Boone Titanium Ring :)

[derekinla]

I am in the process of getting a Boone Titanium (www.boonerings.com) wedding band made for myself! It will be a classic rounded, polished band in their super grade 8-1-1 titanium. My fiance was initially a bit skeptical about the whole idea of titanium and thought that a $150 ring was not classy enough next to her 10,000++ platinum engagement ring/diamond band but I convinced her that the ring was a beter choice for me based on weight/comfort. If it''s good enough for a surgical hip implant, it''s good enough for my left 4th digit. Will let you guys know how it turns out

 

[Mara]

Hey Derek--we are getting my fiance a titanium tension ring (with a .25c diamond) for our wedding next May. He really liked the look and feel of titanium, plus as you noted its much cheaper than something like a platinum...and this way we can get him a great diamond so he can stop coveting mine.




Just be careful with what you do with the ring on. Titanium is an extremely strong metal (are you getting commercial or aircraft grade?) and if your finger swells because of a break or cut or something--you may have to have the ring cut off at your local fire station or jeweler who has the correct tool. If it's commercial grade, you should be fine with a local jeweler. If it's aircraft, your local firemen may be your only recourse, jewelers tools do not work well on that strong of a metal.




Very rare instance of course, but I would just cover all the bases when you buy and find out where you can go for an emergency around your area, just in case while around the house tinkering with something, you make a boo boo.

 

[k-man]

Good point! I'm starting to investigate titanium for my wedding band too. Just how much cheaper is it on average? What would a typical titanium band cost vs. the exact same thing in platinum or white gold?

 

[bling]

My fiance too, is looking into titanium..he does not usually wear jewelry and the light weight of titanium turned him on to the idea. can anyone recommend some dealers in good quality titanium rings...
mara..what is the difference between commercial grade and aircraft grade titanium? thanks!

 

[Mara]

Titanium is MUCH cheaper than plat. The average titanium ring (standard wide band flat style) would be maybe $200, while in white gold maybe around $400 and in plat around $700 possibly. Add gold or other type of metals to it and the price goes up as well.




I originally started looking into titanium for Greg because he's a total gear head in his spare time. He loves to play around with his cars on the weekends and some of the rings I was looking at reminded me of his car-tinkerin-lovin ways. More fun than just the average plat or white gold bands...they come in all sorts of shapes, mixed with gold, rose gold, plat with diamonds etc. We tried a few on and he really liked them. He of course liked the tension set ones because he covets my diamond, and we found a few pretty cool ones that are inlaid with a strip of yellow gold in the matte titanium, and will hold the stone tension set in the middle.




Some of the sites we found are (there are TONS out there)....




www.absolutetitanium.com (this is who we are going to use for Greg's ring--we are getting the diamond separately, most likely from a WF or similar)


www.titaniumconcepts.com


www.boonerings.com


www.titaniumarts.com


www.titaniumstyle.com


www.titaniumden.com


www.titanium-rings.com


www.titaniumeden.com


www.titaniumcommittment.com




The differences between aircraft and commercial are basically the strength of the metal. Some places only sell aircraft, some only commercial, some let you choose etc. At first I thought..wow aircraft grade is awesome, its so strong, etc...Greg would love that. Then we found out that its SO STRONG (think what they make planes with!!) that jewelers can't even cut through it with their tools. We were told a story by a jeweler who sells commercial only about how they had aircraft tested at a few local jewelers and after 20 minutes of trying to cut through it with a jewelers tool, the blade was dull and cracked and they hadn't even made a dent in the ring! Not altogether safe on a finger.




The bottom line is that commercial grade is still REALLY very strong. Aircraft is overkill....so be sure that if you buy a ring you know what grade it is, and what the hazards are. Titanium doesn't bend like white gold will, its a stiffer metal...so just do your research first. Most of the sites above have a section on titanium and the different grades and comments. Some may say 'oh its very easily cut off', who to trust? All I know is that we don't need anything stronger than commercial, so that is the way we are going.




Good luck!

 

[Mikesgirl]

Great idea, Mara. My husband is big into planes and engineering - what a spectacularly masculine piece of jewelry with an interesting twist on engineering. He'd be fascinated. Maybe a little .43 stone for his 43rd birthday next month. Hmmmm. Where did he try them on, and which setting did your fiance pick? The one called "concentric inlay" looks like my hubbies style. Chunky bu sleek.

