Multi toned · Black zirconium with solid gold inlay
Black zirconium wedding ring with gold inlay
From £575
Solid yellow gold set flush into satin black zirconium.
A channel machined into black zirconium and filled with solid 9ct yellow gold, flush with the surface and hallmarked at Birmingham. Black and gold is the pairing every plated ring tries to imitate; here both are the real metal.
Made to order · 2 to 3 weeks · posted insured
Before you order, in one place
- What you are buying
- Gold line, black, precious inlay, made to order in your size. Widths 4 to 10mm.
- Price
- £575 total. UK delivery and engraving are included and nothing is added at checkout.
- When it arrives
- 2 to 3 weeks to make, then one working day insured and signed for. Delivery in full
- Changing your mind
- 30 days from delivery, return postage paid, unless you have it engraved. The cancellation right
- Who you are contracting with
- Trothe Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 17431230, Lytchett House, 13 Freeland Park, Wareham Road, Poole, Dorset, BH16 6FA. Questions and complaints to hello@trothe.co.uk.
- MaterialBlack zirconium with solid gold inlay
- InlaySolid 9ct gold, flush set
- Surface hardnessMohs 8
- Density6.5 g/cm³ base metal
- ResizableSlightly larger
- HallmarkedYes, Birmingham Assay Office
- MadeTo order, in your size
- Delivery2 to 3 weeks, insured
- Returns30 days, unengraved
- EngravingOptional, included, inside the band
Also in: Wedding rings, His and hers, Men's rings, Black rings
Before you choose
What black zirconium and solid gold each do
This is a black zirconium wedding ring with a separate strip of yellow gold set into its centre. The zirconium carries the ring and supplies the black surface; the gold supplies the warm line. Neither material is pretending to be the other, which is the useful distinction when comparing black-and-gold rings.
| Question | Straight answer |
|---|---|
| Is the black a paint or plating? | No. Zirconium develops a zirconia surface through heat treatment. Research on oxidised zirconium describes a black oxide scale chemically bonded to the metal through an oxygen-diffusion zone. |
| Is the gold solid? | Yes. A strip of 9ct yellow gold sits flush in a machined centre channel; it is not a gold-coloured coating over the whole ring. |
| What is hallmarked? | The gold component. UK mixed-material rules require the precious and base-metal parts to be visibly distinct, and the hallmark is applied to the precious-metal part with a +METAL mark. |
| Can the ring be resized? | Not in the usual way: the black surface and the inlay mean it is not cut and rejoined like a plain gold band. It is made to your size, which the ring size finder settles in about two minutes. |
| Which versions are available? | 5mm, 6mm, 7mm and 8mm widths in satin black zirconium, with a 9ct yellow-gold centre line. |
The black is a surface, not black metal all the way through
Zirconium itself is a silvery metal. The Royal Society of Chemistry describes it as protected by a thin oxide layer; controlled oxidation can make that zirconia scale dark grey or black. A published microscopy study found the scale chemically bonded to the substrate through an oxygen-diffusion zone. That makes this materially different from painting a black film onto an unrelated metal.
It does not make the ring impossible to mark. A deep strike that passes through the dark surface can reveal the paler metal below, making the damage easier to see than on an all-silver-coloured ring. “Black zirconium” is therefore an honest description of the finished surface, not a promise that every cross-section of the band is black. The choice makes sense if you want a bonded black oxide surface and accept that no daily-wear surface is scratch-proof.
Why the inlay is 9ct
The line is real yellow gold, hallmarked 375 for 9ct. It is 9ct rather than 18ct on purpose: 9ct is the harder of the two alloys, and a narrow strip set flush into a metal as hard as zirconium needs to wear at something like the same rate, or it sinks below the surface over the years. 18ct would read a richer yellow and mark more readily. The hallmark verifies the precious-metal fineness. It does not turn the zirconium body into a precious-metal ring, and the mixed-material mark is there to make that separation clear.
The centre line is intentionally narrow. If the reason for choosing the ring is the black ground with one controlled flash of gold, that proportion is the point. If you want most of the visible surface to be gold, a solid-gold or two-tone gold band answers a different brief more directly.
Set width and size as two separate decisions
The available widths run from 5mm to 8mm. A wider band does not add more gold choices; it puts more black zirconium either side of the same visual centre line, so the contrast reads differently on the hand. Use the band-width guide to compare those proportions rather than guessing from a close-up product image.
Then confirm the finger measurement with the ring-size finder. Wide bands can feel tighter than narrow ones, and this inlaid design is not resized in the usual way, so the size is the part to settle first. If you are buying in secret, choose “I do not know yet” rather than inventing a size; nothing is made until the size is confirmed. For a lighter grey base and a broader choice of gold colours, compare the titanium wedding ring with gold inlay.
