History of Tungsten

The word Tungsten in Swedish and Danish means "heavy stone." The current name for the element is Wolfram and was founded by Peter Woulfe in 1779 who examined wolframite.

Gold, silver and platinum like Tungsten, is element #74, are heavy elements. It is naturally occurring and is an important element responsible for the development of human civilization. Without tungsten we would not have the filament inside the incandescent light bulb. Tungsten gives the filament the toughness and resilience exceeding any other metal. In 1922 the Germans developed Tungsten Carbide as the material used in making better cutting tool bits for precision milling and cutting of steel.

On the sun's surface this specialty metal will melt but will remain in one piece even if it is dropped from outer space and goes through the earth's atmosphere. That is because tungsten has the highest melting point of all the elements at 6,700 degrees F (3,420 degrees C). Its permanent attributes deem it to be the hardest metal on the planet.

Today tungsten carbide is used throughout the world. Although its primary application is in the mechanical industry, it is quickly gaining popularity as a durable, long lasting, material used in jewelry.

There are three specialty metals that are being sold in the Jewelry Industry today. These are TITANIUM, STAINLESS STEEL and TUNGSTEN CARBIDE among the three, Tungsten Carbide is considered to be a true innovation in that it is virtually impossible to scratch. Five times stronger than steel, denser, heavier and more expensive compared to the other two specialty metals.