Why Buy A Tungsten Ring?
If you want a ring that will keep its brilliant new look for years and years, tungsten is the only choice. Tungsten is the second hardest metal in the world, next to uranium. But since uranium is highly radioactive, tungsten is the hardest metal that can be made into jewelry. Because a tungsten ring is so hard it is the most scratch resistance ring you can buy, so it will look new practically forever.
Tungsten Hard Facts
Forever Perfect rings are made of the hardest tungsten carbide available. Tungsten carbide is several times harder than gold, silver, platinum and even titanium. Due to the hardness of tungsten, Forever Perfect rings are virtually scratch resistant. We like to refer to our rings as the ideal rings for a man or woman because they can withstand the wear and tear of even the most rigorous lifestyle without scratching or scarring.
We encourage our retail jewelers to rub them across a metal file to demonstrate to their customers just how durable they are.
The Origins of Tungsten
Tungsten, once known as wolfram, was discovered by Swedish pharmacist Karl Scheele in 1781 in the mineral now known as scheelite. In 1873 the Spanish del Huyar brothers extracted the pure metal from another mineral, wolframite.
Tungsten’s chemical symbol “W” comes from it’s earlier, Germanic name, Wolfram. Its atomic number is 74, with the atomic weight of 183.5. Of all metals, tungsten has the highest melting point (6192 degrees F) and the highest tensile strength (at temperatures above 3002 degrees F).
A highly wear-resistant material, tungsten is routinely used in machining other metals. Its wear resistance is surpassed only by diamond. It is commonly used in light bulb filliments, tips of drill bits and high speed cutting tools.
The Hardness Scale
Forever Perfect Rings are made of the hardest tungsten carbide available. Tungsten carbide is several times harder than gold, silver, platinum and even titanium. To compare the hardness of tungsten to other metals we use the Vickers hardness scale. The hardness of tungsten is rated 3430HV, Titanium is 970HV, platinum 549HV, gold 216HV, and silver 251HV. Due to the hardness of tungsten, Forever Perfect Rings are virtually scratch resistant.
The Big Differance
Tungsten carbide, also known as cemented carbide is made by blending tungsten powder with a binding agent material, such as cobalt or nickel. Cobalt is the more widely used binder for use in industrial cutting tools, it is also cheaper to manufacture. But cobalt itself will cause skin irritation. Nickel therefore is the better choice for the use in jewelry. The tungsten and binding agent is mixed and compacted in a rough mold, then fired at extremely high temperatures, causing the binding agent to melt & flow between the tungsten particles. When the binding agent solidifies, it cements the grains together forming a dense composite. Cemented carbides get their hardness from the tungsten grains and their toughness from the tight bonds produced by the cementing action of the binding material.
Then there is the amount of binder added. We use a 95% WC (tungsten) and 5% nickel composite. Which is the hardest type of tungsten carbide available. Some of our competitors use a 60% WC and 40% nickel which is cheaper to buy. This also makes it so soft that they are able to form the ring without the use of diamond abrasives. So They are able to make the rings very cheap. But by making the rings so soft it makes them much easier to scratch, in-fact just as easy as titanium rings.