What to expect from daily wear
The two surfaces will not age in exactly the same way. The gold line can record fine marks from everyday contact, while a sufficiently deep impact on the black zirconium can expose pale metal beneath the oxide. That contrast is part of the maintenance decision, not a manufacturing fault. Remove the ring for work where it will be trapped, crushed or struck; cleaning cannot reverse a cut through either material.
If damage occurs, keep the ring and ask for an assessment before anyone polishes it. Refinishing the black surface and working on the gold inlay are specialist jobs. The material page has the longer care context: black zirconium explained.
About this ring
Black zirconium wedding ring with gold inlay: the numbers
Width by width
| Width | How it reads | Weight, est. | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4mm | Slim, the quietest everyday width | 2.1g | £575 |
| 5mm | Between slim and classic | 2.6g | £575 |
| 6mm | Classic, the usual starting point for a band | 3.2g | £575 |
| 7mm | Classic to broad, more of the pattern shows | 3.7g | £575 |
| 8mm | Broad, a ring that is clearly there | 4.2g | £600 |
| 9mm | Wide and bold, best on a larger hand | 4.7g | £600 |
| 10mm | Wide and bold, best on a larger hand | 5.3g | £600 |
Weights are estimates for a plain band of the same width in black zirconium at UK size N with a 1.6mm wall, from the model in our ring weight calculator. The price steps up at the widths that take more metal to make.
How it compares with the rings nearest it
| Ring | What sets it apart | Metal | Widths | Surface hardness | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold line, black (this ring) | Solid yellow gold set flush into satin black zirconium. | Black zirconium with gold inlay | 4 to 10mm | Mohs 8 | £575 |
| Rose and yellow gold inlay | Two golds side by side in one wide inlay. | Titanium with gold inlay | 4 to 10mm | Mohs 6 | £575 |
| Rose on relieved black | Three tones: bright edges, black shoulders, rose gold centre. | Black zirconium with gold inlay | 4 to 10mm | Mohs 8 | £595 |
| Three tone | Bright edges, black shoulders, a gold line down the middle. | Black zirconium with gold inlay | 4 to 10mm | Mohs 8 | £595 |
There are 22 black zirconium bands in the range, from £385 to £795. All about black zirconium.
The metal, in brief
Heating zirconium forms a black ceramic oxide at its surface. The colour comes from that oxide, rather than applied black plating. It is a hard surface over a softer metal core, so scratch resistance does not mean the whole ring is black or immune to damage.
Surface hardness Mohs 8, density 6.5 g/cm³, and hypoallergenic, so it is a sound choice for skin that reacts to nickel. It is not a precious metal, so it carries no hallmark.
Compared side by side: Anodised zirconium or black zirconium, Black zirconium or titanium, Black zirconium or sterling silver. Or read the full black zirconium guide.
Work it out before you order
About Black zirconium wedding ring with gold inlay
- Can this ring 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.
- Is engraving included?
- Yes, and it is optional. Leave the box blank and the ring is made plain. If you do want one it is laser cut inside the band where the ring is made, rather than sent out to a third party, and there is no charge and no extra wait.
- How long will it take?
- 2 to 3 weeks. It is made in your size after you order, not picked off a shelf, and that is the reason the widths and finishes are open choices.
- Can I return it if I have it engraved?
- Not for a change of mind. An engraving makes the ring clearly personalised, which puts it outside the statutory right to cancel, and it cannot be resold. Every ring shop draws the line here. Order it plain and you keep the full 30 days. Either way, a ring that arrives faulty or is not what you ordered is covered by the Consumer Rights Act, which nothing waives.
- How much does the Gold line, black ring weigh?
- About 2.1g at 4mm, 3.2g at 6mm, 5.3g at 10mm, estimated for a plain band in black zirconium at UK size N. Larger sizes and wider bands weigh more. It is a light ring by any standard: 18ct gold of the same size is more than twice the weight.
- What widths does it come in, and do they cost the same?
- 4 to 10mm. 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 7mm are £575, and 8mm, 9mm, 10mm £600, because the wider bands take more metal to make.
- What is closest to the Gold line, black in the range?
- Rose and yellow gold inlay (titanium with gold inlay) and Rose on relieved black (black zirconium with gold inlay). The comparison table on this page sets them side by side on metal, width, hardness and price.
- What if I get the size wrong?
- If it is unengraved, return it inside 30 days and we refund it, and we pay the postage. Use the free ring size finder first if you are unsure, and if the ring is a surprise, ask us and we will talk you through the ways to find out without asking them.