What to Know About Black Wedding Rings So You Can Make the Right Choice
The popularity of black wedding rings has seen a resurgence in recent years. Unlike traditional white gold and silver wedding bands, black wedding rings strike
Ah, the paradox of choice. In a world where we have endless career choices, clothing choices, and food choices, it’s no wonder we become indecisive and anxious about whether we have made exactly the best decision. More choice is better though, right? Perhaps, and for some things in life that I know a lot about, I am glad to have choice because I see distinct differences between options.
However, we have a hunch that many gents couldn’t pick a wedding ring from a burger ring, because jewellery just isn’t their thing. That’s why we’ve done the research, and we know what looks good. We’ve gone for a very precise and specific ring width, shape, fit, thickness, colour and finish that will look good on any Gentleman’s hand.
We’ve eliminated the choice, because you’ve got better things to do with your time.
Both Titanium and Tungsten (technically “Tungsten Carbide”) are great metals for wedding rings and are perfect for symbolising the importance of marriage. Whilst we focus on selling our Tungsten rings due to them feeling more substantial on your hand and being more scratch-resistant, approximately 20% of our customers choose our Titanium rings for its light-weight and hypoallergenic properties.
Tungsten ticks all the boxes, it is: strong, affordable, fashionable, clean and simple. It’s also the most dense and durable jewellery material. That’s not to say it won’t scratch (unfortunately we put our hands through such a beating that scratching is inevitable with any material), but it’s the least likely metal to scratch. This durability brings with it a nice level of heft, giving the ring plenty of substance when you hold it in your hand.
By comparison, Titanium is all of those things except it is much lighter in weight, slightly lighter in colour and more prone to scratches. It is also a slightly cheaper material, hence why Titanium rings are a little more budget friendly. Titanium is also more hypoallergenic than Tungsten, albeit Tungsten is pretty hypoallergenic in its own right.
To put the durability in perspective, Titanium is about 1/4 the weight of Gold, but is 3 times as strong/scratch resistant. Tungsten is slightly heavier than Gold, but is 3.5 times as strong/scratch resistant. So in short, both metals will still get scratches, but just to a much lesser extent than a silver, gold or platinum ring would.
From a safety perspective, in a crushing injury scenario Tungsten rings will shatter whereas Titanium rings will bend (same as Silver, Gold and Platinum). Shattering is generally preferable, but in any case, it’s always best practice not to wear any rings when your job involves a crushing risk (e.g. Mechanic, Heavy Equipment Operator, etc.). They also conduct electricity, so best to avoid wearing your ring on the job if you’re a sparky!
In our view, both Tungsten and Titanium are great metals for a men’s wedding rings. If you’re unsure which to choose, we believe Tungsten is the best option, but as you can see above, there are scenarios where it makes sense for some people to choose Titanium.
Yep! Some people want the hypoallergenic properties of Titanium. Others just like the reduced weight and slimline feel against their skin.
If that’s you, then check out our Titanium ring page.
In general though, the Tungsten is much harder wearing, more scratch-resistant, feels more substantial and is more premium – Which is why we encourage everyone to go with Tungsten.
Side note: If you buy the Titanium and don’t love it, we’re happy to send you the Tungsten version to compare.
Our Tungsten rings are Tungsten Carbide, which have a small amount of Nickel as the alloying component and is designed for use in jewellery.
Our Titanium rings are Titanium TA1 grade (CP Grade 1), which is commercially pure Titanium (i.e. unalloyed and therefore hypoallergenic).
Men’s wedding rings have traditionally been made out of Gold or, more recently, Platinum. While these are precious metals, they’re incredibly soft and therefore attract scratches like crazy.
Platinum is cool because its scratches can be polished away. White Gold is less convenient, as scratches need to be buffed out and then the ring needs to be re-dipped in a Rhodium or similar coating (a not-cheap, nor quick, process).
You’re probably thinking “why are you selling me on Platinum, aren’t your rings made of Tungsten or Titanium?” Well, while Platinum is cool, it’s also 10x the price. Retail stores sell similar looking rings to ours, but in Platinum, for $2000-$2500… in our opinion, that’s a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a ring. To us, it’s about what the ring symbolises, not how much it cost…
Gold rings, in a similar look to ours, usually retail for $1000-$1500.
Normally, from purchase to correctly sized ring in hand you should expect about 2 weeks. BUT… If you’re in a real hurry, order and get in touch as soon as you can and we’ll haul ass to get you that ring on time!
What might you need a warranty for? Great question, not much can go wrong with a ring. But, your finger could change in size over the years. If this is the case, we’d like to extend a lifetime exchange for your ring (just pay $20 shipping and handling and we’ll swap your ring over), so you know that as long as The Gentleman’s Smith exists (7 years strong so far), you’ll have a ring which fits your finger. Better yet, if your ring finds itself lost or stolen and isn’t covered by any insurance, then we’d be happy to replace it for half our normal price.
Can you return your ring? You sure can so long as it’s still in as-new condition. We’re confident you won’t find a better ring for a better price, but if you change your mind for any reason, then we’ll sort out a return for you. Just contact us within the first 60 days.
The ring is 5.5mm wide and under 2mm thick in what is called “comfort fit” (which just means that the inside of the ring is rounded to feel more comfortable).
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THE GENTLEMAN’S SMITH
Melbourne born, bred, based, and operated. The brainchild of two childhood mates joining together to create what we wish had existed when we each got married. We hope you like what we’re about.
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