Is titanium good for a wedding ring?

Is titanium good for a wedding ring?

Yes. For a ring worn every day it has three things going for it. It is light, so it sits on the hand without being noticed. It is strong: the Royal Society of Chemistry says titanium is as strong as steel but much less dense. And it is the same metal all the way through, with nothing plated on top to wear away or renew.

It is also kind to skin. Titanium is used for joint replacements and tooth implants because it connects well with bone and is not rejected by the body. A titanium ring suits a hand that reacts to other metals.

That is why most of our range is titanium. Plain bands, gold and wood inlays, laser cut patterns and diamond set rings are all made in it, from 4 to 10mm wide, to order in your size.

Titanium rings: Every titanium ring in the range, plain, inlaid, patterned and diamond set, made to order in your size.

Titanium engagement rings: Diamonds set into a titanium band, as an engagement ring or both rings in one.

Fingerprint wedding rings: How the print is taken and which width shows it best.

How heavy is a titanium ring?

Very light. Titanium weighs about 4.5 grams per cubic centimetre, under a third of the 15.7 of 18ct yellow gold. In our ring weight model a court band in UK size N comes to about 0.7g at 2mm wide, 1.5g at 4mm, 2.2g at 6mm, 2.9g at 8mm and 3.7g at 10mm.

For comparison, the same 6mm band weighs about 3.2g in black zirconium, 5.6g in 9ct gold, 7.7g in 18ct gold and 9.8g in platinum. So a wide titanium band weighs less than a narrow gold one, which is why titanium is the comfortable way to wear a broad ring.

If you like a ring with heft, that lightness is the one thing to weigh up. Some people want to feel their ring; most people who choose titanium are glad they cannot.

Lightest metal for a wedding ring: Every metal by weight, in grams.

Ring weight estimator: The grams for any metal, width and size, side by side.

A ring for a man who never wears jewellery: Light, plain and comfortable: what the first weeks feel like.

Does a titanium ring scratch?

It picks up fine surface marks with daily wear, like every ring metal. Titanium sits at about 6 on the Mohs scale, harder than gold at 2.5 to 3, so it shrugs off the knocks that dent a gold band. Ordinary dust contains quartz at Mohs 7, though, which is why fine marks still appear over time.

Those marks show least on a brushed or satin finish, which is why so many titanium rings are made that way. They are on the surface only: there is no plating underneath to wear through, so a marked titanium ring is still titanium all the way through.

Take it off for abrasive or heavy work, as you would any ring you want to keep looking new.

The most durable wedding ring metal: Every metal ranked for scratches and for wear.

Tungsten or titanium?: Tungsten scratches less. What it costs you in weight, resizing and removal.

How to look after a wedding ring: Cleaning, storage and when to take a ring off, metal by metal.

Satin, polished or hammered?: How each finish looks, which hides scratches best and how each one wears.

Is titanium hypoallergenic?

Yes. Titanium is not toxic and is not rejected by the body, which is why surgeons use it inside the body as well as jewellers outside it. The metal most likely to cause a reaction to jewellery is nickel: the NHS lists some metals, including nickel, among the common causes of allergic contact dermatitis.

So titanium is a natural choice for anyone whose skin has reacted to a ring before, or who does not want to find out. Our guide to metal allergies covers the other metals that suit sensitive skin and the ones to be careful with.

Metal allergies and hypoallergenic rings: Which ring metals suit sensitive skin and what to look for in white gold.

Grade 2 or Grade 5 titanium: which is used?

Most of our titanium rings are Grade 2. Our maker uses it for its designs and keeps the higher tensile Grade 5 for tension set rings, where the extra strength is what holds the stone in place.

Grade 5 is stronger, but it is no more scratch resistant, so the grade is about strength rather than marks. Each ring page states its own metal, so the specification of the ring you choose is the one to read.

Is a titanium ring hallmarked?

No. It does not need one. UK hallmarking law covers gold, silver, platinum and palladium. Titanium is not a precious metal under the Hallmarking Act, so a titanium ring carries no hallmark. The absence of one says nothing about its quality.

A titanium ring with a solid gold inlay is different. The gold is precious metal, so those rings are hallmarked for the gold they carry.

UK hallmarks explained: What a hallmark proves, which metals must carry one and how to read the marks.

Can a titanium ring be resized or cut off?

Slightly larger, never smaller. 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. The free ring size finder makes that a two minute job.

And yes, it can be cut off in an emergency. It needs a powered cutter rather than the hand cutter kept for gold. Published hospital cases show it done without harm to the finger.

Can a titanium ring be cut off?: What hospitals use, what the published cases show and when to take a ring off.

Ring size finder: Measure at home in about two minutes.

Titanium or gold: which should you choose?

Choose titanium for a light, hard wearing ring that suits sensitive skin. Choose gold for a hallmarked precious metal with weight and a warmer colour. If you want some of both, a solid gold line inlaid in titanium gives you real gold on the face of a ring that still weighs very little.

Black zirconium is the other modern metal to consider: a little heavier than titanium, with a hard black surface grown into the metal rather than plated on.

Seeing the two colours against your own skin settles it quickly: the free ring try-on draws any of our titanium or gold bands onto a photo of your hand.

Is black zirconium good for a wedding ring?: How the black wears, what it weighs, skin and resizing.

9ct gold or titanium?: Weight, wear, price and resizing side by side.

Black zirconium or titanium?: The two modern metals compared, gram for gram.

Ring try-on: See titanium and gold against your own skin, on a photo of your hand. Free.

Are wooden wedding rings durable?: Real wood set into titanium, water and care.