Space age metals are showing their stylish side in jewelry items crafted out of titanium and other exotic metals that were previously considered high tech industrial.

Check out these titanium earrings to the right with a section that has been anodized red. This metal is very well suited for jewelry and especially earrings because it is naturally hypoallergenic which makes it safe for anyone.

In fact, titanium is one of the only metals used for substitute body parts like heart valves because it will not provoke a negative reaction from the body nor be rejected by it as a foreign object. In addition it is stronger than steel yet much lighter and so is ideal for making titanium jewelry pieces like earrings.

Its hypoallergenic quality makes it user friendly as titanium body jewelry because some of the very sensitive skin areas that men and women pierce requires that body jewelry not cause infections by tarnishing nor react with the skin to cause an allergic skin reaction in a sensitive area. Check out these colored titanium navel rings to the left.

A massive wholesale titanium jewelry industry has sprung up to serve retailers who have discovered the benefits of carrying not only Edward Mirell titanium jewelry for men but also other manufacturers that cater to womens titanium jewelry like Stratabands and Spectore Corp.

Titanium is especially loved by men because of its charcoal steely gray good looks and undeniable resistance scratches and dents. Men find black titanium jewelry particularly attractive, especially when black titanium rings are combined with gold, platinum and diamonds. The matte black or polished black finish contrasts beautifully with gold and diamonds giving the precious metals and stones more visibility and attractive power.

Titanium jewelry for men is a big part of  the jewelry market because women on the whole prefer softer looks to that provided by traditional titanium rings. Men on the other hand are attracted to jewelry titanium rings for the variety of looks that can be achieved with since it can be colored from a light steely gray to charcoal grey all the way to a jet black. The variety of finishes available from brushed to satin to polished finishes provide an array of options for men to get a titanium ring, titanium dog tag, titanium cuff links or pendants to suit their individual style.

At the other end of this jewelry is anodized titanium jewelry which is basically titanium that has had an oxide layer applied to add surface color to the jewelry for items like titanium navel jewelry,titanium piercing jewelry and titanium nose jewelry where color is important to the light unfettered look of body jewelry.

Even in rings the use of colored titanium has opened up a whole new level of appeal for women who want to wear something colorful but not fragile like enamel.

Some manufacturers like Stratabands manufacture a pink mokume titanium band (Topmost ring in picture to the right) with colorful striations and high style.

The ring is at once gorgeous, feminine and playful while still being a well styled piece of jewelry.

The other colored women’s rings are colored titanium rings with the color part in grooves for added protection. Center stones like pink and yellow sapphire are added to complete the look that is chic and colorful but does not look like children’s jewelry.

Jewelry titanium rings, earrings and brooches can now be colorful and big because of this metal’s light weight and ability to show a variety of colors on its surface when anodized. Designers like La Reina and their blue titanium and 18K white gold butterfly brooch with diamonds is one stunning example of titanium’s foray into the world of couture jewelry.

The asking price on this piece is $60,700. Then you have Alfieri and St John’s colored titanium and 18k gold flower rings that have wonderful color and texture treatment on the titanium flower petals that simply cannot be duplicated with enamel work.

The titanium ring has come of age. There has been a big interest in contemporary metals like tungsten, titanium and black titanium. Folks in their twenties often search for these types of metals after having been on line looking for titanium wedding rings like the ones to the right and these other metals will eventually surface during their search.

They’ll often notice that a mens titanium ring for instance is much more affordable in the wider rings that run from 6mm to 10mm compared to similar rings in gold.

Edward mirell is one designer and manufacturer that is well known for their selection of titanium rings. Their range includes solid titanium rings and titanium rings inlaid with one or many grooves of Argentium silver like this ring to the left below with a single silver inlay.

Titanium also comes in an alloy blend that gives it an attractive black finish. Black is a very in color and has been showing up in various jewelry forms like black rubber in mens bracelets, black leather in necklaces and black stones like onyx have been a staple in mens rings for the longest time.

Similarly black titanium has become quite a versatile metal for rings that men seem to want.

A lot of men’s jewelry is about texture because they like to see interesting textures on their jewelry and mens titanium rings deliver in this regard. Titanium takes a very good finish that is modern, edgy and durable.

