Depending upon the alloy and polish, stainless steel can be shinny silver or dull grey, and very inexpensive. Occasionally you find a white tungsten that is very white, but most tungsten rings are tungsten carbide that looks more like shiny-grey steel.
If you like a ring that looks like shiny-grey steel. Tungsten carbide is the hardest, and affordable. Many tungsten rings have inlays that are much softer than the tungsten carbide. Comfort can be an issue as the brittle tungsten carbide must be made thicker than other materials to avoid breaking too easily. Tungsten carbide is also very dense, making the ring heavier than rings of other materials. The company that we have found trying to make tungsten carbide rings as slim as practical is Queenwish.
Stainless steel is very affordable and fairly hard. Stainless steel will stay shiny silver, but eventually gets scuffed with many tiny scratches. Titanium is softer than stainless, and can be processed to have several
looks from steel to a multi-color pattern. Titanium doesn’t break easily, but it will probably soon be grey and covered with small scratches, scuffs, nicks, and dings.
Titanium rings that are gold color probably have a Titanium Nitride coating. The coating is very hard. The ring can be made thin, light, and comfortable. These can be very affordable. The color will look like 18K gold, but careful observation will note that it is often more shiny than any gold surface. This is a great option if you want a ring that is affordable, comfortable, and will stay looking good for a long time.
Note that hardness is the ability to resist scratching. Durability is the ability to resist breaking (often by bending slightly). Very hard materials are often brittle and easily broken if made too thin. Very durable materials are very difficult to break, but often scratch easily. Titanium with a titanium nitride coating is a durable material with hard shell around it.
A Tungsten carbide ring with flat or angular surfaces will show off the shiny steel grey nature of the material. A tungsten carbide ring with all curved surfaces will reflect light from any direction, making it appear like platinum or cobalt at a glance, although the difference is clear when the two are examined side by side.
Tungsten carbide and titanium carbide are considered scratch proof. Note that this refers to the black titanium carbide, not the silver-grey pure titanium which scratches easily. They are a 9 on the mohs scale so only diamond or a couple man-made materials as hard as diamond can scratch them.
Tungsten carbide and titanium can be processed or coated to be dark gray, black, and some other colors. Sometimes the color is a coating or inlay. If you go with stainless steel, it’s probably best to stick with the silver color as the colored coatings don’t seem extremely durable long term. There is a
lot of confusion in the marketing and we have seen the same ring advertised as different materials. These mismarked ones are most likely;
- shiny steel looking – tungsten carbide, occasionally dura tungsten (a mix of tungsten and titanium).
- grey – brushed tungsten carbide or pure titanium
- white mirror-like finish – platinum, palladium, cobalt-chrome, or white tungsten (tungsten coated with rhodium)
- blue – a coating on tungsten carbide or if very cheap a coating on stainless steel
- shiny black – titanium carbide. This is often mislabeled as tungsten carbide, but the the titanium carbide is thinner lighter, and electrically insulating.
- matte black – sometimes an inexpensive coating on stainless steel, but more often a black alloy of cobalt or zirconium. Black rings labeled as tungsten carbide are tungsten carbide with a coating of black zirconium, which is fairly durable but not scratch proof like the silver tungsten carbide or titanium carbide. Polished zirconium comes out a semigloss, but can’t achieve the high gloss finish of titanium carbide.
- black with carved designs – this might be zirconium that can be worked like gold then heated to a high temperature to give a black allotrope. There are also black alloys of cobalt which will be durable. Black coatings are less durable. Carved titantium carbide rings are starting to appear on the market.
- Carved rings with a colored coating in the grooves can wear a long time, mostly because it is difficult to rub against the coating.
- gold (and unrealistically cheap) – Some tungsten carbide rings have a gold coating, which is gold zirconium. Although the ring is strong, the coating can still be scratched or scuffed. Sometimes it is a VERY thin layer of real gold on something else.
- There are attempts to make a rose gold version of this gold zirconium, but they are only a half shade different, barely distinguishable from the regular gold zirconium.
