Wednesday 24 July 2013

Titanium in the Manufacture of Jewellery

The element titanium is second only to platinum in its highly desirable qualities as a metal. It is more scarce than iron but not as scarce as steel. It is somewhat expensive to refine, but can be used to manufacture airplanes and rust free coatings.

Similar to jewellery metals, it is resistant to corrosion. Similar to steel, it is incredibly strong. Its luster, scarcity, and absolute durability causes it to be employed in jewellery making.

Titanium Whips Silver in a Strength Match

Titanium has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal, and it is less expensive than silver. Resistant to corrosion, it can be stamped and buffed to a high luster. It can form the chain or bindings of jewellery without any additional coating. It does not stand out as dull compared to silver and gold and might even be considered a semi-precious metal.

A pendant might be suspended on a very wispy metal chord. In spite of being thin and flexible, it is incredibly strong and will not break. Titanium is one of the few metals that can reliably achieve this effect, because while the outer layer might consist of silver threads, the core is mighty Ti. It is critical to remember this fact while making jewellery: Silver is more lustrous but titanium is both strong and lustrous. Titanium is also easy to plate.

Titanium is Cheaper Than Platinum But is Similar

The first aspect of titanium in contrast with silver and gold is the high melting point. The atoms are joined much more strongly and will not break their crystal structure except at high temperatures. This is an important note when using titanium and gold together. Gold will easily plate onto titanium but titanium cannot easily plate onto gold because of the different melting temperatures.

On the other hand, titanium is a great substitute for platinum. They are both resistant to corrosion and are lustrous. Very few applications require platinum where titanium will not substitute. Consider this fact when using Platinum, an element that is often twice as expensive as gold.