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From Slashdot | Any Suggestions For a Meaningful Geeky Wedding Band?

…also… http://www.titaniumrings.com

Save your money (Score:5, Interesting)

by Skyshadow (508) * on Saturday August 30, @02:16AM (#24807133)
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My advice: Don’t get too fancy. Titanium makes a dandy wedding band for a bunch of reasons:

1. It’s inexpensive. My ring ran something like $99, so I can afford to have a backup living in my filing cabinet in case I ever lose this one (people lose their rings all the time — ask that one beach volleyball player from the Olympics this year). Also, if my fingers get fatter in my old age, I can replace the ring for cheap. Overspending? Not geeky.

2. It’s hard enough that it’ll shatter before it deforms. Most ring-related injuries are a result of the ring bending into the finger. That’s bad. My ring won’t deform easily and will probably shatter before deforming, so I have a better chance of keeping my finger than someone with a gold wedding band. Inability to hit the “S” key due to a missing finger? Not geeky.

3. It can be cut off. Hospitals can cut off a 6-4 titanium band, so if I ever injur my finger badly enough that it swells up I can, again, keep my finger and continue hitting the “S” key freely. See #2.

4. It’s light. I hardly know I have it on. This may or may not be a good thing, depending on what sort of person you are. It’s also completely hypoallergenic, which I understand is different than simply nonreactive. Not having your ring cause you weird skin issues? Geeky.

5. It’s geeky. Go rent The Abyss if you have to. While I haven’t stopped any hydraulic doors with mine, it is in perfect shape after four fantastic years. The finish gets a little scuffed, but it’s still in perfect shape despite some significant abuse. You want geeky? I have “Don’t Panic” inscribed in the inside of mine (and “Panic” inscribed in the backup ring I mentioned in #1). Sound advice, that.

I understand the drive to be unique, but take it from me (I moonlight as a wedding photographer): Weddings are already stupid-expensive. You should get immediately out of the habit of overspending when cheaper and perfectly satisfactory alternatives exist. As for your other point: *all* rings are starstuff — gold, platinum, titanium, whatever — so your last point there is complete hyperbole. Again, not excessively geeky.

Industrial nuclear reactors and color centers (Score:5, Interesting)

by mpoulton (689851) on Saturday August 30, @02:24AM (#24807205)

Our wedding bands themselves are not too metallurgically unusual (though the construction involves a difficult inlay made from palladium-gold alloy). However, my wife’s diamond is extra geeky! It’s an artificial blue diamond – a natural white diamond subjected to massive gamma irradiation in an industrial nuclear reactor or particle accelerator. The irradiation disturbs the crystal lattice and produces color centers in the diamond, causing a blue-green hue. She loves it, and tells the story to every geek she meets.

The ring’s the thing. (Score:5, Informative)

by SoupIsGood Food (1179) on Saturday August 30, @02:49AM (#24807419)

Your finger will likely not remain the size it is. You will lose or gain weight, so the ring will need to be resized. This will likely be a gigantic pain in the rear with an exotic metal like Iridium. It certainly is for titanium.

Any halfway competent jeweler can braze in a new segment of ring, even one with a complex pattern, if it’s made of a precious metal commonly found in jewelry. Most large jewelry stores or store chains will also offer free size adjustment of the band for life as part of the deal, or for a small fee at the time of purchase.

Titanium is theoretically re-sizeable, but only smaller, as doing two small welds so close together are impractical: it needs to be welded in an oxygen-free environment. In reality, they’re going to have to give you a new ring if (when) you need to re-size, as it’s a lot cheaper to replace than repair. Likewise tungsten-carbide steel, which is also popular these days. I want to keep =this= ring, not have it replaced if something goes wrong. Stupid and sentimental, I know, but still…

There’s also the issue of medical emergency. If your finger swells up abruptly, due to injury or allergy, the hospital will need to cut your ring off. They have tools to do this painlessly and quickly with silver/gold/platinum bands, but things get tricky with tougher stuff, like tool-grade steel, titanium, and, I’d imagine, iridium. What was a minor medical procedure is now a medical emergency requiring tools that the hospital may not have.

It was a hard choice, as there are a ton of cool carbon fiber and titanium wedding bands out there, but I found a two-tone gold band with a nice herringbone pattern. It’s unusual, comfortable, and can be cut and resized as needed. It’s not as cheap as titanium, carbon fiber or tool-grade tungsten-carbide, but it will be easier to maintain.

If you want =really= unusual, I have a friend who had his tattooed on. Now that’s commitment.

Re:Or you could make it yourself. (Score:5, Insightful)

by h4rm0ny (722443) <h4rm0ny@tar[ ]ll.net ['dde' in gap]> on Saturday August 30, @02:58AM (#24807477)
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All I’ll add to that, is if he’s found a girl who will value his imagination, willingness to put all that effort, throught and dilligence in, more than she values waving some diamonds with no intrinsic value at her friends and having them wave their own back (sometimes with a concealed snide reference to it not being worth as much their diamonds), then he should under no circumstances ever let this girl go. She’s more valuable than any precious metal or gemstone.

Good luck to the submitter!

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