- Damascus steel – Damascus steel has striations that look like wood grain or zebra stripes. Unlike stainless steel, any other steel will rust unless it has some type of coating. Most rings that have a damascus steel look are actually made of some other material (i.e. stainless steel, tungsten carbide, or titanium) and processed to have a patterned surface.
Aluminum is soft, inexpensive, and easily worked by hand. As such it is sometimes seen as hand crafted jewelry items. Even shiny new aluminum has a thin oxide coat. When it gets old, aluminum will get more heavily oxidized which may look grey, or like a white powder. Colored aluminum items are usually anodized, which gives it some corrosion resistance but it not very wear resistant. Aluminum is not recommended for a wedding ring that will be worn for many years.
Electroplated or e-coating metal items can be made in a variety of colors. This coating is very thin, and not extremely durable for a high wear item like a ring.
Enameling is a glass coating. It is very hard, but brittle. Enameled dishes can be very durable because the coating is very thick, but even this chips easily.
You can find stainless steel and tungsten carbide rings with thick coatings in a variety of colors. These are often powder coatings, which can be surprisingly durable. Powder coatings give a clean finish. They are often some variety of polymer.
Brass and copper are often soft. The resulting copper oxide quickly turns your finger green. Some may have a clear coating, which may work fine for a light wear item like ear rings, but is quickly worn off for the higher wear use of a ring. These are not recommended.
Another trend is silicone rings (silicone rubber). This is a soft material that you can easily press flat. It is comfortable, not electrically conductive, very inexpensive, and comes in every color of the rainbow. If it gets caught on machinery the silicone will rip before your finger is harmed. The only downside is that it will always look like you have a piece of rubber on your finger, because you do.
There are modern ceramic materials that can make a ring extremely hard, light, and strong. At present the selection of colors is limited. Black ceramic rings are usually made of titanium carbide. Titanium carbide is an electrical insulator. Tungsten carbide is a metallo-ceramic giving it a low but measurable electrical conductivity. A white ceramic ring is also available now, but we haven’t yet tracked down what it is made out of.
How it will wear over time
How hard is hard enough? No object is indestructible, so you should expect a wedding ring to show signs of wear decades after it is purchased. The question is how quickly will you start seeing many small scratches, scuffs, dents, and worn spots? This is dependent upon the material, ring design, and the person. If you work with tools, generally made of the hardest steel, all but the hardest rings are going to start picking up small scratches and dents within days. Tungsten carbide will stay unblemished until something hits it hard enough to shatter it (usually with enough force to break bones also). Silicone won’t dent, but can get scuffs, cuts & punctures from abrasive or sharp objects, and can tear if caught on something. Even cobalt-chrome picked up a barely visible ding when a 200 lb guy wore it while doing chin-ups on a steel bar and showed many scratches after being worn while using tools. Some people may be able to wear a soft metal and have it look great for years.
A good option is to choose a ring designed to wear gracefully. I wore a 14k gold Art Carved wedding ring for 33 years. It was designed with relatively deep grooves, so it could wear down for decades and still have the original pattern readily visible. Look for “carved” rings to find this type of design.
If you can’t abide seeing small scratches and dings on the ring, your only options are tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, and other ceramics. Rings with a titanium nitride coating.
There are a number of less common options, some of which are excellent for wedding rings, and some won’t stand up over time, so do some investigating before you buy those.
Comparing the numbers
If two rings are the exact same size, thickness, etc. the one with a higher density will be heavier.
Density g/cm3 platinum 21.45 gold 19.32 Gold rings are often relatively thin tungsten carbide 15.63 tungsten carbide rings are often relatively thick palladium 11.9 silver 10.5 argentium 10.3 copper 8.96 cobalt chrome 8.5 stainless steel 8.0 stainless steel rings are often relatively thin zirconium 6.49 titanium carbide 4.93 titanium 4.51 aluminum 2.7 silicone rubber 1.1 - 2.3
A harder ring (higher Mohs number) will pick up fewer scratches. A softer ring (low Mohs number) will scratch, dent, and even bend out of round more readily.
