Titanium jewelry/watches

[Handruin]

Anyone ever bought anything made of titanium to wear as jewelry? I’m curious where you bought it. I was looking for watches made of Ti and was just generally curious what else is out there for guys. I did the usual Google search and came up with a few stores online but was curious if anyone has bought anything or seen of an interesting place. Maybe even ddrueding's g/f might have the lowdown on this type of thing... What watch makers should I look at for this type of thing?

[ddrueding]

Just talked to the g/f, and she has no knowlegde in the Ti stuff. She works in the more traditional metals (silver and gold), that are soft enough and melt at a low enough temperature that you can have more fun with it.

I, however, do have some experience with the stuff. I helped my brother-in-law machine his (and my sister's) wedding bands out of 6/4 aircraft grade titanium. He purchased a solid rod from a military surplus store online (looked like a strut of some kind) and we machined it on a lathe. He's kept the rest of the rod in case he changes ring size - there's no way to bend this stuff.

It's incredibly light, and ridiculously strong and hard. Weighs practically nothing, we had fun attacking it with a 12-lb sledgehammer (cracked the concrete; didn't warp the band), and nothing we could do would even blemish it.

If I wore any kind of jewelery, Ti is candidate #1.

[Bozo]

Finger rings made of Ti can be dangerous. If for some reason it has to come off (broken finger, swelling) and can't be removed the 'normal' way, it can't be cut off.


Bozo :mrgrn:

[Stereodude]

Finger rings made of Ti can be dangerous. If for some reason it has to come off (broken finger, swelling) and can't be removed the 'normal' way, it can't be cut off.


Bozo :mrgrn:
Not true...

I have a Titanium wedding ring on my finger right now. I got it from http://www.boonerings.com/. He has a specific section in his FAQ about cutting the ring off in an accident.


Q: What about cutting off a titanium or tungsten ring in case of an accident?
A: The very first thing when I started making titanium rings is cut them off of my own finger by different methods. Titanium is about as hard as stainless steel, so things that cut steel such as a hacksaw or Dremel tool can be used. Titanium has a reputation of being stronger than steel. It's not necessarily so. It's the high strength to weight ratio that is the reason it is used in aerospace applications. I've had a customer that did have to get one cut off. They were able to remove it without a problem, and she ordered another titanium ring!

Tungsten is made from powder, so it is hard, but relatively brittle. It can be cracked in a vise, by vise grips, by a hammer, or some similar means.

[Groltz]

tungsten ring

:rotfl: Might as well get a ring made out of depleted uranium while you're at it.

I have a rivet bucking bar made out of tungsten; that metal isn't meant for jewelry.

[timwhit]

I have a Skagen watch that is made of Titanium.

https://commerce76.datapipe.com/skagen/store.asp?area=FullProduct&productID=121

[Stereodude]

:rotfl: Might as well get a ring made out of depleted uranium while you're at it.

I have a rivet bucking bar made out of tungsten; that metal isn't meant for jewelry.
But it's so heavy so it's must be special... :roll:

[Mercutio]

I had a titanium engagement ring. :(

[Will Rickards]

My friends got matching Ti wedding rings.
They bought them online for about $50, I think he said.
He got his made at least a size too big.

[Stereodude]

He got his made at least a size too big.
Why's that? He wanted it to fall off all the time?

[Bozo]

Maybe there are different grades of Ti. A relative went to buy a Ti ring at a jewlers shop and was warned that it could not be cut off. I thought that was rather odd, but, what do I know??? :?:


Bozo :mrgrn:

[Stereodude]

Maybe there are different grades of Ti. A relative went to buy a Ti ring at a jewlers shop and was warned that it could not be cut off. I thought that was rather odd, but, what do I know??? :?:
Odds are that jeweler didn't sell Ti, so he wanted to talk your relative out of it, or the jeweler was simply uninformed.

[sechs]

Sure, you can cut it off. If you want a buzzing saw blade labouring near your presumably injured finger.

I knew there was a reason that I don't wear much jewelry....

[Handruin]

Just talked to the g/f, and she has no knowlegde in the Ti stuff. She works in the more traditional metals (silver and gold), that are soft enough and melt at a low enough temperature that you can have more fun with it.

I, however, do have some experience with the stuff. I helped my brother-in-law machine his (and my sister's) wedding bands out of 6/4 aircraft grade titanium. He purchased a solid rod from a military surplus store online (looked like a strut of some kind) and we machined it on a lathe. He's kept the rest of the rod in case he changes ring size - there's no way to bend this stuff.

It's incredibly light, and ridiculously strong and hard. Weighs practically nothing, we had fun attacking it with a 12-lb sledgehammer (cracked the concrete; didn't warp the band), and nothing we could do would even blemish it.

If I wore any kind of jewelery, Ti is candidate #1.

Thanks for looking into it and asking your g/f. I can understand why she doesn't make jewlery using it with a melting point of 3034 F, it doesn't sound easy to work with (especially soldering it). I haven't had a ton of luck finding things I like made from Ti. I should say I'm not looking for rings, although I'd consider one if I was getting married but that isn't happening any time soon.

It sounds like you had some fun making that ring. How hard was it to machine on a lathe?

[Handruin]

tungsten ring

:rotfl: Might as well get a ring made out of depleted uranium while you're at it.

I have a rivet bucking bar made out of tungsten; that metal isn't meant for jewelry.

A tungsten rung definitely doesn't sound like it's meant for jewelry. :D

[ddrueding]

It sounds like you had some fun making that ring. How hard was it to machine on a lathe?

It was an absolute blast. It wasn't hard to do; it just took a long time (replacing the bits frequently) and made an awful noise. The precision of the machining was the finished product, there really wasn't much else to do.

[Stereodude]

Thanks for looking into it and asking your g/f. I can understand why she doesn't make jewlery using it with a melting point of 3034 F, it doesn't sound easy to work with (especially soldering it).
Pretty much all Ti rings are made on a lathe, where as most other types of jewelry rings are cast in a mold.

[Santilli]

I had a Fossil Titanium Watch I bought at Sears. I think it 110 dollars.
No allergies, and the watch was just fine. Can't find it right now. Cell phone took over the watches place.

Probably ebay it if I find it.

Greg

[ddrueding]

If anyone is interested in Titanium rings, I happen to have a catalogue right here. They also have some tungsten carbide rings which look very nice IMO.

PM me if you like more info.