Yea..... I knew mall markup was ridiculous, but not THIS ridiculous.

[Zeze]

I was looking for a wedding band. Like most of you, precious metals are mostly a joke. They easily range from $500-1000++ for platinum.

But then I found about tungsten carbide and titanium. Both are MUCH stronger than platinum and much cheaper. I went to Kay Jewelers since I was already at the mall.

Tungsten rings were $240-300. Not bad! Pretty good from used to seeing $500~. I could do this. So I placed an order despite it being the mall.

Long story short, I found out at home & internet that these rings actually go for $25-40 at Overstock.com. I went ahead and cancelled my order at Kay Jewelers.

/blog

Mall jewelers.. the balls of these guys

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Cool bro story.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

it's not about the strength of the metal but how rare and precious it is.
not saying there's no markup though...

 

[brainhulk]

i google tungsten rings and found this.

1. Tungsten cannot be re-sized. So you need to find a reputable jeweler who will carry a lifetime warranty on their ring. If your ring size changes, you're stuck with the size you bought unless the jeweler will exchange the ring for you.

2. There's a lot of cheap tungsten jewelry out there. Cheap tungsten is made with cobalt which is used in light bulb filaments. You want to find tungsten with a nickel alloy. Slightly more expensive but it won't corrode and turn your finger brown.

 

[Zeze]

it's not about the strength of the metal but how rare and precious it is.
not saying there's no markup though...

Why would a rarity of the metal matter to me as a wedding band?

I'd care more for durability and lasting forever.

 

[Red Storm]

My tungsten carbide ring was ~$120, got it from a local jewelry shop in the mall.

 

[silverpig]

I got a tungsten carbide wedding band and am super happy with it. It was relatively cheap (even though I bought it in a mall store), has a cool dark grey colour, and is virtually indestructible. I've gotten a few compliments on it, which is odd because I've never really heard of guys getting compliments on their wedding bands before.

 

[lxskllr]

Why would a rarity of the metal matter to me as a wedding band?

I'd care more for durability and lasting forever.

Precious metals/gems are bullshit. They only have value because people say they do. They used to be special due to unique properties, but now those properties can be engineered at a much lower cost. Their value is a historic artifact, and people haven't adjusted.

 

[JJ650]

Why would a rarity of the metal matter to me as a wedding band?

I'd care more for durability and lasting forever.

Well gold does last. Does not corrode and is precious...like the commitment you are making *BARF*
Ok, that is out of the way. Get what you want.

Just know that you're stuck with that size forever unless the jeweler is willing to exchange.

If you ever break your ring finger, they'll have a bitch of a time cutting that ring off.
My bro smashed his finger and it took 30min and a lot of water (to cool) his ring before they finally got it off.

 

[Mixolydian]

Mall jewelers.. the balls of these guys

I load the delivery trucks for the local mall. All those stores can go straight to hell.

 

[QueBert]

tungsten sucks, you get what you pay for. If I got engaged and my lady cheaped out and bought me a tungsten ring that would be the end of us.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I guess you thought that the clothing stores in the mall that would always seem to be 25-50% off were losing money every day too. More likely, the initial price was around triple what the store's cost was, so they make money on almost every so-called "sale" item anyway.

 

[Zeze]

Just know that you're stuck with that size forever unless the jeweler is willing to exchange.

Right. $25-40 a ring, you can just buy another one if worst comes to worst.

 

[JJ650]

Precious metals/gems are bullshit. They only have value because people say they do. They used to be special due to unique properties, but now those properties can be engineered at a much lower cost. Their value is a historic artifact, and people haven't adjusted.

Gold and silver are both very useful in industry. It's now more of an industrial value affixed to most metals nowadays. If it is perceived as valuable, then people will pay more for it, regardless of historic value or end use.

 

[Zeze]

tungsten sucks, you get what you pay for. If I got engaged and my lady cheaped out and bought me a tungsten ring that would be the end of us.

Uh oh. Shots fired or troll bait cast.

 

[Vic Vega]

Eye glasses are even worse. 1000% to 3000% markup. This is why I buy online.

 

[Mixolydian]

Uh oh. Shots fired or troll bait cast.

What do you expect on ATOT. :\

 

[Rakehellion]

Why would a rarity of the metal matter to me as a wedding band?

I'd care more for durability and lasting forever.

Go to a machine shop instead. They can make you one for a buck.

 

[JEDI]

I was looking for a wedding band. Like most of you, precious metals are mostly a joke. They easily range from $500-1000++ for platinum.

But then I found about tungsten carbide and titanium. Both are MUCH stronger than platinum and much cheaper. I went to Kay Jewelers since I was already at the mall.

Tungsten rings were $240-300. Not bad! Pretty good from used to seeing $500~. I could do this. So I placed an order despite it being the mall.

Long story short, I found out at home & internet that these rings actually go for $25-40 at Overstock.com. I went ahead and cancelled my order at Kay Jewelers.

/blog

Mall jewelers.. the balls of these guys

a friend chose titanium over tung carbide. it was lighter

 

[Rakehellion]

Precious metals/gems are bullshit. They only have value because people say they do. They used to be special due to unique properties, but now those properties can be engineered at a much lower cost. Their value is a historic artifact, and people haven't adjusted.

Gem, yes. You cannot engineer precious metals.

 

[Ancalagon44]

tungsten sucks, you get what you pay for. If I got engaged and my lady cheaped out and bought me a tungsten ring that would be the end of us.

Why?

I think I'd prefer something cool like titanium or tungsten carbide to gold.

 

[QueBert]

Why?

I think I'd prefer something cool like titanium or tungsten carbide to gold.

Nothing cool about either you mentioned, Platinum's actually semi rare and thus has worth. Morons on here will say "but it has no real value!" Just because ATOTers don't see it, the fact it's semi rare means, yes it's worth more.

 

[lxskllr]

Gem, yes. You cannot engineer precious metals.

Precious metals for the end user are historically valuable because they're shiny and resist corrosion. Zeze got shiny, corrosion resistant metal at a fraction of the cost of gold.

I agree there's good industrial uses, but those don't apply to the consumer unless the consumer requires those unique industrial properties.

 

[QueBert]

Gem, yes. You cannot engineer precious metals.

You cannot make gems either, the best you can do is make knocks off that are easily distinguishable from the real thing.

 

[surfsatwerk]

Love my tungsten ring, got it for $20 off amazon.