Hardness Mohs Notes w-BN 11 estimated wurtzite Boron Nitride diamond 10 titanium carbide 9-9.5 tungsten carbide (WC) 9 9 and up is considered scratch proof titanium nitride 9 dark gold color white tungsten 8.5 our best estimate from wear testing zirconium nitride 8+ called gold zirconium high carbon steel 8 tungsten 7.5 Most "tungsten" rings are tungsten carbide cobalt chrome 7 But mirror shine shows scratches stainless steel 6.5 titanium 6 rhodium 6 Solid Rh, not plated over other materials cobalt 5.5 Most "cobalt" rings are cobalt chrome zirconium 5 Some alloys seem harder in our use palladium 4.5 low carbon steel 4-4.5 nickel 4 platinum 3.5 copper, brass, bronze 3 gold 14K 3-4 gold white 2.8-4 gold 18K 2.75 gold 24K 2.5 Aluminium 2.5-3 silver 2.5 zinc 2.5 tin 1.5 lead 1.5
There is an urban myth that you shouldn’t wear the less traditional, harder materials because an emergency room can’t get them off to save your finger from being lost. It is just that, a MYTH. There are ring cutters and ring crackers made specifically for this purpose. A ring cutter has a cutting wheel of hardened steel that can cut traditional materials, even titanium. For the harder, more brittle tungsten carbide and ceramic rings, a ring cracker bends the ring slightly out of round causing it to shatter. A vice grip pliers can do the same job in a pinch (pardon the pun). Other common ring removal techniques include using a personal lubricant and temporarily wrapping the finger with a string to reduce swelling.
Inlays and Coatings
An inlay is a relatively thick piece of another material. If we are being picky, it’s only considered an inlay if it is surrounded by the ring material and the top surface of the inlay appears to be flush with the top surface of the ring material.
If the ring is well made the top surface of the inlay may be just slightly below the top surface of the ring material. The difference may be so slight that you have to hold it against a straight edge under a magnifier to see it. When you hold a flat object, the ring material should touch it, but the inlay shouldn’t. This helps prevent damage to the inlay material, which is almost always softer than the ring material.
Some common inlays are wood, abalone, opal (often man made), carbon fiber, fiber optic, phosphorescent plastic, antler, and other metals. Sometimes the inlay is a fragile material or design covered by a hard clear polymer. Wood and semiprecious stones like lapis lazuli or turqoise are some of the softer, more easily damaged inlays. A number of shell materials such as mother of perl are nice looking and can be durable inlays if made correctly.
Some inlays are translucent letting you see a depth to the material. If you see a photo of these online, it will be done with the perfect lighting to show off the beauty of that material. Most of the time, such materials don’t look as nice in real life.
One current trend is an inlay that looks like silver crinkled aluminum foil covered with a clear polymer. This is meant to simulate the look of a ring made from meteorite material. A real meteorite ring, usually made from a bit of the Gibeon Meteorite, will cost over a thousand dollars and have a larger variation in the color of the meteorite material (a mix of iron, nickel, some other elements, and sometimes grains of sand). Real meteorite materials must have a coating over them to prevent the iron from rusting. The minerals in the Gibeon Meteorite have a crystalline structure, called a Widmanstatten pattern, which give them the fractured pattern. The coating on some of these real meteorite rings isn’t perfectly water tight so getting it wet too often can damage the ring. If the ring is all meteorite material, instead of just
an inlay, the ring will be thicker to compensate for weaknesses in the material, and it will have a polymer coating. There are more fake meteorite rings than real ones, so shop carefully if you want a ring truly made from a meteorite.
https://manlybands.com/collections/meteorite
Coatings are very thin layers of material. Most people are familiar with a coating for walls called paint, although rings aren’t (or shouldn’t be) made from paint. Coatings may be attached to the ring with several processes with names like “electroplated” or “anodized” or “plated” or “filled” but are sometimes dipped or painted on. Coatings may be on high-wear surfaces like the top surface of the ring, edges, or inner surface. Even relatively fragile coatings can be put in groove, noticeably below the top surface of the ring and look good for years because almost nothing rubs against them. Many of the coatings seen on rings today are made with proprietary processes making it difficult to get information on the chemical composition of the coatings, hardness, or wear properties. If you want to buy a ring that will look good for years, the safe bet is to only get coatings that sit in a groove below the surface of the ring.
