Titanium vs Silver - Which is Better for A Ring?

When it comes to wedding and engagement rings, there are a lot of types to choose from. You can go with the traditional metal bands made from gold and platinum, but why not go with something a bit more alternative that won't break the bank? Obviously, there's nothing wrong with going the traditional route, but a lot of people love the look of a bright metal. If you want something with a shiny luster, you should think about titanium and sterling silver rings. They're great bands with a wide range of pros and cons. When it comes to titanium vs sterling silver rings, which one's the better choice for you? These metal types have grown in popularity over the years, and this article explains which choice is best for you if you're having a hard time deciding between the two.

A titanium men's wedding ring doesn't come without any drawbacks. It's difficult to resize, though it isn't impossible. You can resize titanium rings under certain conditions. Sizing up is easy but sizing down a size can get tricky and sometimes be impossible depending on the design of the band. Some jewelers find that titanium bands have few intricate design options because of the material's durability and hardness. But titanium bands are one of our favorite rings to make and their strength makes them suitable for daily wear.

There are not a lot of cons to sterling silver other than it's not as hard as titanium and other alternative metals. Sterling Silver can scratch and bend a little bit easier and requires more maintenance than titanium. If your job requires you to work with your hands a lot or you're just hard on your rings, then we would recommend to get a backup ring  or go with titanium.

If you've ever shopped for sterling silver rings before, you've likely seen the numbers "925" or "316". What do those numbers mean? 925 sterling silver rings are made from 92.5 percent silver with 7.5 percent copper or trace amounts of other metals. Because of the material's physical manipulation, you're likely to have more design options since you can add stones and other materials. It's surprisingly great as a backdrop for diamonds and other precious inlays.

The inclusion of other types of metals are for increasing hardness to make the material more durable. Damage is more likely without it. Depending on the extra metal, it can impact the color and luster of your sterling silver 925 ring.

Since sterling silver is soft and malleable, changing the ring size is a lot easier than with our alternative metal bands. However, resizing this precious metal can lead to problems. Stretching sterling silver rings too many times can eventually weaken its integrity. The ring sizing process although can also be costly, is not as problematic with sterling silver due to its cost. Cheap sterling silver rings are widely available.

Titanium has a silvery, gunmetal greyish appearance, but when polished will hold a nice bright shine. Titanium is unique in that it can beat anodized to show different colors like blue, purple, and even bronze. Anodized titanium rings have started to become more and more popular. Sterling silver is shiny white in color and has a bit more luster to it.

Silver is heavier than titanium. When you weigh the same amount of titanium and silver, you will notice that silver weighs nearly twice as much. Silver may be a softer metal, but it's heavier and those who like the weight and heft of jewelry will tend to like sterling silver a bit more.

Titanium is more durable than silver despite its lighter weight. It will never crack due to its strength and incredible scratch resistance. Silver is a very soft metal that bends easily after constant wear. However, like titanium, it won't break on you, no matter how much it bends.

You're more likely to see tarnishing issues with silver than with titanium. It's impossible to use silver in its purest form, so adding extra metals is necessary. Jewelers add metals to make silver manageable and stronger than normal. Unfortunately, some added metals cause it to tarnish faster than others as well as cause allergic reactions. It's why we recommend avoiding activities with water to prevent tarnishing if you have sterling silver jewelry.

Titanium doesn't corrode or tarnish quickly, so polishing and extra maintenance is significantly easier than with a silver wedding band.

When it comes to wedding jewelry in general, everything boils down to preference. The same goes for titanium and sterling silver. These metal bands have all sorts of pros and cons that'll compliment or poorly match depending on your personal tastes. But the softness of sterling silver is one of the major reasons why we don't have an extensive display of these types of rings. You need to be extra careful compared to titanium rings.

If you want a ring that doesn't require heavy maintenance and is suitable for daily wear, then a titanium men's wedding ring is a wonderful option for you. Titanium's durability and ease of ownership are two of the major reasons behind its rising popularity with our customers. We have some rings that contain sterling silver, but our collection of titanium rings will inevitably have something perfect for you.

We mentioned that titanium rings tend to have few design options at other jewelers. Patrick Adair Designs takes pride in the fact that we can push these so-called boundaries. Products like our Premium Opal Glowstone Ring and our Titanium Glowstone Ring have multiple inlay, glow, and daytime colors to choose from. The number of customization options can help you narrow down your search for your perfect ring.

Please reach out to support@patrickadairdesigns.com if you'd like to take things further with a titanium themed ring.