It can be very overwhelming when shopping for wedding bands made from alternative metals. It doesn't help that different jewelry metals have their pros and cons. You're constantly trying to decide on classic choices or other affordable alternatives. It isn't an easy task, especially when you're trying to find your perfect ring for life. To last a lifetime, you want to pick the strongest metal for rings. You want something that'll last, and you'll only be able to do that by choosing a durable ring. But what defines the strongest metals on Earth?  How do you measure and compare the strengths of different metals for engagement rings?

In this post, we'll go over the top 10 strongest metals and try to narrow your options down. We'll look at versatile, powerful, and durable metals that work great for rings. At the end of the day, you want something valuable and scarce. You want something unique and special that's sought after. No, we're not talking about Marvel's Wakandan Vibranium, although if that did exist, it would be by far the most durable and sought after metal. None of our alternative metals will give you reality-altering powers. But the normal elements that jewelers se are just as awesome for jewelry. We'll take a look at the world's strongest metals and compare them by looking at the various properties of strong elements. We're positive that every impressive metal has individual properties that make them ideal candidates for your future wedding or engagement ring!

Tensile strength is the largest amount of stress that a material can withstand while also being pulled or stretched until it breaks.

Impact strength is also known as impact toughness.  This is the amount of energy that a material can withstand when you abruptly place a load on it. There's a gradual amount of force until the material deforms or breaks.

Compressive strength is the capacity of a material to resist compression. When you push a load around the material, you're looking for fractures or deformations as a result of the compression.

The Mohs Scale of Hardness ranges from 1 to 10 and characterizes scratch resistance. We love using it to help display a material's durability and resistance. It does lack precision, but it gives great estimates.

When you're looking at strong and precious metals, what does that mean? There are a few factors that you're going to want to consider when it comes to a wedding band. You'll have to look at the material's scratch resistance, durability, and crack resistance. When you look at durable and scratch proof rings, you'll be able to make your investment last a lifetime.

Palladium is a precious metal that has a silvery white color appearance. It has a Mohs hardness scale in between 5 and 5.75 when alloyed. Unfortunately, this white metal can easily scratch and oxidize over time. It's a softer metal than other alternatives, but it's a lightweight material that's comfortable as a wedding band. Palladium rings are perfect if you hate the feeling of a heavy ring around your finger.

This metal is a corrosion-resistant alloy of iron, chromium, and other metals. Stainless steel rings have an incredibly high sheen shine after you polish it. The silver color and hardness of stainless steel rings make it a worthy contender to sterling silver. Sterling silver is a weaker metal that can warp over time. Despite this, stainless steel won't easily break under pressure, so permanent deformation isn't an issue. On the Mohs scale, it scores somewhere between a 5 and 6 and is a material you'll see heavily used in the aerospace industry.

Platinum bands are a low maintenance metal but are very expensive compared to traditional metals. These rings have a white color that looks like silver to the untrained eye. It's a great hypoallergenic material if you have skin allergies, but it's not as strong as other types of metal. Its Mohs scale ranges from a 4 to 4.5, so you have to be a bit weary about scratches.

This expensive metal has been a staple in the jewelry industry for centuries. It's shinier than a lot of other resistant metals. It's a malleable material to work with, so you will see a lot of unique designs. It's popular because of this as well as its brilliant, shiny finish. The malleability and Mohs hardness of 3 make it prone to damage. A beating or slight pressure can put any silver ring out of shape.

Out of all the strong metals listed above, tungsten and titanium are two of our favorite metal alloys. But which one is better? When it comes to a wedding band, tungsten vs titanium has become a very popular question. Both of these gunmetal gray tone materials are much harder than other popular metals. You're more likely to scratch platinum and gold. But aside from their degrees of resistance and degrees of protection, titanium and tungsten differ in certain areas:

Titanium isn't just titanium in jewelry - they're actually an alloy of titanium. Titanium alloys have other elements such as aluminum and vanadium. This leads to a different grade of titanium depending on the composition. They're incredibly popular in aerospace engineering. Tungsten carbide originates from tungsten and carbon.

Tungsten carbide is harder and more scratch resistant than titanium.

Titanium is a lot more crack resistant. Tungsten carbide is brittle, which means it can shatter and crack if you put enough pressure onto it.

Tungsten carbide rings are dense and heavy. You'll notice the ring when it's around your finger. Titanium rings are the complete opposite. They're one of the lightest metals. They're so lightweight that you likely won't notice it around your finger. Weight can be a pro or con depending on the specific person. Some people enjoy the heft of jewelry. Some people will associate lightweightedness with something being cheap, which is far from the case with titanium. At the end of the day, it is personal preference whether or not you prefer a heavier or lighter ring.

Out of all the possible options, tungsten and titanium remain popular choices for durable materials. If you like either of them, we have a big catalog dedicated to them. Our collection of tungsten and titanium rings comes with unique styles and designs. But don't these metals and judge your choice based on just the metal durability. We've listed at the strongest metals on earth, but you should also base your pick on your personal lifestyle and tastes.

You don't have to stick with tungsten and titanium! Your choice doesn't have to be based on the world's strongest metal for rings. Do you like the look and value of gold rings around your finger? Do you enjoy the appearance of highly polished yet delicate silver? Do you prefer a darker ring like black ceramic? In the end, there's nothing wrong with traditional choices for wedding ring metals. You need to evaluate your personal tastes before you choose from any selection of rings. You'll just have to take into account if you choose a slightly less durable material that there will likely be a lot more maintenance on your end.