Black Zirconium vs Titanium Comparison

Trying to choose between a black zirconium and titanium ring? Both are lovely metals that would make excellent wedding bands. In this guide, we'll discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each metal. Everything from weight and color to pricing and durability.

Let's go!

Pro's and Con's Overview

Here is a quick comparison summary of these two metals. After which, we'll discuss everything in more depth.

Now let's dive a bit deeper into these two metals.

What is Black Zirconium?

Zirconium is an element on the periodic table. It's a naturally grey-colored metal. However, a black oxidization layer emerges as a result of the intense heating process it goes through. This layer is responsible for the color of zirconium jewelry as well as a large portion of its durability.

Black Zirconium rings are machined from a zirconium bar and then heated to a high temperature to form the black coating. After the heating process, the black coating may be removed in some locations when creating two-toned rings. Black zirconium is hypoallergenic, chemically resistant, and very lightweight.

What about Titanium?

You're probably better familiar with the metal titanium. It's a popular metal that's used in everything from golf clubs to construction materials. Titanium is the 9th most frequent element in the earth's crust, which is one of the reasons it is a less expensive metal.

Titanium is a lustrous grey metal with high strength and low corrosion rate. It has a silver-like appearance and is an excellent budget-friendly wedding ring metal.

Color Differences

Both of these materials provide a very modern look that will look great on many different skin tones.

Titanium is very similar in color to silver. It's typically very light in color and when comparing an identical silver vs titanium ring, you may not even notice a difference!

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Zirconium is naturally a similar color to Titanium - although darker. But as we discussed earlier, natural zirconium goes through an intense heating process which creates the black color in 'Black Zirconium'. Black Zirconium rings are typically a jet, or even matte, black color. So they have a very modern and cool look.

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Price

Both Titanium and Black Zirconium rings can be found at great prices compared to traditional wedding band metals like gold. However, Titanium is one of the most budget-friendly ring materials on the market. This is the biggest reason why many people choose titanium wedding bands.

You can expect to pay anywhere from $100 - $600 for a titanium wedding band.

You can expect to pay anywhere from $300-$1,000 for a Black Zirconium wedding band. For comparison, you can expect to pay around $500-$2,000 for a gold ring.

So these metals are significantly more affordable compared to gold, platinum, and cobalt chrome. The biggest downside to both Titanium and Black Zirconium is their inability to be re-sized.

Resizing

Like many alternative metals, these two metals cannot be re-sized. They are not malleable metals like gold or silver. And so this is something to consider when thinking about the lifetime cost of your band. Let's face it, most people aren't the same size their whole life. So if a time comes when your ring no longer fits, you will have to purchase a completely new ring with these two metals.

Durability and Strength

Black Zirconium is technically "stronger" than Titanium. However, these two metals are both very strong and you shouldn't need to worry about significant dents or dings in these metals.

These metals are also pretty crack resistant. Unlike metals such as Tungsten, Titanium and Zirconium should be able to survive any drops.

Allergy Proneness

If you aren't typically prone to skin allergies then this won't matter to you. But both Black Zirconium and Titanium are hypoallergenic metals. So you shouldn't have to worry about any irritation on the skin.

Weight

Zirconium and Titanium are two of the lightest metals available for rings. In fact, Titanium is one of the lightest metals there is! So if you are looking for a lightweight band, both of these metals will be great options.

Alternatively, if you like to feel a bit of weight in your ring, then something like a Tungsten or Gold might be more suitable. This is totally up to preference, however. If you work a lot with your hands, you may prefer a lighter weight band. But other than that, ring weight is typically always up to preference.

And ultimately, ring weight isn't THAT noticeable. I have a Tungsten ring and don't have a profession that requires constant work with my hands. But I do work with my hands quite a bit on other things and don't really ever notice the weight of my ring!

Scratch Resistance

Both Zirconium and Titanium are very scratch-resistant. But they are not 100% scratch-resistant. If you hit your ring up against a harder metal, they can scratch.

So over the 40+ year lifetime of one of these rings, you may very well see a few light scratches on the ring. But overall, they should stay in great condition! They are much more scratch-resistant than gold or silver. But less scratch-resistant than Tungsten.

With that being said, some people may actually prefer a few scratches on their ring over time - as it adds some character to the band!

Conclusion

Black Zirconium and Titanium have a lot of similar pro's and con's. They are both lightweight, scratch-resistant, strong, and hypoallergenic. The biggest difference between these two metals is what you will pay and their looks.

Overall, we prefer the look and feel of Black Zirconium. It's a great feeling metal that comes in a lot of modern looking rings. However, if you're on a strict budget, or prefer the look of a silver ring, then Titanium is a fantastic choice!

We hope this guide has helped! If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with us! Email: mansbestband@gmail.com