How to tell if a ring is real tungsten? How to quality check a real tungsten carbide ring?These frequently asked questions you may have when you want to buy a real tungsten carbide ring.
You do not want to by a fake tungsten ring or get a tungsten ring made with cobalt. Here is a post that will teach you the Main Difference Between Cheap and Expensive Tungsten Rings.
So today, I am going to share some tricks that you can use when you are buying a tungsten rings.
Most of the time, you will get such an answer on Google.
1.Judge from weight
2.Judge from hardness
3.Judge from appearance
4. Judge by time.
Yes. these methods work fine. But, the do not tell you more in detail. So my job today is to tell how to tell if a ring is real tungsten in a detailed method.
But, first things first. You need to understand?
What is Your Tungsten Ring Made With?
You may think: My tungsten ring is absolutely made with tungsten.
Yeah. But the answer is not accurate.
Your tungsten ring is not made with 100% tungsten.
Why?
Reason 1-100% tungsten ring is so hard, so it’s easy to break it.
Reason 2-100% tungsten metal can be very difficult to make into a ring.
Reason 3-100% tungsten ring is not durable and resistant.
So, most of the tungsten rings on the Market are tungsten carbide rings. Jewelers like to label tungsten carbide rings as ”tungsten rings” for simplicity.
Tungsten carbide is an alloy of tungsten and other metals, such as predominantly carbon, nickel, titanium and more other metals.
What kind of Tungsten Carbide Ring you Should Buy?
The best tungsten carbide ring is made with mixing tungsten with carbon and nickel. Therefore, you should buy this tungsten ring. (No worry about Tungsten rings made with nickel, the nickel is less than 1%) For example, this ring on Amazon you can buy. If you want to see a tungsten ring made with nickel-jewelry grade tungsten, check this link.
Cheaper tungsten rings are made with cobalt. This is the tungsten ring you should not buy. Very bad. This is would happen soon or later. Cobalt is a metal that will tarnish and blacken your finger. check this pic. This kind of ring – You must be very careful, it is very cheap. Check this one on Amazon-Very cheap.
Let’s keep to the point:
How to Tell if a Ring is Real Tungsten?
1.Density Identification Method-Judge from Weight.
I believe this is a great way to test the ring. Why?
Tungsten is a dense metal and its density is much higher than titanium, stainless steel or other alloy rings. The very texture when wearing, also in heaving metal feeling. But, if you feel your tungsten ring is quite lightweight, it might be a fake tungsten ring.
I did a test for you guys. Please see the picture below.
I used 3 same-size rings made with different metals. here are the results.
The first one is made of stainless steel. The weight is: 4.78g
The second one is made of alloy. It is the biggest. The weight is 6.71
The third one is made of jewelry grade-tungsten. The weight is 17.24g
As you can see, rings made of tungsten carbide is much heavier than rings made of other metals. This is a very great way.
Key Takeaway: The weight of men’s tungsten bands is about 14g-22g. If your tungsten ring is under this range. You should do more test.
2.Judge from Hardness.
Do you know the hardness of tungsten carbide? Let me tell you today!
The hardness of tungsten is between 8 and 9M( This is international Mohs hardness standard), close to Natural diamonds( it is10 M).3 times harder than gold, 4 times harder than titanium and 5 times harder than stainless steel.
Because of its hardness, so the tungsten rings are hardly be scratched. Only the diamond can scratch the tungsten.
So, today. I did a test for you guys. see the result below.
As you can see, the alloy ring is the easiest to scratch, followed by stainless steel. I can easily scratch with my scissors. See, the tungsten ring is the hardest. No scratch at all.
If you want to buy one or you already have one, you can take a blade or other hard objects and scratch on the tungsten ring. If the tungsten ring can be scratched, it is not a real tungsten ring.
Please see this ring, I wear it every day for the last 12 months. It has no scratches at all.
3.Judge from Appearance
In this part, I am going to teach you how to buy the real tungsten ring by its appearance.
Real tungsten carbide ring is cold silver in color. ( like a mirror, the effect of the polished surface) But after the polishing process, the tungsten ring has amazing luster and gloss, which shines like a natural diamond does. Moreover, the real tungsten ring is very smooth and flawless.
If the ring surface is a little bit dim or dark, it must not be a real tungsten ring.
4.Judge by Time
A real tungsten ring will not tarnish or fade and it maintains as polished as new for a long time. (The polish of a real tungsten ring is supposed to last 30 years or more, if you start to notice scratches on it then it is likely not tungsten carbide)
Why?
Tungsten carbide ring is very resistant to wear and corrosion. Daily wearing will not produce oxidation, fading or skin allergy. If your tungsten rings blacken your finger, you probably get a fake tungsten ring or you might get a tungsten ring made with cobalt.
Hey, guys I also write a post topic on how to tell if stainless steel jewelry is real? (In a Right Way)If you want to know more about other metal jewelry, you can read more by reading this post.
Summary
There are many ways you can test your tungsten rings are real or not. But if you are an experienced buyer or a jewelry lover, you will tell the tungsten ring by wearing it.
If you follow the 4 methods above, you can buy a real tungsten carbide ring.
I know you guys will have a lot of questions when you buy a tungsten ring. Such as: Why are Tungsten Rings so Expensive at Jewelry Stores? or Why Are Tungsten Rings So Cheap on Amazon/eBay? or you want to know the Main Difference Between Cheap and Expensive Tungsten Rings. Check my post to learn more. You will get what you want.
Guys, thanks for reading my post? Any other questions? If you more questions, please go to our home page to find more answers or go to our tungsten rings section. I promise you guys will learn a lot.
See you guys in the next post.
Tiger is a fashion&jewelry lover. He is also a fashion jewelry manufacturer that help thousands of small business to grow and also do business with some big fashion jewelry brands. He is a truly metal expert and he will share some information you are looking for.