Bright As A Bulb
February 25th, 2008 @ 12:39 pm by Mrs. Petunia
You’ll find tungsten in light bulbs and circuits, among other places, so it only seemed fitting that Mr. Petunia, an electrical engineering student, should sport a tungsten wedding band, no?
Tungsten rings are supposed to be virtually “scratch-proof,” though if they are forged with other metals, the parts that aren’t tungsten can get scratched (for example, the middle band in Mr. P’s ring is silver, so he’ll have to be careful). I think the real selling point for the future hubby was the ring’s weight: tungsten is one heavy metal!
It’s important to keep in mind that tungsten rings cannot be re-sized and even original sizing can be tricky. Mr. P’s ring finger measures a 9 and a half, but when the ring came in to the jewelers, that size was actually too large. We had to special order again in a size 9, and even then, the jeweler ordered three in the same size to allow for variations until we got just the right one.
My only concern is if something bad ever happens and the ring has to be removed, it apparently can’t be cut off just like that — some sort of special pliers are required, but we’ve been assured this can be done by medical professionals, so I’m not entirely wiggin’ out…
Oh, and did I mention when we got his, we also picked out this lovely for me? It’s not tungsten, but it’s platinum… okay by me!
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13 Responses to “Bright As A Bulb”
I got DH a tungsten carbide ring and we couldn’t be happier. It is a little heavier than titanium and has a different color than white gold, but we love it. We were looking at it again yesterday and it looks brand new (he’s been wearing it for 5 mnths) w/o a scratch on it! The thing is indestructible. Plus, it’s a fraction of the price (of gold or platinum).
I highly recommend getting one!
Miss Petunia, of course, i have to adore your ring– i think it’s the same as mine!
(beautiful, in any event though!!)
Hey Miss Petunia… I think Mr.Flamingo got the same ring… well it sure looks alot like it! and its Tungsten too… 
My husband’s ring is tungsten carbide. He loves it. It is strong but brittle enough that it would break before it would crush his finger.
My friend is a doctor and said that Tungsten cannot be cut off. The jeweler may say that it can be cut off, but it cannot! How many medics do you know that have these “special pliers”? The chances may be slim.
Tungsten carbide is a very hard, but relatively brittle metal. The main problem with cutting it in industrial applications is that you tend to “shatter” the area around the cut, which is a quality control problem. While tungsten carbide rings don’t scratch, they do chip (due to the inherent brittleness of the metal). The mostly likely scenario is that the ring would be destroyed (broken into several pieces) in any scenario that would normally result in the need to cut the ring off. For instance, I had to have a ring cut off my finger in college when my hand was shut in a submarine-type door, crushing my class ring. If the ring had been tungsten carbide, it would have shattered in the impact rather than deformed like my gold class ring.
I have had machinists tell me that tungsten carbide actually shatters quite easily - that I could shatter a tungsten carbide ring by applying steady pressure with a vise-grips. I would guess that is how EMTs or emergency room personnel would remove it.
FYI, make sure that you actually get Tungsten Carbide - if you only get tungsten, that’s essentially just steel.
Tungsten can be cut off but using an everyday hacksaw won’t do it. As said above you need special pliers since tungsten is stronger than your typical stainless medial supplies. Since tungsten is not very ductile and extremely brittle it’ll shatter instead of bend in most cases-think of what would happen if you tried to bend a coffee cup.
Scroll down for info:
http://www.e-weddingbands.com/store/tungsten_rings.html
we are considering tungsten for my FH. we’ve actually looked at that exact ring.
i’m concerned about sizing though bc we plan to irder it offline….
That is my FI’s ring too! He liked the heavy feel of the Tungsten, and it’s got a great look to it. Good choice
My husband is a machinist. Like suzanno said many of the cutters they use are tungsten carbide.
We got DH a Trent West tungsten carbide ring also but his has hammered yellow gold. He loves it! It has basically no wear and he is really tough on it (there are a few minor scratches in the gold section but you can’t really see them because it is hammered). He wanted to be able to wear it a lot and still have it look good to wear out to dinner. I would highly recommend their rings.
Oh, and we had an inscription laser engraved inside the ring and it turned out really good. We had it done a few months after getting the ring so you can have it done at any time.
His is very cool + yours is beautiful = perfect!
your wedding band looks just like mine with diamonds on the three sides, but mine is white gold. ;0)
Mrs. Petunia, Ft. Lauderdale
Age and Occupation: 31, College Professor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Engineering Student/Part-time Barista
Engagement Date: December 8, 2006
Wedding Date: March 2, 2008
Venue: Riverside Hotel
Blogging Since: August 6, 2007
About Me: Our original idea of running off to get married quickly turned into an event with 100+ guests once other people got involved and I, too, got swept away in the lovely madness that is wedding planning. Mr. Petunia and I are obsessed with all things World of Warcraft, Monopoly, and Nintendo, so we’re planning on including some fun “game-y” details into our wedding.
your rings look almost exactly like ours!!