Comparison
Black zirconium or Sterling silver?
Choose black zirconium if you want a black ring with a hard surface that is grown, not plated. 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: Black zirconium (Mohs 8 against 2.75)
- From: black zirconium £199
- Resizing: black zirconium, not usually; sterling silver, yes, by a jeweller
Checked .
| Side by side | Black zirconium | Sterling silver |
|---|---|---|
| Surface | Heat-grown black oxide | Silver alloy |
| Hardness (Mohs) | 8 | 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 | £199 | See the range |
Which is heavier, black zirconium or sterling silver?
Sterling silver is heavier, about 1.6 times the weight of black zirconium for the same ring. A 6mm band in size N comes to about 3.2g in black zirconium and 5.1g in sterling silver.
| Width | Black 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 black zirconium more expensive than sterling silver?
Black zirconium rings start at £199 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; black 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?
Black zirconium has the harder surface: Mohs 8 against 2.75 for sterling silver, so it picks up fewer everyday marks. Sterling silver marks sooner, and any jeweller can polish it back.
Black zirconium. The black is a hard ceramic oxide grown into the surface by heat, around Mohs 8, far harder than gold, so everyday knocks that mark a gold band leave it looking the same. It is scratch resistant rather than scratch proof: a hard blow against stone or steel can mark it, and a pale line is often metal rubbed off something else, which cleans away. Take it off for gardening, climbing and the gym, and if it is ever marked, our maker refinishes black zirconium depending on the damage.
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 black zirconium and sterling silver rings be resized?
Black zirconium: Not in the usual way. The black is grown into the surface of the metal, so cutting or machining the band would show bright metal underneath. That is why the size is settled before the ring is made, and every ring is made to that measurement.
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
Black 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
Black zirconium if you want a black ring with a hard surface that is grown, not plated. 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.
Plain black zirconium
Black all the way round, and none of it is a coating.
Colour line on black
One narrow line of real colour through matte black.
Relieved black
Black cut back to bright metal along both edges.
Explore the fit and weight
Common questions
- Is black zirconium or sterling silver harder wearing?
- Black zirconium has the harder surface: Mohs 8 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 black zirconium heavier than sterling silver?
- Sterling silver is heavier, about 1.6 times the weight of black zirconium for the same ring. A 6mm band in size N comes to about 3.2g in black zirconium and 5.1g in sterling silver.
- Is black zirconium more expensive than sterling silver?
- Black zirconium rings start at £199 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; black zirconium is priced on the making, not on bullion.
- Can both be resized?
- Not in the usual way. The black is grown into the surface of the metal, so cutting or machining the band would show bright metal underneath. That is why the size is settled before the ring is made, and every ring is made to that measurement. 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.