Ring Design
Many of the more affordable options are marketed as promise rings, as in “I promise to get you a more expensive one some day.”
What do you want?
- Smooth with no scratches. Get tungsten carbide or ceramic. Of the two, ceramic can be made lighter, thinner and thus more comfortable, but doesn’t look like metal. Gold (Zirconium Nitride or Titanium Nitride) plated Tungsten Carbide, or white tungsten are next best.
- Smooth showing signs of use. Any of the other materials, except silicone which is always a matt surface.
- A soft metal that hides the signs of wear. Get a carved design.
- Very comfortable. Silicone is best, a thin soft metal second best, ceramic third. That said, I wear ceramic rings the most because of the combination of being scratch proof and comfortable.
One of the current trends is a brushed surface. This means there are microscopic features in the metal. These start picking up little scratches and dings within weeks even with the hardest materials. They can be rebrushed by a jeweler, but only get a brushed surface ring if you like the ring showing the signs of everything you have ever done.
Symbolism: A ring on the fourth finger of the left hand traditionally represents a commitment to another person. Many people look for expensive rings, particularly a women’s engagement ring, as a sign of social status, wealth, or financial commitment. A Jew may choose a ring imported from Israel with a common Jewish wedding saying written on it in Hebrew. A ring with an EKG line represents the heart, love, and maybe a scientific viewpoint or medical profession. A history buff may choose a ring with a Celtic design. A ring might be custom designed, for a price, by a local jeweler, an artist with a stall at an art show, or someone found online via the Etsy website.
Even considering all of these factors, you will have a lot of options for the look and style. Some will be available only in big name stores, and some will be more affordable if bought online. Some people want to have a very valuable ring, but there are lots of affordable and durable options also.
History and culture
Neanderthals tied grass or twigs around the brides wrists or ankles, thought to symbolize loyalty and friendship.
Ancient Egyptians tied reed rings around their fingers as engagement rings. Wedding rings were made from bone, ivory, leather, hemp. Later they started making metal rings.
In early Asia, rings were a sign of a contract. Often it was a puzzle ring that fell apart if taken off, so the husband would know if the wife took her ring off.
In India, engagement rings are sometimes toe rings.
Most wedding rings have been gold. Diamonds didn’t become common until the 1940s. In France, rubies, sapphires and other stones are common. Colored stones are also becoming more popular in England.
The Irish Claddagh ring came from The Claddagh village in Galway, Ireland.
Traditional
Left hand with heart turned in = married
Right hand with heart turned in = engaged or in a relationship
Right hand with heart turned out = looking for someone
Modern
Left hand with heart turned in = married
Left hand with heart turned out = engaged
Right hand with heart turned in = in a relationship
Right hand with heart turned out = looking for someone or single
In Mexico long engagements are normal. They often get a promise ring a year or so before an engagement ring.
Austria, Colombia, Poland, Germany, Norway, Russia, Greece, and India are some of the places where engagement rings are worn on the right hand.
In Chile and some Nordic countries, both bride and groom get engagement rings.
In Argentina, there are engagement rings, but not a second wedding ring.
Native Americans usually get silver rings with semi-precious stones like turquoise or red coral.
Western style engagement rings are starting to be seen in China, but more still opt for the traditional financial dowry.
Other good sites:
https://todaysbride.com/blog/2018/06/21/engagement-ring-traditions-around-the-world/