Titanium looks good in sandblasted finishes because it has that silvery gray color that renders surface finishes quite nicely. Brushed, sandblasted or satin finishes look glossy and luxurious on titanium and show up even better when other metals are introduced into the mix.

This is particularly evident on rings that have yellow gold inlays in brushed black titanium, hammered argentium silver in charcoal gray titanium, or even black carbon fiber inlays in brushed titanium. The combinations and textures are endless and most men can find the look they want whether they are looking for a titanium diamond ring, a titanium wedding ring, or a titanium engagement ring.

One of the trailblazers in contemporary metal jewelry is Spectore Corporation which bought out the design label Edward Mirell. It has a history of creating innovative titanium jewelry for men like black titanium rings and now for women with its Mirella collection.

With the advent of anodized titanium to facilitate color, certain styles become possible. Bolder styling is possible like grand signet rings in gleaming purple titanium with a brushed motif patterned on top. Layered styles allow for cutouts that show bright colors below in a hide and seek sort of way like this light and dark titanium band with green titanium to the right.

Color has been a mixed bag for titanium jewelry with a basic titanium ring sporting color at the lower end all the way to  one of a kind pieces of couture colorful titanium imaginative pieces on the other by designers like Stephen Webster, tarditi and Las Reina. They offer modern jewelry creations that are affordable and style conscious.

Young guys in particular gravitate towards something like a black titanium ring more for the sake of durability and price. They have seen their grandfather’s and father’s old gold rings  get all scratched and beaten up and want something a little more lasting. Especially if it is going to be significant piece like a wedding band, then the appeal of softer precious metals slips by the wayside.For them titanium rings fits the bill.

In eastern cultures however this is exactly the opposite as young men typically feel that if it is not a precious metal then the appeal is simply not their. Also in the far East it is the higher karateges of gold that are used in jewelry and so for many that migrated to the US even 14k and 18k gold is not particularly appealing either if you’ve been used to wearing 22k.

Titanium jewelry has taken off in recent years, mostly from its good looks and low price. So what’s the metal that has more to do with golf clubs, body parts and space rockets doing in a jewelry case.

Titanium’s desirability as a metal for jewelry has been questioned before and many jewelers feel as though its an industrial metal and can never be considered as real jewelry because it really has no intrinsic value.

Its hard to imagine that black titanium rings as good looking as the one to the right above which is a comfort fit black titanium band would have no intrinsic value. Also check out the black and grey titanium ring below left with a tribal design on it. It is sharp looking and sells for over a $100.

So the scrap value of a black titanium ring in the jewelry trade is non existent. Gold silver and platinum are routinely sent to a refiner by jewelers to recover valuable metal from the metal dust, filings and scrap pieces that litter their jewelers’ benches.

However with titanium there is no scrap value because there is no reclaim or product that would be worth remelting or soldering because titanium is treated as a commodity in the metal markets.

So if a customer outgrow their diamond titanium ring by over 3/4  of a size they would be out of luck because they would have to scrap that ring and pull it apart so they could get the diamond and perhaps other precious metal inlays out and junk that titanium ring that perhaps was a titanium engagement ring with sentimental value and engraved dates.

The metal is available to titanium jewelery manufacturers only in huge rods and blocks so the little pieces generated from a bench jeweler are of no consequence. Recycling titanium is only worth it in huge quantities because if a jeweler or manufacturer ever manages to generate a thousand pounds of scrap, it would only be worth on the order of  30 cents or so a pound.

This is hardly worth the storage space required to keep the titanium as it accumulates to a commercially viable amount to be recycled. As you can imagine, a jeweler would be hard pressed to generate even one pound a week as scrap titanium given the size of titanium jewelry products. A mens titanium ring is barely going to be heavier than 6 grams so it would take a lot of titanium product to be scrapped to accumulate anything worthwhile.

Many jewelers pride themselves on giving great repair and after sale service and for some of them the possibility of liability issues in the event that a ring they sold needs to be cut from a customer for an emergency medical reason.

