CAN TITANIUM BE SIZED?

The first time I ever saw a titanium ring was about twenty years ago.

Other white metals were becoming really popular and giving white gold a run for its money.

“What is this?”

We had just gotten a shipment of titanium wedding rings in and I picked one up to inspect it. I was shocked…

It felt like nothing. It was so light and weightless. I bounced it on my palm thinking “It has to be hollow inside” (it wasn’t). You could barely even feel it.

It felt like air.

When compared to white gold (which was the standard for many years), titanium felt like a feather. I was curious to learn more about titanium. After all, titanium is used to make laptops lighter (not to mention more durable), it’s been used in watches for years, and even the space shuttle utilized titanium.

Titanium in space.

So here we go…

Titanium is a natural element.

Titanium is not an alloy or a synthetic. Titanium is gun-metal gray in hue (which I love), and has some very interesting and surprising attributes to it…

Things to love about titanium:

1. Titanium is more durable than gold. AND… (and this is a big AND…) Titanium is equal in strength to steel. Equal to steel? That’s impressive (sometimes even stronger). It’s like the superman of metals. Titanium is a 6 on the MOH’s scale of hardness. Gold is only 2.5-3.
2. Titanium is much cheaper than gold. Way cheaper. Like half the cost or more.
3. Titanium is almost impossible to size though… (Whoops! Not a great attribute.)

Impossible to size?

You read that correct. Titanium is almost impossible to size. I didn’t know this fun, little fact until I gave a titanium ring to the jeweler to size the first time. He looked at me like I was crazy. “You can’t size titanium” he said “Maybe 1/4 size, but that’s it. You have to order it in the right size.”

How fascinating.

Titanium is a very interesting metal indeed.

• With titanium being a white metal, it won’t ever fade or tarnish (excellent).
• With titanium being so durable and strong, it will resist scratching and nicking better than most other metals. That doesn’t say it won’t scratch… Titanium is just harder to scratch, so it takes longer to wear down.
• With titanium being so lightweight, it makes it ideal for guys to wear as a wedding ring (you won’t even know it’s there). Plus, it’s very comfortable on the finger. It just feels good (comfort-fit bands are the best).

You can’t go wrong with titanium.

I love it. I own several titanium rings (not for wedding, just everyday). And the best part about it… The price! The price of titanium can’t be beat. It’s cheap.

Any downfalls?

Titanium has only one downfall that I see: sizing. That’s the tricky part. You have to custom order a titanium ring to fit. Think about that… You go shopping, you see a titanium ring in the jewelry showcase, you buy it, it doesn’t fit, so you then have to special order one. Not great. Remember this if you’re surprising your mate with a wedding band.

And if you need to resize that ring later… Good luck. You can’t (easily). You may have to buy another ring… Ouch!

Most jewelers will tell you that titanium cannot be sized. Many jewelers will say they can size titanium up slightly… But never down (you can’t compress titanium).

Which means…

Make sure you buy the ring in the correct size.

P.S. Don’t buy it years before your wedding. Your fingers could change in size.

Jewelers suggest checking your actual finger size a couple of times before deciding on a size and custom ordering a titanium ring. Finger sizes will fluctuate and you don’t want to be wrong.

Checking and double checking is a great way to get the proper size.

I absolutely love titanium. I love the look, feel, color, weight, price and styles (see picture of various titanium rings, one even mixed with a strip of 14kt yellow gold), but sizing… Sizing is the real issue.

Best advice:

Find a jewelry store that will guarantee free sizings, exchanges, or replacements on their titanium rings for life. That way, if you eat too much chocolate and need your ring sized…

It’s not a problem!

P.S. Check out these great titanium rings HERE.

Cheers! :)