Tungsten Wedding Bands vs Gold Wedding Bands

Pictured here is a very modern looking Tungsten Wedding Band from Ring Ninja.  The reason that we chose this picture for this particular article is because it’s really the most basic, yet stunning Tungsten Band we could think of.  It represents everything that is right with Tungsten. 

So what are some advantages of Tungsten over Gold?  Well there is a huge number of them.  The first, and most obvious advantage is going to be price.  Although you can find Tungten Wedding Bands that cost as much as $500, this particular band is only going to set you back about $50.  Comparing this band (about 14 grams) with a gold band that ways as much – you’d be looking at roughly $1000 for something with the same weight and similar design. 

The next advantage is finish.  If you’re into yellow gold, it is possible to find Tungsten and 18K Gold Plated Wedding Bands, although they won’t be quite as scratch resistant as the plain Tungsten Wedding Band.  However – when comparing one of these with white gold, there really is no comparison.  Tungsten has a slightly darker hue than that of white gold – but has a very stunning, reflective finish.  The great thing about the finish is that it will not loose it’s luster and require frequent cleaning/buffing like a gold ring will.  Tungsten Rings are the ‘always polished’ wedding ring.  White gold is actually yellow gold, and it’s plated with Rhodium.  Kind of seems like a rip off to pay all that money for gold and just look at a cheap plating, don’t you think?  Not to mention – the plating will wear off every 6 months and need to be replated by a jeweler – not a problem that you’re going to run into with a Tungsten Wedding Band.

The last advantage that Tungsten has over gold, at least that we’re going to touch on here, is it’s hardness.  Gold is a very soft metal.  In fact, remember the old cowboy movies where the bank robbers would get away with a sack of gold, and then take one of the gold coins from the bag of loot and bite it?  That was how they knew it was authentic – the gold would actually bend.  Even gold rings as impure as 10K are relatively easy to bend.  If you know anyone that has a gold band and has been married for a significant amount of time – check out their wedding ring.  It’s probably gone from the nice original circle shape that it used to be, to an oval shape, and is probably pinching the wearer’s finger.  Tungsten Bands, by contrast, will not bend.  They will maintain their orginal shape for as long as you own the ring!!!