Comparison
9ct gold or Titanium?
Choose 9ct gold if you want a hallmarked gold ring that wears harder than 18ct and costs less. Choose titanium if you want the lightest ring we make, or a wide band that would be heavy in anything else.
- Heavier: 9ct gold, about 2.5 times the weight
- Harder surface: Titanium (Mohs 6 against 3.5)
- From: 9ct gold £515, titanium £165
- Resizing: 9ct gold, yes, by a jeweller; titanium, slightly larger
Checked .
| Side by side | 9ct gold | Titanium |
|---|---|---|
| Surface | Gold alloy, colour varies | Solid metal, no plating |
| Hardness (Mohs) | 3.5 | 6 |
| Density | 11.4 g/cm³ reference | 4.5 g/cm³ reference |
| 6mm band, size N | about 5.5g | 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 | £515 | £165 |
Which is heavier, 9ct gold or titanium?
9ct gold is heavier, about 2.5 times the weight of titanium for the same ring. A 6mm band in size N comes to about 5.5g in 9ct gold and 2.2g in titanium.
| Width | 9ct gold | Titanium |
|---|---|---|
| 2mm | 1.8g | 0.7g |
| 4mm | 3.7g | 1.5g |
| 6mm | 5.5g | 2.2g |
| 8mm | 7.4g | 2.9g |
Worked out from the reference densities (11.4 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 9ct gold more expensive than titanium?
Titanium costs less: 9ct gold rings start at £515 and titanium rings at £165 in our range. 9ct 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 3.5 for 9ct gold, so it picks up fewer everyday marks. 9ct gold marks sooner, and any jeweller can polish it back.
9ct gold. 9ct is 37.5% gold and the harder of the two gold alloys, which matters more on a ring worn every day than the carat number does. All gold picks up marks with wear, and any jeweller can polish them out; polishing takes a very small amount of metal each time, so it is an occasional refresh rather than a routine. White gold is often rhodium plated, and a jeweller can replate it when it starts to look warm.
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 the deepest gold colour? 18ct is 75% gold against 9ct's 37.5%. Compare 18ct gold and titanium
Can 9ct gold and titanium rings be resized?
9ct gold: Yes. A plain 9ct 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
9ct 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
9ct gold if you want a hallmarked gold ring that wears harder than 18ct and costs less. 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 9ct gold or titanium harder wearing?
- Titanium has the harder surface: Mohs 6 against 3.5 for 9ct gold, so it picks up fewer everyday marks. 9ct gold marks sooner, and any jeweller can polish it back.
- Is 9ct gold heavier than titanium?
- 9ct gold is heavier, about 2.5 times the weight of titanium for the same ring. A 6mm band in size N comes to about 5.5g in 9ct gold and 2.2g in titanium.
- Is 9ct gold more expensive than titanium?
- Titanium costs less: 9ct gold rings start at £515 and titanium rings at £165 in our range. 9ct 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 9ct 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.