Titanium and Jewelry

The titanium element was discovered in England in the late seventeen hundreds. It is found combined with oxygen in several minerals and occurs especially in iron ores that are referred to as titaniferous iron ores. Titanium is a dark green, heavy, amorphous powder, and when heated to redness it burns with a brilliant white flame. The ores of this metal include menachanite, iserine, from the river Iser is Silesia, sphene, rutile, and brookite. A small quantity of titanium added to steel greatly increases the strength and hardness of that metal.

Titanium metal possesses physical properties that make it unique. Strong and light, it is able to withstand temperatures in excess of eight hundred degrees Fahrenheit. When alloyed with other metals, titanium is has a variety of applications. Used extensively in the aerospace industry it can be found in airframe structures, jet engines and other flight critical applications.

Once a listed material, available only for military applications, titanium has, over the years, found its way into hundreds of consumer products. The exotic metal can be found in everything from motorcycle components to tennis rackets. A very important use of titanium is in medical products. Unlike other materials, this element does not react adversely to the human body.

This important quality makes titanium an excellent material for producing implantable devices. Titanium has been used in the manufacture of cardiac pacemakers to make the outer case of the device. Because it is strong and lightweight, titanium is a major part of the joint replacement industry. Shoulder, knee and ankle components all use titanium. In other orthopedic applications, titanium is used for various plates, screws and other fixation devices.

Titanium has also found its way into the jewelry market. Many fine quality watches can be purchased with titanium as part of the bezels, housings, and even watchbands. Since it does react to the skin, as other metals are prone to do, titanium is a rugged and stylish alternative to stainless steel and other metals.

Polished titanium rings, bracelets and other jewelry pieces. When polished, titanium takes on a lustrous white quality that is very similar to platinum. Titanium is often combined with other precious metals like gold and silver to create very unique jewelry pieces.