Tungsten Rings | Tungsten Carbide Rings

Many types of tungsten rings are available out there, so how do you choose the one which is best for you? For tungsten rings manufacturers produce a whole slew of different varieties, including beveled, domed, inlaid, brushed, and grooved rings, in addition to the standard smoothly polished type. With great variety comes the need to make many decisions. Remember, a tungsten carbide ring last a lifetime, so it’s important to make sure that you’re picking the one you really want.

One of my favorite varieties is the faceted tungsten ring. What makes these special is that they’ve been cut using a special diamond blade in order to create a gem-like feel to the ring. The ring is still highly polished, but now it has numerous surfaces to reflect light off of, making it seem brighter. The facets can come in many varieties - some rings have only their edges faceted while others will facet the entire exterior surface. Variety is the spice of life, after all, and it allows you the consumer to pick out just the one you like. You can see a picture of what faceted tungsten rings look like just below.

Pretty cool, right? Note how the facets can be modified to fit anyone’s taste. The great thing about facets is that it adds a little character to an otherwise nearly indestructible monolithic shine. This draws attention to the ring, which can only be a good thing. After all, you want people to see that you’ve made a unique decision, right? Even a simple facet can really bring out the best in your piece of jewelry.

And the best part is that the facet edges will never dull or smooth out over the years. Even were you to take a nail file to the thing, it still wouldn’t harm the faceted surface (don’t try this at home though, folks). So you get all the charm of a unique and characterful ring with none of the worry or responsibility of regular care and maintenance.

When picking your tungsten ring, make sure that you pick one that really catches your attention, one that truly stands out in your mind. When it comes to making a unique piece of jewelry that much more unique, you can’t really go wrong with faceted tungsten rings.

When searching through the large available market for tungsten rings and other tungsten jewelry, it’s easy to get caught up in the glamor and forget to be cautious. Any web vendor you go to will make all the claims in the world that their stuff is best and that you have no need to worry, but are they telling the truth, or is it all an elaborate show to trick you into buying a sub-par piece? Here’s a list of 5 things I like to keep in mind when I go hunting for quality merchandise:

1. Pure Tungsten or Tungsten Carbide?

There’s a huge difference between a tungsten alloy ring and a tungsten carbide ring. How huge? If you’re expecting a hard as diamond tough as nails piece of jewelry, make sure it’s tungsten carbide.  Tungsten alloys are softer and will scratch much more easily, meaning you’ll lose your polish much sooner. If you find yourself at a vendor that either doesn’t know the difference or won’t tell you, play it on the safe side and get out. There are lot’s of quality places out there who will.

2. Make Sure There’s No Cobalt

Cobalt is a common additive for many metal alloys, and there are plenty of manufacturer’s that try to cut corners by adding it to tungsten jewelry. In this case, that’s an extremely bad thing. If there’s any cobalt in the ring your skin will develop this greenish rash that will be very unsightly and really uncomfortable. That’s because cobalt will react with the oils in your skin. If the manufacturer isn’t upfront about their cobalt policy, hit the road and get yourself to someplace better at once!

3. The Problem With Nickel

Nickel is another common additive that people like to bring to the mix in order to reduce cost. Nickel isn’t nearly as bad as cobalt - it won’t react with your skin at all. However, it does weaken the tungsten a bit, meaning that your indestructible ring really isn’t so tough any more. Will it hold up to most stresses? Most likely yes. It is a risk I’d take when purchasing an item known for its lifelong endurance? Definitely not.

4. Know Your Ring Size

Because they’re so tough, tungsten rings are pretty impossible to resize in the same way that gold or silver jewelry is. Most websites and vendors will allow you to trade in your ring for a new one if your finger size changes, or if you guessed your partners’ size wrong, but don’t assume that this is the case. In addition, there’s generally a charge involved in getting a new one of the right size. Knowing your ring size before you go will save you a lot of grief.

5. It’s Pretty, But is it Permanent?

I tend to approach tungsten jewelry the same way that I’d approach a tattoo. Sure it may look good now, but is it something that I’d be happy with for the rest of my life? One of the strongest selling points of tungsten rings is its longevity. Don’t let some smooth talking salesperson talk you into a purchase you’re not 100% on board with.

Let the Buyer Beware

A tungsten ring can be one of the best, longest lasting purchases of your life. Keep these key things in mind when searching around, and you’re sure to find a happy solution to your jewelry needs.

There are many videos out there attempting to show off the amazing physical properties of tungsten rings. But what do they actually show, and what do they actually prove? The Tungsten Rings Guide seeks to answer these questions by going over the most easily found videos to seperate out the good from the bad.

Tungsten Ring vs. Glass Blender

Today’s video features a pretty unique test. Instead of bashing the ring with a hammer or filing away at it with an iron file, the tungsten ring is simply put into a conventional glass blender which is then turned on. What happens next is actually pretty cool. I don’t want to spoil anything for you, so without further ado go ahead and give it a look. It’s only a minute, and definitely entertaining.

Pretty cool, huh? Sure showed that blender to mess with the industructible ring!

Looks Cool, But So What?

Before you get too excited about exploding glass blenders let’s keep something in mind - what did the video actually show? Your typical glass blender is not made of the sturdiest stuff - I wouldn’t feel too confident about dropping it onto a tiled floor let alond smashing it with a metal object. Breaking the glass is not such an impressive feat. Any steel ring placed inside would likely have the same effect.

The impressive part is what happens to the ring itself. Note how even though it came into contact with the stainless steel blade of the blender multiple times it still retains its shine. It’s kind of tough to see in the video here due to the low resolution, but the ring definitely looks just as good going in as it does coming out. And this is somewhat impressive - blender blades can make mince meat out of harder stuff like ice cubes without a problem.

What’s the Value?

This video’s value is pretty much only in entertainment. I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone who dropped their tungsten ring in a blender, didn’t notice it, and then was suprised to find that their shake broke the glass. There’s no real practicallity in it.

But then again, watching that ring spin in slow motion as it takes out the glass blender around it is somewhat priceless. I’d have to give the video 4/5 stars overall for shear entertainment purposes.

The other nice thing about this video is that it’s not produced by anyone trying to sell anything, making it a bit more credible.

Next time ’round I’ll try to cover a video with some more educational value.