Titanium grading

ilikecereal · Mar 10, 2004

Hi,

I''m looking at buying some titanium rings from the interent (online stores, ebay, etc..)
WHile looking at ebay i see various stores with all these titanium ratings such as:
-A 10KT TITANIUM BAND RING: AREO SPACE GRADE NON CORROSIVE AIRCRAFT GRADE (61A/4V)
- others say ''Pure Titanium''
-Aerospace Grade Titanium (6AL-4V)
and also, how can some of these companies start bidding at 1$ - sometimes i see auctions ending at a low price - are titanium rings really that expensive or it is a matter of ''brand name''?
thank you.
- confused shopper.

boonerings · Mar 10, 2004

There are different alloys of titanium used in rings. One is Commercially Pure, also called CP, which is all titanium with nothing added. It is also sometimes referred to grade 2 titanium. It is a bit softer than aerospace grades, also called grade 5, which have other stuff mixed in that makes them stronger. The 6AL4V is an alloy that contains 6% aluminum and 4% vanadium, and the rest is titanium. Just due to adding those materials, the titanium gets a lot stronger and harder, yet is still very inert. It is more resistant to dings or scratches that softer material often get.

Some dealers on e-Bay have large batches of rings made overseas. They are offered in limited sizes, finishes, and widths because of that. The designs are usually simple turned rings where labor costs can be kept low, and titanium is often sourced from Russia, where quality control is not as strict as US source requirements.

Mariana · Mar 14, 2005

When searching for titanium jewelry, it''s important to select the proper grade. Similar to the various karats in gold, titanium has different rankings. Aircraft grade titanium, for example, has a grade of 6.4. This type of titanium is typically used to make standard jewelry, while extra hard titanium 6.6.2 is reserved for stronger pieces.

When selecting titanium jewelry, you may want to look for an alloy of around 90% titanium. One of the main alloys used in jewelry is actually titanium 6.4 grade; this is the alloy known as aircraft grade. If you want even stronger titanium jewelry, look for titanium 6.6.2. This alloy is composed of 86% titanium, 6% aluminum, 6% vanadium, and 2% tin. This alloy is recognized as the strongest titanium alloy, and it is far stronger than gold, platinum, and titanium grades 1 and 2.

Hope this helps!

Mariana Peck
Tango Design Titanium Jewelry