Sign in to join Jonathan Beard's fan club.
Wedding Ring Metals, what's on the market today ?
http://www.mazaldiamond.com/blog-en/
Today, wedding rings are available in a wider range of metals than ever before and since you will likely be wearing your wedding ring for the rest of your life it is important to choose a metal you’ll be comfortable with.
Yellow gold, which is generally a combination of pure gold and alloys of copper and zinc, has been the traditional choice of metal for thousands of years for wedding rings. It is available in 14, 18 and 24 karat gold depending on the purity and strength of the gold.
A 24 karat gold wedding ring is made of the purest and most expensive gold but it is also the softest, so it is not generally recommended for wedding rings, while 14k and 18k gold are less pure but harder and hence durable.
Alternative Metals
Despite yellow gold remaining the traditional choice, a number of alternative metals have become popular over the years. One such example is white gold, which contains varying amounts of yellow gold but also one or more white metals to lighten its color and add strength and durability. These include nickel, palladium and platinum.
A true platinum wedding ring is, hence, much more durable than gold and has a heavier, more substantial feel. However, this silvery metal is also much rarer than gold and is therefore much more expensive. That may be one reason why titanium has become popular as an alternative wedding ring metal. Titanium is a silvery white metal with the highest strength to weight ratio of any known element and is completely corrosion resistant.
It does not react to salt water, sunlight, or any body or common chemistry, making it non-toxic to the human body. Titanium wedding rings are finished in a matte style and are generally a fraction of platinum and gold. Another alternative to gold and even more durable than titanium is tungsten.
Tungsten rings are known as the most scratch resistant rings available on the planet; they about ten times harder than 18K Gold and four times harder than titanium. Due to their extreme hardness, tungsten rings will hold their shape and shine longer than any ring on the market.
Another material gaining popularity is wood, especially with the environmental-minded, as it signifies a commitment to the Earth as well as to each other. Its benefits are that it is cheap and relatively easy to craft your own. On the other hand, wood has little durability, at least compared to metal, is hard to keep clean and has no intrinsic value.
Similarly, in light of environmental neglect on the part of much of the mining industry, a movement has begun to use more eco-friendly jewelry. For example, Eco-gold is the term used for gold that is obtained from low impact sources. Most often, it is recycled from old wedding rings sets, other jewelry or scrap from jewelry vendors & manufacturers. Sometimes, it is obtained from mining companies that adhere to stricter environmental and safety standards.
Other articles :
Article submitted Thursday, June 23, 2011 & read 24 times.
Leave your comments through Blogz:
4-0-0-0-9-ADSO
Copyright © 2012 IcoLogic, Inc.