Posted by QuickReadAbout.com Staff in Titanium is a space-age metal that is lightweight, hypoallergenic, and extremely durable. Titanium has comfortable, nonabrasive qualities and exceptional strength that make it a popular choice for rings and fashion jewelry.
Titanium (although we think of it as a modern-day miracle metal) was actually discovered in Cornwell, England, way back in 1791 by William Gregor, who was an amateur geologist and the vicar of a village by the name of Creed. Nothing came of the discovery at the time, and in 1795 it was rediscovered by Martin Heinrich Klaproth, a German chemist. The problem was that extracting titanium from the ores in which it was found was expensive and time-consuming.
Still, nothing much was done with titanium until the 1950s and 1960s, when the (then) Soviet Union began using titanium in military applications. The United States recognized the strategic value of titanium, of course, and began collecting a large stockpile of titanium sponge. The stockpile was finally depleted in 2005. Today, titanium is produced through heat and pressure as a powder.
There were a great many problems in the beginning to using titanium in jewelry applications. Over the years these problems have been overcome one by one, and today titanium is one of the most popular of all precious metal jewelry. Gold is still the king of precious metals, but titanium ranks about even with platinum. Both titanium and platinum have a natural white color that requires no (or almost no) alloys.
Titanium is used today to make all kinds of jewelry. There are brooches, necklaces, bracelets, and, of course, rings. Rings are still the most popular application of titanium. Titanium is a very popular choice for engagement and wedding rings, and men who will wear no other jewelry will wear a titanium ring.