Anna Taylor
After my old wedding ring was damaged beyond repair, I began a quest to find a new ring. I did a lot of research and settled on a tungsten carbide ring with a mesh carbon fiber inlay. But there's only so much you can see from a website. So I started visiting my local jewelry shops so I could see the ring in person, and try it on to see how it looked on my hand, feel the weight of it, etc.At these jewelry shos, I was quoted prices ranging from $300 to $1200 for this exact ring. The only difference between this ring and the one offered at my local shops, was the shops didn't offer the ring with the epoxy coating over the carbon fiber mesh. I decided I liked the epoxy coating better, as it would keep "gunk" from accumulating in the mesh. So here I was, contemplating paying several hundred dollars for this ring. As luck would have it, it suddenly struck me to check Amazon. So right there, at the jewelry counter, I whipped out my phone and searched for the ring on Amazon. I couldn't believe my eyes. This very same ring that been quoted to me as $300-$1200 was available on Amazon for less than $50. Unbelievable! So I raced home and spent the day reading the comments people had left about this ring. And in the end, it was clear that this was a good purchase. So I placed my order.My new ring arrived quickly, and it was nothing short of flawless. If you're interested in buying this ring, but you're worried that the price is too good to be true, don't worry. I (and many many people before me) have already taken that chance. This truly is a quality ring; every bit as good and identical to the ones sold in the fancy jewelry shops.So, here's the things you need to know about this ring:First off, it's heavy. A lot heavier than you'd think. In time you'll get used the weight, but for the first few weeks, you'll only be able to walk in large left-hand circles. This is mostly because the ring is not hollow, but solid tungsten carbide (one of the hardest materials known to science). But it's also smooth and rounded on the inside, making it very comfortable and easier to take on and off.The ring has a fair amount of girth to it. Meaning it's rather thick. If you have smaller hands, you may find that this ring prevents you from holding your fingers snuggly together (when straight). Basically, even with your fingers bent, and your hands cupped together, you probably wouldn't be able to make water-tight seal between all your fingers. Again, this is something that you'll get used to in time.However the ring arrives, is how it will stay. Because of how hard tungsten carbide is, the ring cannot ever be resized or engraved. So pick your size carefully. This is another reason that I visited the local jewelry shops first. It allowed me to get my precise ring size first. And if you want anything engraved on the inside of the ring, you need to communicate that to the manufacturer when you place your order, so they can laser etch it into the ring as it's being cast. But once the ring is in your hands, there's nothing else that can be done to alter it.Being that tungsten carbide is one of the hardest substances known to science, it will not scratch, ever. I've been wearing mine for years, and it's been through some pretty rough scrapes, and there is not a single scratch anywhere on the metal. The downside to this is that the metal will scratch/break pretty much anything it comes into contact with. Walls, glass, porcelain, other metals, the paint on your car, etc. So be careful what you bang your ring on.The flip side to this is the epoxy resin covering the carbon fiber mesh. While the epoxy is crystal clear and actually acts as a magnifier for the mesh (due to it's shape), it will scratch, and does so pretty easily. The metal doesn't have a single sign of wear on it, but the epoxy is fairly beat up. But you only notice that if you really look close at the ring. But at arm's length, you don't really notice the scratchse. And hey, for this price, you can afford to replace the ring whenever you decide the epoxy has gotten too scarred up.I got a science project for you! According to everything I've read about this tungsten carbide: while it is extremely hard, it is also somewhat brittle. And it will shatter like glass if it impacts something too hard. In theory you could drop it off a tall balcony and it would shatter when it hits the concrete. I haven't tried this, and I'm certainly not condoning it (for legal purposes and the like). But it's still an interesting piece of triva.Anyhow, this is a quality product, and I whole heartedly recommend it.UPDATE: I just came back to check on these comments, and I noticed that the price has been dropped to $6!!! Can you believe that?!!!! A ring that the jewelry shops have been charging up to $1200, is available on Amazon for $6. Incredible. Well, for that price, you can afford to buy extras. Maybe even different colors, so you've got a ring for every ocassion.
