Tungsten Wedding Bands - An Affordable Alternative

Tungsten is a perfect fit for wedding bands. With the price of gold and platinum at all time highs tungsten wedding bands are a compelling alternative for savvy buyers who want a great looking ring at a fraction of the cost.

Tungsten has a great combination of elegance and durability. Tungsten is virtually indestructible. It will not scratch, tarnish or loose its luster while at the same time costing less than other wedding bands by an exponential factor of 10-20X.

Most importantly, a tungsten wedding band will last "forever" - a very fitting quality!

Tungsten bands provide a tremendous amount of variations so you can create a band that is truly "yours". You can enhance your tungsten wedding band with high quality diamonds, cubic zirconium or diffent finishes such as polished, brushed, chiseled, faceted or any combination thereof. There are a variety of tungsten wedding band inlays for even more choices. Tungsten rings are available with inlays of carbon fiber, onyx, mother of pearl and, of course, diamond, czs and other gemstones. All of these combinations help you create that very special wedding band.

There is one downside to tungsten - it can not be sized. Make sure the vendor you purchase from has a sizing program (where you can trade it in for a different size at a fixed price in the future) and a liberal return policy. Make sure you read the fine print on these policies.

Here are some vital specifications for Tungsten:

• Tungsten virtually lasts forever. It is one of the strongest metals on earth, second only to diamonds.

• Tungsten rings are virtually indestructible; they will never scratch, dull or tarnish.

• Tungsten bands have a great "hand" - they feel substantial and solid - as opposed to titanium which is feather light.

• Tungsten rings are hypo-allergenic.

• Tungsten rings are maintenance free. You will not have to worry about scratches or dings.

• Tungsten bands hold their shine for a lifetime. No special polishing or cleaning necessary.



So if tungsten rings are so hard - how do you get them off in an emergency?



Tungsten rings can be removed easily and quickly - in fact, easier than gold or platinum as you won’t need a visit to the ER to find a gold cutter. To remove, use a hammer to gently tap on the sides of the ring until it cracks and falls off. Alternatively, you can use a vice grip and gradually increase the pressure on the ring until it cracks.



The strength of tungsten carbide is essentially an Achilles heel. Since the metal is so strong, it has virtually no give or flexibility, so when a tungsten wedding band is under stress from the perimeter - it will crack. This happens rarely in the real world unless done on purpose.



However, sometimes tungsten wedding bands can break when dropped at an odd angle. These are typically "freak" occurances, however, just to be safe, make sure you buy your ring from a vendor that has a no-strings-attached lifetime warranty. Again, read carefully – there is often some pretty nasty "gotchas" in there. As a rule of thumb, I don’t recommend buying from a jewelry site where you cannot read and understand the return and warranty conditions within a few minutes.



All-in-all, tungsten rings deserve serious consideration when shopping for a band for your special day!