Some jewelers need to keep bolt cutters handy in case they have a customers who needs to have their titanium ring come off in a jiffy. Other jewelers have their customers sign liability release forms when they purchase titanium rings.

However the most annoying thing about titanium is the sizing issue especially for titanium wedding rings. Mens titanium rings can be trying because usually sizing up from the standard mens size of 9 does not really help since in America the average man’s fingers are larger than the rest of the world’s.

In general, pure titanium rings and mixed metal rings (titanium ring with gold inlay) like the ring to the right can be sized perhaps a quarter to a half size up but cannot be sized down.

If the customer requires a smaller size then a new ring in that size must be ordered. Most jewelers will stock a range of sizes so as not to lose their customer.

For instance in mens titanium wedding bands the popular sizes are eight and a half to ten and a half so a jeweler would want to stock this range of sizes in half size increments. Pure titanium rings cost the jeweler less than $80 each so this would not be a problem.

However a titanium wedding ring with diamonds or titanium engagement rings with other precious metals like gold or platinum would cost too much to stock such a range of sizes More than likely the jeweler will have one display piece in the mens standard size 9 and another in a size 10. Anything beyond that would be special  ordered.

Titanium wedding bands have become hugely appealing to men and women. They denote a new chic in wedding bands that ranges from the futuristic to the sassy. First know as menachite, titanium was renamed in reference to the giants of Greek mythology, the titans. Titanium is a great metal for a wedding bends because it is neutral to the human body and is often use in the medical industry to replace bones, heart valves and other parts of the human body. It is perfectly hypoallergenic and does not cause irritation or discoloration to the skin like many alloys of gold do. Titanium comes in different grades and those used for jewelry are the aircraft grade titanium alloys that are quite a bit stronger than basic steel and basic titanium. Its resistance to every day wear means that it won’t lose much detailing over time. It also will not bend or break like some other new metals.

Titanium is therefore one of the perfect metals for use as wedding bands. Mens titanium wedding bands have been popular because of the metal’s lightness and strength. It also comes in a huge variety of colors, finishes and textures and can be combined with other white metals for a two tone look that is still white. One of the combinations that has appealed to men’s sense of fashion for a long time is the combination of titanium and platinum. The combination of brushed steely gray titanium with the whiteness and heft of platinum makes a great mens wedding band. The fact that titanium comes in all shades of gray all the way to black makes for an infinite combination of looks with other metals like white gold, platinum and palladium.

Anodized titanium is titanium that has had a titanium oxide coating formed on parts of its surface to create color through refraction. What happens is when an electric current is passed through titanium this forms an oxide layer that gives the effect that there has been color applied to the surface of the titanium when it is basically a layer of titanium oxide whose thickness determines the wavelength of the light that gets reflected back to our eyes. So all colors of the rainbow can be created with anodized titanium by just creating the right thickness of the oxide layer.

Black titanium has become particularly appealing to men as the perfect material for fashion rings and for black titanium wedding bands. Black Titanium is an alloy of titanium and other metals that can color it from a darker gray to a black. The black titanium wedding band can then be polished to a bright reflective finish, a satin finish or a semi gloss finish. Whatever the finish, the combination of black titanium with diamonds, inlays of yellow gold or white gold results in a truly stunning look. The only problem with a titanium wedding band is the fact that it cannot be sized like gold or platinum. Once you get your finger sized and fitted for an 8mm black titanium wedding band, you’re pretty much stick with it if your finger size fluctuates. Also, titanium does not accommodate stones that need to be prong set. titanium is not a malleable metal as such and so its virtually impossible for a jeweler with his regular tools to fashion prongs in titanium.

Titanium is a material that is more suited for men’s titanium wedding bands than for women’s because men’s fingers generally don’t fluctuate as much in size because of pregnancy, water retention and other common feminine issues. A mans finger will change size with a weight gain or weight loss or arthritis. That being said, there are many women who like the looks of platinum and have gladly purchased a titanium band to match that of their spouse’s. She may choose the narrower 6mm titanium wedding band with an inlay of gold and may even have it in more than one size to accommodate finger size fluctuations given the lower cost of titanium wedding band sets compared to that of gold or even palladium.