What is tungsten exactly? Tungsten is a chemical element, also known as wolfram, and it has some pretty amazing properties. Out of all the metals, tungsten has the highest melting point and the highest tensile strength. It is extremely durable and somewhat rare.
But tungsten wedding bands are not made out of pure tungsten - instead they are made out of tungsten carbide. Pure tungsten is too difficult to work with, so tungsten that is used for industrial applications - and in jewelry - is compounded into its carbide form.
Tungsten carbide is created by combining an equal number of tungsten and carbon atoms. The result is a very fine powder which is then mixed with a binder - like nickel or cobalt - to create a compound which can be crafted into different shapes - like razor blades and wedding rings.
Tungsten carbide rings retain many of the characteristics of pure tungsten metal - including a high melting point and high tensile strength. The rings too are extremely resistant to scratching, and have a light gray color which can be darkened with brush finishing processes.
Tungsten carbide wedding bands have moderate heat and electrical conductivity properties - so if this is a concern for you, it might be best to go with a wooden wedding band or a stainless steel wedding ring (or remove the band when working in a capacity where electricity and heat pose a safety issue).
It is a common myth that tungsten carbide rings cannot be removed during an emergency - but they can be removed in the event of an emergency using regular jewelry removal tools.
Tungsten wedding bands are also somewhat heavy - just a touch heavier than 14k gold.
