Dana Todd loves the simplicity of her titanium ring -- and it was much cheaper than platinum, or white or yellow gold.
"We didn't want to go crazy and spend a lot of money," she said. "We wanted nice, plain bands and we heard about titanium and we're really happy with them."
As the wedding season quickly approaches, titanium and tungsten may be the ring material of choice as gold prices skyrocket.
Titanium/tungsten much cheaper
"It's just under $1000 an ounce for gold," said Allan Malbranck of the Diamond Gallery. "For platinum, which we do a significant amount of business in, is about $2,200 an ounce."
Malbranck said titanium and tungsten are much cheaper; titanium can start as low as $159 an ounce, while tungsten as low as $450 an ounce.
However, there's a reason those two metals are less expensive.
"There is a serviceability issue with it," said Malbranck. "They cannot be sized. Unlike gold and white gold, they can't be polished up as well. Eventually they will show signs of scuffing."
Titanium won't buff as well as gold or silver because it is a much stronger metal. Titanium is so strong, in fact, the Russian's used it to create a flag which it planted several kilometers under the Arctic Ocean near the North Pole.
Ring hard to get off
But its strength creates another problem. If you're ever in a medical emergency and need to get the ring off; it's not easy.
Dr. Wes Palatnick works in the emergency room of the Health Sciences Centre.
"The ring cutter we have in our department is made for softer metal," he said "Whether that's silver or gold or similar alloys."
Titanium rings require a more aggressive approach from doctors, such as hacksaws.
There is a silver lining for Dana Todd and her titanium ring: emergency officials in Winnipeg say they are now looking into finding more improved or tougher tools that will be better able to cut through these stronger metals.
With a report from CTV Consumerwatch reporter Eleanor Coopsammy.
