Comparison
18ct gold or Titanium?
Choose 18ct gold if you want the richest colour and the weight of 75% gold. Choose titanium if you want the lightest ring we make, or a wide band that would be heavy in anything else.
- Heavier: 18ct gold, about 3.5 times the weight
- Harder surface: Titanium (Mohs 6 against 3)
- From: 18ct gold £689, titanium £165
- Resizing: 18ct gold, yes, by a jeweller; titanium, slightly larger
Checked .
| Side by side | 18ct gold | Titanium |
|---|---|---|
| Surface | Gold alloy, colour varies | Solid metal, no plating |
| Hardness (Mohs) | 3 | 6 |
| Density | 15.7 g/cm³ reference | 4.5 g/cm³ reference |
| 6mm band, size N | about 7.6g | about 2.2g |
| Resizing | Yes, by a jeweller | Slightly larger |
| Hallmarked | Yes, by law above the exemption weight | No, not a precious metal |
| Our rings from | £689 | £165 |
Which is heavier, 18ct gold or titanium?
18ct gold is heavier, about 3.5 times the weight of titanium for the same ring. A 6mm band in size N comes to about 7.6g in 18ct gold and 2.2g in titanium.
| Width | 18ct gold | Titanium |
|---|---|---|
| 2mm | 2.5g | 0.7g |
| 4mm | 5.1g | 1.5g |
| 6mm | 7.6g | 2.2g |
| 8mm | 10.2g | 2.9g |
Worked out from the reference densities (15.7 and 4.5 g/cm³) with the same model as our ring weight calculator, where you can set your own size, width and thickness. A bigger size adds a little more metal: the size N page and the other size pages give the weights at each size.
Is 18ct gold more expensive than titanium?
Titanium costs less: 18ct gold rings start at £689 and titanium rings at £165 in our range. 18ct gold carries the cost of the precious metal itself, which is why it starts higher; titanium is priced on the making, not on bullion.
Every ring is made to order in your size, and engraving is free on every ring whose page offers it.
Which is harder wearing?
Titanium has the harder surface: Mohs 6 against 3 for 18ct gold, so it picks up fewer everyday marks. 18ct gold marks sooner, and any jeweller can polish it back.
18ct gold. 18ct is 75% gold, which gives it the deepest colour and real weight on the finger. It is a little softer than 9ct, so it shows marks a little sooner, and they polish out at any jeweller. Yellow and rose gold need nothing more; white gold is often rhodium plated, and replating brings back its bright white whenever you want it.
Titanium. About 4.5 g/cm³, the lightest metal we make rings in, and solid all the way through, so there is no plating to wear and a mark is only ever a mark in the same metal. It picks up fine surface lines with daily wear. Most of our maker’s rings are Grade 2 titanium; the stronger Grade 5 is kept for tension-set designs, where its extra strength holds the stone, and it is no more scratch resistant.
Want gold that wears harder? 9ct gold is the harder alloy and costs less than 18ct. Compare 9ct gold and titanium
Can 18ct gold and titanium rings be resized?
18ct gold: Yes. A plain 18ct gold band can be made larger or smaller by a jeweller, the way wedding rings have always been resized. The exception is a band set with stones all the way round, where there is nowhere to cut without disturbing a stone, so on those the size is settled when you order.
Titanium: A little, and only larger. Titanium is not cut and rejoined like gold, but the inside of the band can often be machined to make it slightly bigger. Because it cannot go smaller, the size is settled when you order and the ring is made to that measurement.
Either way, getting the size right first is the easy part: the free ring size finder measures it at home in a couple of minutes, and the resizing guide explains the differences between metals.
Sensitive skin and hallmarks
18ct gold is a gold alloy, and white gold can be alloyed with nickel, so if you know you react to nickel, a hypoallergenic metal such as platinum, titanium or zirconium is the easy choice. Titanium is hypoallergenic and a common choice for sensitive skin. The metal allergy guide explains what causes a rash under a ring.
Gold, silver, platinum and palladium are hallmarked by law above the exemption weights. The marks go inside the band, where you can read the fineness for yourself. Titanium and zirconium are not precious metals, so there is no hallmark and none is required. Where a ring carries a solid gold inlay, that gold is hallmarked at Birmingham. The UK hallmarking guide explains each mark.
Our verdict
18ct gold if you want the richest colour and the weight of 75% gold. Titanium if you want the lightest ring we make, or a wide band that would be heavy in anything else.
Not sure on width? The band width guide shows what each width looks like and weighs, and the metal chooser weighs the metals up against how you will wear the ring.
In these materials
Rings to look at
Rings made in, or available in, the two materials above, each with its current price, widths and finishes on its own page.
Slim band
Two millimetres of solid gold, narrow enough to sit close to an engagement ring.
Plain titanium
The lightest ring we make, and the simplest.
Soft ridge
The face rises to a gentle ridge, so the light runs along the finger.
Explore the fit and weight
Common questions
- Is 18ct gold or titanium harder wearing?
- Titanium has the harder surface: Mohs 6 against 3 for 18ct gold, so it picks up fewer everyday marks. 18ct gold marks sooner, and any jeweller can polish it back.
- Is 18ct gold heavier than titanium?
- 18ct gold is heavier, about 3.5 times the weight of titanium for the same ring. A 6mm band in size N comes to about 7.6g in 18ct gold and 2.2g in titanium.
- Is 18ct gold more expensive than titanium?
- Titanium costs less: 18ct gold rings start at £689 and titanium rings at £165 in our range. 18ct gold carries the cost of the precious metal itself, which is why it starts higher; titanium is priced on the making, not on bullion.
- Can both be resized?
- Yes. A plain 18ct gold band can be made larger or smaller by a jeweller, the way wedding rings have always been resized. The exception is a band set with stones all the way round, where there is nowhere to cut without disturbing a stone, so on those the size is settled when you order. A little, and only larger. Titanium is not cut and rejoined like gold, but the inside of the band can often be machined to make it slightly bigger. Because it cannot go smaller, the size is settled when you order and the ring is made to that measurement.
- Are both hallmarked?
- Gold, silver, platinum and palladium are hallmarked by law above the exemption weights. The marks go inside the band, where you can read the fineness for yourself. Titanium and zirconium are not precious metals, so there is no hallmark and none is required. Where a ring carries a solid gold inlay, that gold is hallmarked at Birmingham.