Comparison
Anodised zirconium or Titanium?
Choose anodised zirconium if you want colour grown into the metal itself, not painted or plated on. Choose titanium if you want the lightest ring we make, or a wide band that would be heavy in anything else.
- Heavier: Anodised zirconium, about 1.4 times the weight
- Harder surface: Anodised zirconium (Mohs 8.5 against 6)
- From: anodised zirconium £269, titanium £165
- Resizing: anodised zirconium, not usually; titanium, slightly larger
Checked .
| Side by side | Anodised zirconium | Titanium |
|---|---|---|
| Surface | Colour grown into the metal | Solid metal, no plating |
| Hardness (Mohs) | 8.5 | 6 |
| Density | 6.5 g/cm³ reference | 4.5 g/cm³ reference |
| 6mm band, size N | about 3.2g | about 2.2g |
| Resizing | Not usually | Slightly larger |
| Hallmarked | No, not a precious metal | No, not a precious metal |
| Our rings from | £269 | £165 |
Which is heavier, anodised zirconium or titanium?
Anodised zirconium is heavier, about 1.4 times the weight of titanium for the same ring. A 6mm band in size N comes to about 3.2g in anodised zirconium and 2.2g in titanium.
| Width | Anodised zirconium | Titanium |
|---|---|---|
| 2mm | 1.1g | 0.7g |
| 4mm | 2.1g | 1.5g |
| 6mm | 3.2g | 2.2g |
| 8mm | 4.2g | 2.9g |
Worked out from the reference densities (6.5 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 anodised zirconium more expensive than titanium?
Titanium costs less: anodised zirconium rings start at £269 and titanium rings at £165 in our range. Neither is a precious metal, so the difference is the finish and the work in the band, not 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 6 for titanium, so it picks up fewer everyday marks.
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.
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.
Can anodised zirconium and titanium 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.
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
Anodised zirconium is hypoallergenic and a common choice for sensitive skin. Titanium 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. 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. 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.
Explore the fit and weight
Common questions
- Is anodised zirconium or titanium harder wearing?
- Anodised zirconium has the harder surface: Mohs 8.5 against 6 for titanium, so it picks up fewer everyday marks.
- Is anodised zirconium heavier than titanium?
- Anodised zirconium is heavier, about 1.4 times the weight of titanium for the same ring. A 6mm band in size N comes to about 3.2g in anodised zirconium and 2.2g in titanium.
- Is anodised zirconium more expensive than titanium?
- Titanium costs less: anodised zirconium rings start at £269 and titanium rings at £165 in our range. Neither is a precious metal, so the difference is the finish and the work in the band, not 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. 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?
- 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.