Tungsten Carbide Ring Information

We are pleased to now offer tungsten carbide rings amongst our range. This is a relatively new metal used in the jewellery industry, and is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative metal for wedding rings.

This is largely due to the fact, that whilst tungsten is a very hard metal it can be vulnerable on its own, but once combined with a carbon alloy, it produces tungsten carbide, which is very durable and extremely hard to scratch. It has a hardness of between 8.5 to 9.5 on the Moh’s hardness scale. Sapphire is rated at 9 whilst the hardest substance known to man, diamond is rated at 10.

Tungsten Carbide is a great deal harder than titanium and steel and has been used for many years in industry where a sharp blade or cutter needs to be in constant use and not get damaged.

Tungsten carbide is now being used in jewellery, especially for rings. The designs are very modern as well as some being the more classic court wedding rings, but all have the advantage of being even more durable than gold, platinum or titanium, as they can only be damaged by extremes, such as being struck with a hammer! This makes them the ideal ring for any man in a hard manual job.

A binder is used in the production of tungsten carbide which can be either cobalt or nickel. Cobalt is the cheaper option with many manufacturers choosing this in order to reduce their costs and improve profit margins. Tungsten carbide made with a cobalt binder can react to the oils in the skin resulting in a discolouring very similar to tarnished silver. Although tarnished silver can be polished or cleaned, a ring made from tungsten carbide with a cobalt binder will retain the discolouring as it is not just confined to the surface of the ring.

We use a Nickel binder in our tungsten rings which although is more expensive is chemically inert so that a chemical reaction does not take place. This will result in a tungsten carbide ring that will retain its finish and not suffer the same fate as a cheaper cobalt ring. Although nickel is used in the manufacture it is within the tolerance of current EU legislation and is completely hypoallergenic. For more information on the EU nickel directive please visit http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file23045.pdf

The one piece of advice I would offer, would be to check which binder is used in any tungsten carbide ring that you intend to purchase and to avoid cobalt. If the retailer does not know which is used then they are either using cobalt or have no knowledge of the product which they are selling.

Due to tungsten carbide rings being so durable it is not possible to size these rings so it is very important to purchase the correct size. We are happy to exchange any ring within 30 days of receipt.

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