Quick, what color is titanium? If you said, sort of a silver-grey color, you would be right, most of the time. If you’re talking about the titanium in a Soviet submarine or an American spy plane, that is. But if you’re talking about the most fashionable men’s ring on the market today, you’d be wrong. Black wedding bands are the hottest thing going, whether you’re looking for a gift for a male friend, a wedding band, or a fashionable statement for your finger. But you might be asking yourself, what is black titanium? How do the manufacturers get it to be that color, without losing the brilliant shine of titanium? The first thing you need to understand is that black titanium is no different than any other type of titanium. Despite the various and brilliant colors available, they are all made of the same metal. There are a variety of different methods to change the color of the titanium, but one thing remains the same, no matter the method: these are no simple coatings.
There is no electroplating going on here, no fancy trickery. Your titanium ring isn’t going to be glossed over with a cheap micro layer of black-colored gunk that will chip or rust or tarnish. The blackened surface of that titanium ring is as strong and as pure as the rest of the ring. Titanium is somewhat unique among metals, in that you can change the color of the surface of the metal by anodizing them. This process is fairly complex, but in essence, the color of the titanium depends on the depth of penetration of the anodization process on the metal. But with black wedding rings for men, a different process is used. A unique heat application is used to blacken the metal from the outside, but the process imbues the color into the ring past the surface layer, providing a rich, deep color that is equally as strong and durable as uncolored titanium. This means that the black color on your ring will never wear off, or chip away, or lose its lustre, or need to be recoated or refinished, or leave a mark on your finger.
But what about titanium is particularly wedding appropriate? No one is exactly rushing out to put spy planes and Soviet subs on their wedding cakes. So why use this metal for the everyday symbol of your vows? Titanium is an incredibly light metal, which means a man can comfortably wear a larger sized ring, for the same weight as a smaller gold one. This means that he can choose a design that will fit his hand better, and the light weight will make it easier to wear for someone who may not be used to wearing jewellery at all. You did not take your vows lightly, but you can take the matching black titanium wedding rings lightly. Its durability is also a wonderful analogy for the strength of your wedding vows – tougher than steel, and made to last a lifetime.