What is titanium

Titanium is a metal of a silver colour that has the Ti and atomic number 22. This is why you see some brands heavily using Ti2, or Ti22 in their products.

Titanium has a very high strength to weight ratio which can be up to 4 times stronger than steel, but only half the weight, which makes it a very widely used metal in the production of aircraft and high end sports cars.

Titanium is an inert metal so has no reactions that will cause it to tarnish or rust, add to that it's hypoallergenic properties and you can see why it is used medically for replacement knee and hip joints, and also for jewellery.

Titanium can be alloyed with other metals to further increase its strength, and just recently by accident, scientists have alloyed it with gold to produce Ti3au the hardest known metallic substance. The benefits could result in harder wearing hip joints that never need replacing. It is early days for Ti3au but hopefully we will see this product filtering through into our lives.

Benefits of titanium

Titanium is a lightweight metal that has the best strength to weight ratio of any other metal. It means that you can have a chunky 8mm wide wedding ring without it feeling cumbersome.

Titanium rings are completely hypoallergenic so they are a great choice of wedding ring for anyone who has any type of metal allergy.

Titanium rings are completely inert, so will not tarnish, rust or decay in any way. They are a great choice of material for anyone sporty as they are unaffected by salt water, chlorine or perspiration.

We also have a range of low profile titanium rings by Ti2 titanium, that are only 1.2mm in depth available on our Quality Titanium website (link at bottom of page) that have been hugely successful with sports people as they are so thin between the fingers.

Does titanium wear

Titanium rings are very hard wearing and so over time will not wear out. A titanium ring would probably out last you as a wedding ring. Any two metals sitting together will however have an element of wear, but this would be difficult to measure even after decades of wear as it would be so minimal.

Do titanium rings break

Titanium rings are exceptionally strong and will not break or bend even in the most extreme cases. We have been selling titanium rings since 2003 and have not yet seen a broken, or bent titanium ring. Titanium is 4 times stronger than steel just to give you an idea of its strength.

Does titanium scratch

Although titanium rings are 4 times stronger than steel, they do still unfortunately scratch. Some websites sell titanium wedding rings as scratch proof, which is a little misleading. Although they are more resistant to scratching than say silver or gold, you will still receive scratches on them. The first scratch will always look the worst, but once worn for a while the ring will settle down with its own natural look. If you require a ring that is more scratch resistant, then have a look at our tungsten or cobalt rings.

Can titanium rings be sized

Typically when asked we will say no, and we sell all of our rings with the caveat that they are unable to be resized, however this is not entirely true, for all of our titanium rings.

With some of our titanium wedding rings we can generally size them a little. We can usually stretch them about 1 size, maybe 2 sizes maximum, or even compress them down a size. This is all relative as well. We are more likely to stretch a men's titanium ring size V up 1 or more sizes than perhaps a women's titanium ring size L, its more about the percentage it is having to be stretched than the amount.

We are unable to size any ring that has either diamonds or gemstones set within the band, as the stretching will always occur at the thinnest point which will be the setting hole, resulting in the setting being damaged.

We are also unable to resize any titanium ring that has any inlays, or of an uneven nature like our titanium puzzle ring.

In addition to the above, most jewellers will say no to resizing titanium rings, either because they have no experience, or deem it as too risky.

As we are more likely to upset customers by claiming titanium rings can be sized, and they find that their ring is unable to be sized at a future date, it is safer for us to simply say no, as this is probably 90% true.

Can you get titanium rings engraved

We offer an engraving service on the inside of our titanium rings in a choice of a script font or bold font for just £1.25 per character. Our engraving is a standard size of approximately 2.8mm to 3mm regardless of ring width.

Our service is only for inside ring engraving using a traditional Gravograph diamond tipped engraving machine.

We are unable to offer engraving on the outside of rings, or laser engraving.

What is titanium used for

Titanium is a fantastic material that is used within so many industries due to many of its unique properties.

Titanium has the best strength to ratio of any metals, so as a result titanium is the choice of metal when strength is required, but of course you need to reduce the weight of the manufactured item, some examples of use are within the aerospace industry where it is used on aeroplanes, missiles and more. It is also extensively used within motorsport such as Formula 1 for the very same reason.

Titanium is also hypoallergenic so greatly used within the medical industry, commonly used as plates to join broken bones, and of course the fact that it is very lightweight is also a great benefit.

Titanium also does not tarnish, or rust so is heavily used in any environments where this could be an issue such as desalination plants.

Titanium has such a mystic appeal that it is also now a highly regarded metal within the jewellery industry and is a fantastic metal for jewellery with its low weight, high strength and hypoallergenic properties.

Can titanium rings be cut off

Yes they can.

From time to time there is the odd scare story that titanium rings are not safe as they cannot be cut off in an emergency which is not correct. This is usually voiced by jewellers who have an interest in selling you a more expensive option.

Should you require a titanium ring to be cut off in an emergency then an ordinary ring cutter as found at any jewellers or accident and emergency will easily cut the ring off. It will take a little more time than a gold ring to cut through, but generally a trained person should be able to cut a titanium ring off in a few minutes.

To cut a titanium ring off it will require 2 cuts opposite each. The first cut will need to go all the way through, the 2nd cut only half to three quarters through allowing the two sides to open like a hinge.

We would also be happy to remove the ring for you if you were to visit our Maidstone shop.

Titanium rings pros and cons

Pros
Strong
Durable
Lightweight
Hypoallergenic
Inexpensive
Similar colour to white gold
Will not tarnish
Will not break or bend

Cons

Cannot be resized
Cannot be repaired if cut off
Does scratch in wear (but can be re finished)

note :

We have been selling titanium rings since 2003, and to date we have never received a titanium ring back broken or bent.

Tungsten Vs Titanium

Tungsten Rings Vs Titanium Rings

We are often asked which is better, tungsten or titanium, which in its self is a very difficult question to ask, as its down to lifestyle and personal preference.

Weight

Out of all the metals that we sell on the website, these are to each extreme.

Titanium is incredibly lightweight.

Tungsten is very dense, and subsequently heavy.

Allergies

Titanium is completely hypoallergenic.

Tungsten is relatively hypoallergenic, people with a very severe metal allergy may still be affected.

Durability

This is a difficult one as they both have pros and cons.

Titanium will not break, bend or squash, but will scratch in wear, but can be repolished.

Tungsten can only be scratched by exceedingly hard things like diamond tools, so in normal wear is almost scratchproof. It will not bend or squash, but can break under extreme impact or force. Throw a tungsten ring up in the air, and if it lands on concrete it may break.

Chemical damage, discolouring or tarnish.

Titanium will not be affected by any chlorines, or tarnish in any way.

Tungsten can discolour with chlorinated products over the years if not avoided or rinsed off after. Tungsten rings can be repolished with a diamond polishing paste, and time.

Engraving

Titanium rings can be engraved deeper, almost as deep as platinum.

Tungsten rings can only be engraved on the surface, which is very shallow in comparison.

Now to confuse you even further, have you considered cobalt which has many of the positives of both.

Black Wedding Rings

You were probably hoping to view a range of black titanium rings, unfortunately we do not sell these as they tend to be natural titanium with a black plating. This black ip plating does of course wear off and as soon as you scratch your black titanium ring that natural colour will be visible.

We do however stock a range of black wedding rings made from zirconia ceramic. This is very closely linked with zirconium. Zirconia ceramic is black all the way through, with no plating at all. In addition zirconia ceramic is very scratch resistant, but even if you were able to scratch the ring, the scratch would be black so would not notice.

If you were also interested in a zirconium ring, we do also sell these on our Quality Titanium website, link at the bottom of the page.