 

[Mara]

This is the ring he will most likely be getting from Absolute Titanium....however it will probably be a little wider than the one shown here. We are looking at a .25c or similar stone for the tension. WF has alot of ACA stones that fit the bill, so when the time comes to buy and have it set (probably early next year)...we'll get going!

 

[Mikesgirl]

That's beautiful. Very distinctive for a wedding band. How are you going to arrange for the stone to be set - is WF going to ship it to AT for mounting? Are they flexible about the diamond source? This is such a great idea.

 

[Mara]

AT will set pre-bought stones which is why I wanted to use them, a previous poster on here did the same thing, used them & was really happy with their service. Some places will set other stones, but they won't take responsibility for the stone while setting it (e.g Spectore who had another ring we loved, but they won't take responsibility for the stone...scary!). Some places won't even set other vendor's stones because they don't want the responsibility (and they want you to buy from them!).




These guys will allow it to be shipped and take responsibility for setting it safely (e.g. and not losing it) while they have it. I have been in contact with them via email and they are very easy to work with and very helpful. I guess WF will ship directly to AT (unless I want to see and play with the stone in person for a while first!)...we'll have to see!

Something to note as well if you decide to tension set a diamond, you need to be sure the clarity is good and there are no feathers or inclusions along the girdle..since that is where the tension will be set. So AT asked me to fax over a copy of the cert of the stone we choose, before we buy it, to be sure that it looks okay for them to set. Then we can buy, ship etc.

 

[Mikesgirl]

Sounds like they'll really work with you. So a VS2 with no feathers should be ok? I'm looking at one on White Flash right now.

 

[Mara]

Yes from what it sounds like VS would be fine with no girdle inclusions... I am working with Mia over at AT and she said that their designer/setter is Maria...that is who Mia told me fax a cert over to before buying to be sure it works for the tension .

 

[Superidealist]

I wouldn't worry about removal. Hospital emergency rooms should have the tools necessary to remove these. They should also have the equipment and and a procedure sheet for the removal of tungsten carbide and other hardmetal cermic rings. (Maybe Judy can confirm or deny.)

 

[derekinla]

Just an update: I placed the order for the ring last night (Sunday), and Bruce from boonerings.com emailed me early this afternoon saying that the ring was finished and would be shipped today! Talk about FAST, personalized service!

 

[Mikesgirl]

Thanks for the lead, Mara. I'll give her a call. And congratulations, Derekinla, maybe you'll start a new trend. By the way, Derek in LA, how are things in LA, firewise?.

 

[derekinla]

Just got the ring today and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box. First of all, the ring is much lighter than I expected. It almost feels like it could be made of plastic yet it's titanium!!! Secondly, the polished finish is absolutely gorgeous. I give an A+++ to Boonerings.com for a job well done.

As for pictures, well my digital camera is not cooperating so that will have to wait.

 

[DancinGirl]

Okay we'll be waiting for them!!!

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Where's those pic's?

 

[derekinla]

here is one..........

 

[derekinla]

one more......

 

[derekinla]

Here's the certicate of authenticity that came with the ring...

 

[derekinla]

Here's the "Whatever it Takes" Warranty that comes with the ring:

http://www.boonerings.com/warranty.htm

 

[derekinla]

Interesting table about the different ASTM grades of Titanium:

http://www.supraalloys.com/astm_grades.htm

 

[derekinla]

Here's a pic of the ring from the website:

 

[boonerings]

In regards to the concerns about the titanium rings being able to be cut off; they are very similar to stainless steel (like a kitchen sink) in properties. Anything that cuts steel such as a hacksaw, ring cutter, Dremel tool, or bolt cutters works fine. I've actually used each of these methods on my own rings before ever selling them. The titanium could be hardened further, but it is not done in ring making for that specific reason. I've made several thousand of them including tension sets, and I do know of one case where a customer's ring did have to be removed in an emergency. They were able to cut it off with no problem using a conventional ring cutter, and she got another titanium ring without hesitation.

 

[derekinla]

Welcome Bruce of Boonerings to PS!

 

[boonerings]

Thank you Derek. It looks like a great forum. I came to the jewelry field from a background of engineering and manufacturing. I've worked exclusively with titanium for the last 10 years with my own line of bike parts then the titanium rings, which just kinda took over. I love the forums with experts in the fields of diamonds and rings in general. No matter how much you know, there's still so much to learn. The countless years of experience of the people of a forum like this is invaluable. And it's a lot of fun too.

 

[Smooth]

Is it just me, or is anyone else having problems getting to boonerings.com?