Both Titanium and Tungsten (technically “Tungsten Carbide”) are great metals for wedding rings and are perfect for symbolising the importance of marriage. Whilst we focus on selling our Tungsten rings due to them feeling more substantial on your hand and being more scratch-resistant, approximately 20% of our customers choose our Titanium rings for its light-weight and hypoallergenic properties.
Tungsten ticks all the boxes, it is: strong, affordable, fashionable, clean and simple. It’s also the most dense and durable jewellery material. That’s not to say it won’t scratch (unfortunately we put our hands through such a beating that scratching is inevitable with any material), but it’s the least likely metal to scratch. This durability brings with it a nice level of heft, giving the ring plenty of substance when you hold it in your hand.
By comparison, Titanium is all of those things except it is much lighter in weight, slightly lighter in colour and more prone to scratches. It is also a slightly cheaper material, hence why Titanium rings are a little more budget friendly. Titanium is also more hypoallergenic than Tungsten, albeit Tungsten is pretty hypoallergenic in its own right.
To put the durability in perspective, Titanium is about 1/4 the weight of Gold, but is 3 times as strong/scratch resistant. Tungsten is slightly heavier than Gold, but is 3.5 times as strong/scratch resistant. So in short, both metals will still get scratches, but just to a much lesser extent than a silver, gold or platinum ring would.
From a safety perspective, in a crushing injury scenario Tungsten rings will shatter whereas Titanium rings will bend (same as Silver, Gold and Platinum). Shattering is generally preferable, but in any case, it’s always best practice not to wear any rings when your job involves a crushing risk (e.g. Mechanic, Heavy Equipment Operator, etc.). They also conduct electricity, so best to avoid wearing your ring on the job if you’re a sparky!
In our view, both Tungsten and Titanium are great metals for a men’s wedding rings. If you’re unsure which to choose, we believe Tungsten is the best option, but as you can see above, there are scenarios where it makes sense for some people to choose Titanium.