The other day, my wife and I were having dinner with a newly engaged couple. They were both discussing their various options for wedding rings for their upcoming special day.  Gold is always the standard, but being a bit more expensive, platinum is always a nice option. But what really intrigued them was titanium. My wife and I chose titanium rings for our recent wedding, so I immediately complimented how much I like the unique look and feel of titanium jewelery.

 That's right,these days the very same titanium that is used to make our favorite  $220  hammer, the Stilleto tiBone (at left), is also used to make jewelery . In fact, the results are incredibly stunning.

Titanium jewelery can be anodized with different colors, inlayed with materials like exotic wood, gold, or even carbon fiber and can also have diamonds or other precious stones set into them. The precise manufacturing process can produce complex designs and patterns for a totally unique look that would be difficult to replicate on jewelery made of traditional precious  metals.

As titanium is not nearly as rare of an element as gold or platinum, so titanium jewelery is actually pretty affordable compared to precious metal. It's incredibly durable and lightweight, but isn't very scratch resistant, so it does tend to get scuffed over time and takes special equipment to polish.

But let me mention why titanium is a great choice for a tool user (or anyone who works with their hands a lot):  titanium is tough. Incredibly tough. Titanium is the metal they make space shuttles out of, so if it's strong enough for NASA, it's tough stuff.  Gold and even platinum (to some extent) are soft metals that can get bent or crushed.  If you work with your hands a lot, jewelery made of traditional metals doesn't last very long without suffering some damage. Since titanium is so hard, it's a far more durable metal. 

There are a couple of websites who speciallize in titanium jewelery. One I like in particular is tiRings.com. They've got a pretty huge selection, fare-looking policies, and pretty reasonable pricing. If you've got a moment, take some time to peruse their website...they have some really cool titanium jewelery.  Another titanium jewelery website worth checking out is tistyle.com

In any case, Titanium is an awesome metal for Hammers and jewelery. It's unique properties make it a great alternative for people wanting a little something different from traditional precious metal jewelery.