Comparison
Anodised zirconium or Sterling silver?
Choose anodised zirconium if you want colour grown into the metal itself, not painted or plated on. Choose sterling silver if you want a hallmarked precious ring on a small budget.
- Heavier: Sterling silver, about 1.6 times the weight
- Harder surface: Anodised zirconium (Mohs 8.5 against 2.75)
- From: anodised zirconium £269
- Resizing: anodised zirconium, not usually; sterling silver, yes, by a jeweller
Checked .
| Side by side | Anodised zirconium | Sterling silver |
|---|---|---|
| Surface | Colour grown into the metal | Silver alloy |
| Hardness (Mohs) | 8.5 | 2.75 |
| Density | 6.5 g/cm³ reference | 10.4 g/cm³ reference |
| 6mm band, size N | about 3.2g | about 5.1g |
| Resizing | Not usually | Yes, by a jeweller |
| Hallmarked | No, not a precious metal | Yes, by law above the exemption weight |
| Our rings from | £269 | See the range |
Which is heavier, anodised zirconium or sterling silver?
Sterling silver is heavier, about 1.6 times the weight of anodised zirconium for the same ring. A 6mm band in size N comes to about 3.2g in anodised zirconium and 5.1g in sterling silver.
| Width | Anodised zirconium | Sterling silver |
|---|---|---|
| 2mm | 1.1g | 1.7g |
| 4mm | 2.1g | 3.4g |
| 6mm | 3.2g | 5.1g |
| 8mm | 4.2g | 6.7g |
Worked out from the reference densities (6.5 and 10.4 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 anodised zirconium more expensive than sterling silver?
Anodised zirconium rings start at £269 in our range. Plain sterling silver bands are not in the range at the moment, and the sterling silver material page shows what is. Sterling silver carries the cost of the precious metal itself, which is why it starts higher; anodised zirconium 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?
Anodised zirconium has the harder surface: Mohs 8.5 against 2.75 for sterling silver, so it picks up fewer everyday marks. Sterling silver marks sooner, and any jeweller can polish it back.
Anodised zirconium. The colour is an oxide film grown on the zirconium by electric current, not paint, dye or plating, so there is nothing to peel or flake. Like any surface finish it wears first where a ring rubs hardest, which is why many designs keep the colour in recessed channels where it is protected. Wash it with warm soapy water and a soft cloth rather than buffing it: a dull patch is usually residue, and it rinses away.
Sterling silver. Sterling tarnishes as well as scratches, and those are two different jobs: a silver cloth lifts tarnish, polishing takes out marks. Both are quick and we do the polishing free.
Can anodised zirconium and sterling silver rings be resized?
Anodised zirconium: Not in the usual way. The colour is a fine layer grown on the surface, and resizing the band would break through it. So the size is the part to get right, and the free ring size finder makes that a two minute job.
Sterling silver: Yes. A plain sterling silver 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.
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
Anodised zirconium is hypoallergenic and a common choice for sensitive skin. Sterling silver is hypoallergenic and a common choice for sensitive skin. The metal allergy guide explains what causes a rash under a ring.
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. 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. The UK hallmarking guide explains each mark.
Our verdict
Anodised zirconium if you want colour grown into the metal itself, not painted or plated on. Sterling silver if you want a hallmarked precious ring on a small budget.
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.
Anodised channel
A band of real colour, set between natural metal edges.
Anodised bevels
Colour on the edges instead of down the middle.
Faceted, anodised
Cut into facets, then coloured, so each plane catches differently.
Explore the fit and weight
Common questions
- Is anodised zirconium or sterling silver harder wearing?
- Anodised zirconium has the harder surface: Mohs 8.5 against 2.75 for sterling silver, so it picks up fewer everyday marks. Sterling silver marks sooner, and any jeweller can polish it back.
- Is anodised zirconium heavier than sterling silver?
- Sterling silver is heavier, about 1.6 times the weight of anodised zirconium for the same ring. A 6mm band in size N comes to about 3.2g in anodised zirconium and 5.1g in sterling silver.
- Is anodised zirconium more expensive than sterling silver?
- Anodised zirconium rings start at £269 in our range. Plain sterling silver bands are not in the range at the moment, and the sterling silver material page shows what is. Sterling silver carries the cost of the precious metal itself, which is why it starts higher; anodised zirconium is priced on the making, not on bullion.
- Can both be resized?
- Not in the usual way. The colour is a fine layer grown on the surface, and resizing the band would break through it. So the size is the part to get right, and the free ring size finder makes that a two minute job. Yes. A plain sterling silver 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.
- Are both hallmarked?
- 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. 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.