Choosing a ring metal: gold, platinum, titanium and more

Ring metal comparison at a glance

This is the short version of each Metal Guide card, with durability on the app's own 1 to 5 scale. Three cards open for free; the other nine sit behind Premium.

Which wedding ring metal should you choose?

• Size might change over the years? Stick to resizable: gold, platinum, palladium or silver.
• Want light and scratch-resistant? Titanium, ceramic and black zirconium qualify, but none resize traditionally.
• Want heft and a finish that stays polished? Platinum and tungsten carbide are the heavy options — only platinum resizes.
• Budget first? Stainless steel, tungsten carbide and sterling silver score lowest on price in the guide.

The three free metals in detail

Yellow Gold

Still the default for a reason. The app breaks it into 10K (41.7% gold, the toughest of the four), 14K (the usual durability-versus-purity compromise), 18K (75% gold, deeper colour) and 24K, which is pure gold and soft enough that it's a bad choice for anything you'll wear daily. Any of the first three resizes easily at a jeweler.

Sterling Silver

92.5% silver — bright, cheap, and the softest metal on this whole list at a durability of 2. It tarnishes in air and moisture and dents under rough handling, which is why the app pushes a wider band for a bit more strength.

Platinum

Naturally white and the heaviest metal here, rated a full 5 for durability. The app splits it into 950 Pt and 900 Pt. It resizes, but needs tools most general jewelers don't keep on hand, and it builds up a patina over time that you can either polish off or leave alone.

Can titanium or tungsten rings be resized?

No, and this is the limit that catches people out. Titanium won't take traditional resizing. Tungsten carbide won't resize at all — crack it or outgrow it and you're buying a new ring. Cobalt chrome and ceramic are the same story, stainless steel is only resizable with real difficulty, and black zirconium only allows a small machine adjustment. Measure carefully before you order any of these, and lean toward a comfort-fit band if your weight tends to shift.

Hypoallergenic ring metals

Yellow gold, platinum, silver, titanium, tungsten carbide, palladium, stainless steel, cobalt chrome, ceramic and black zirconium all get a hypoallergenic mark in the guide. Two metals don't: nickel-based white gold and copper-rich rose gold, both flagged as possible reactions for sensitive skin. Worth noting too that some stainless steel alloys sneak nickel back in.

How to use the Metal Guide

1. Open Metal Guide from the home screen.
2. Scroll the cards — each one shows weight, a Resizable or Fixed tag, and a Durability bar.
3. Tap Yellow Gold, Sterling Silver or Platinum for the full card: description, Purity Options, care tips, sizing notes.
4. Everything else shows a lock icon; tap it and you land on the Premium offer instead.

Questions and answers

You might also like

• How to clean and care for a ring at home · Ring Sizer

More Ring Sizer guides

• How to measure your ring size at home with your phone
• Find a ring size without asking, a jeweler or a ring sizer
• Ring size conversion chart: US, UK, EU and Japanese sizes
• Which finger to measure for your ring size
• Birthstone by month: a chart for all 12 months
• How to clean and care for a ring at home
• Compare two ring sizes: how big is the difference?
• Ring size in Mexico vs the US: how do you convert?
• Ring no longer goes over your knuckle: which size now?
• Does your ring size change during pregnancy, and how can you track it?
• All questions about Ring Sizer
• Back to Ring Sizer