Handle with Care? Tungsten Ring Break, Shatter and Crack Warning

Tungsten carbide wedding rings breaking, shattering and cracking? Wait a minute aren’t these touted as one of the strongest, hardest and most scratch resistant rings you can buy? “Tough and durable”, “To last a lifetime,” some websites advertise. So complaints surfacing from brides and grooms saying their tungsten rings split into pieces seems, well, surprising.

Just how strong is tungsten carbide? On the Mohs Scale of mineral hardness the material is actually stronger than diamonds.

How popular are the rings? Incredibly popular and growing. A recent study from TheKnot.com and the WeddingChannel.com found:

    In 2011: 27% of grooms had a Tungsten ring, and 1% of brides chose tungsten
    In 2009: 19% of grooms, and less than 1% of brides chose tungsten for their rings

What's happening to ring wearers? Some of these contemporary tungsten ring wearers have a warning: The tungsten carbide is actually so hard it’s brittle. If you drop the ring from your ‘big day’ it could break, shatter or crack, kinda like when a ceramic bowl or glass hits the ground.

Mike Hellebuyck is now on his third replacement tungsten ring! The Southfield, Michigan resident says he bought tungsten figuring it would stand up well to all the work he does with his hands, like fixing snowmobiles and car engines.

He never thought it would break in half just hours after he said, “I do”, at his own wedding reception. “I was doing a dance called the ‘Alligator’. It's an odd dance that includes hitting your hands on the floor. During this phase of the dance, I was slapping my hands on the dance floor and the Tungsten wedding band snapped in two.” Pictures you see in this article show how that magical moment was caught on camera by the wedding photographer. Mike's new wife looks, well, not too thrilled.

Luckily Mike’s jeweler replaced ring number one for free.

Tungsten ring number two broke while Mike was vacationing Cabo. The ring fell from the hotel safe and snapped in half when it hit the floor. Back to the jeweler he went, where he was given, and is still on ring number three.

Amanda Molina from Albuquerque, New Mexico had a similar experience. “My husband and I picked out his wedding band together and we both liked the thick, modern look of the tungsten band that we went with. A few months after we had been married, he dropped his ring on our concrete floor and in two pieces it went! We couldn't believe it! It was a bummer because there's something special about having the actual ring that was in your wedding ceremony, but the company replaced it with no questions asked.”

Tungsten Carbide Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.tungsten-carbide.com.cn
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, WML Version: http://m.chinatungsten.com

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