The Secret of Tungsten Carbide Jewelry

The History
Tungsten (Swedish and Danish tung sten meaning "heavy stone", even though the current name for the element in Swedish is Wolfram) was first suggested to exist by Peter Woulfe in 1779 who examined wolframite and concluded that it must contain a new substance. In 1781 Carl Wilhelm Scheele ascertained that a new acid could be made from tungstenite. Scheele and Torbern Bergman suggested that it could be possible to obtain a new metal by reducing tungstic acid. In 1783 JosŽ and Fausto Elhuyar found an acid in wolframite that was identical to tungstic acid. In Spain later that year the brothers succeeded in isolating tungsten through reduction of this acid with charcoal. They are credited with the discovery of the element.

Like gold, silver and platinum, Tungsten is an element #74. It is naturally occurring and is one of the main elements responsible for the development of human civilization. Without tungsten, we would not have the incandescent light bulb as the filament inside the bulb is tungsten and has the toughness and resilience exceeding any other metal. In 1922 the Germans developed Tungsten Carbide as the material used in making better cutting tool bits for precision milling and cutting of steel. In World War II, tungsten played an enormous role in background political dealings. Portugal, as the main European source of the element, was put under pressure from both sides, because of its sources of wolframite ore. The resistance to high temperatures, as well as the extreme strength of its alloys, made the metal into a very important raw material for the weaponry industry.

Today tungsten carbide is in widespread use in the worldwide machinery of modern industry and is a darling super alloy that has made aerospace advances possible. And it is still the one little item that makes a light bulb work.

Tungsten Properties
Pure tungsten, that is, before alloying with any other material, is steel-gray to tin-white and is a very hard element. Tungsten can be cut with a hacksaw when it is very pure (it is brittle and hard to work when impure) and is otherwise worked by forging, drawing, or extruding. This element has the highest melting point (3422 ¡C) (6192 ¡F), lowest vapor pressure and the highest tensile strength at temperatures above 1650 ¡C (3000 ¡F) of all metals. Its corrosion resistance is excellent and any attack by a mineral acid is virtually imperceptible. Tungsten metal forms a protective oxide when exposed to air but can be oxidized at high temperature. When alloyed in small quantities with steel, it greatly increases its hardness.

Tungsten is: Four times stiffer than steel Six times stiffer than aluminum 100 times stiffer than plastic
Tungsten has the highest melting point and boiling point of all the elements, melting at 3,420 degrees C or 6,700 degrees F, and boiling at 5,700 degrees C and 10,300 degrees F. What this means to the average person is that on the surface of the Sun, Tungsten would become liquid, but if you dropped a piece of Tungsten from outer space, it would enter the EarthÕs atmosphere, heat up and glow to red color, and still hit the Earth in a solid piece.

Tungsten As Used in Jewelry
Tungsten Carbide has only recently been used in the fashioning of jewelry due to its hypoallergenic nature and the fact that due to its extreme hardness it is not apt to lose its luster like other polished metals. In fact, a ring or bracelet made from Tungsten Carbide will never need polishing and it is virtually scratchproof...only another item with a diamond or diamond surface or a special sapphire in it can scratch tungsten jewelry. Carefree Tungsten Carbide is made without the use of any Cobalt additive and not just anyone can make a piece of Tungsten Carbide jewelry. In order to manufacture a perfectly crafted piece of jewelry, it takes skill that only a few companies have mastered. It cannot be made in someoneÕs garage with a lathe and a machinist.

Jewelry With a Lifetime High Polish
Tungsten rings and bracelets are heavy, and Tungsten Carbide is the hardest of all metals. It is polished to a perfect mirror finish using diamonds, and, unlike other metals, it will retain the exact polish finish for decades to come.

The Distinction of Wearing an Exotic Metal
Because it has the highest melting point of any metal known, Tungsten Carbide is used in space age applications and leading edge military projects such as hand held nuclear fusion devices. The hardness and heat resistance of Tungsten Carbide renders it impervious to radiation. Its tough enduring qualities make it the perfect masculine metal for a manÕs ring or bracelet.

The Art and Science of Master Craftsmanship
Tungsten Carbide rings and bracelets are manufactured using sophisticated vacuum induction furnaces that require an oxygen free environment, and reaching an amazing temperature over 6,200 degrees F. If an astronaut dropped one of these rings from 300 miles above the earth, it would enter the atmosphere glowing red-hot and land on the surface of the Earth virtually unscathed by the experience.

Can a Tungsten Carbide Ring be Re-sized?
Unlike most other rings, a local jeweler cannot size Tungsten Carbide rings. It is just impossible to rework the material.

How to Care for your Tungsten Carbide Jewelry
Your jewelry will require very little care. Rubbing with any clean cloth will bring out and restore the bright finish, as it was on the day you first received the ring or bracelet. This jewelry is the only jewelry of any kind that will last a lifetime with no sign of wear. Buy it when you are age 20 and at age 70 it will look exactly the same.

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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