Iridium Now Available In Rings

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Oct 6th 2009 at 11:01AM

Gold, silver, platinum and even other metals like palladium and titanium have made their way into rings. Now, for the first time, Los Angeles based rare metals manufacturer, American Elements is selling jewelry made from pure iridium metal. The challenge for working with iridium is that it has an extremely high melting temperature (4,435° F), more than 2,000 degrees above gold and 500 degrees above platinum. It is also very hard and brittle. American Elements designs parts for the NASA space program so it has the technology to work with this metal. The deep gray metal has a high luster and is the lowest tarnishing element. It is also extremely corrosion resistant and will not react with any acid. American Elements reports that one of the first buyers was a Rothschild banker in London who chose one for his wedding band. The pure iridium 6mm ring shown above sells for $2,530.

This isn't iridium's first foray into the luxury goods market. Iridium recently has also made its way into watches and has been used for years with other metals to strengthen the nibs on fountain pens.

Tags: iridium, jewelry, metal, rings, wedding bands, WeddingBands