My stainless/tungsten ring collection

[Xraywolf]

Found just over the last 2 years, they are becoming more and more common to find in water and in sand.

They have added a 3rd category of jewelry finds for me, before stainless it was either junk or good [ie silver or gold]. I rate these as a step above junk ,,, After all, people pay $20-$30 for these rings, though you'd be hard pressed to get even half of that. Nonetheless, I separate them and keep them in their own baggy.

These really ring out like bells when found, ringing anywhere from 70-90 VDI. Some of them are enough to give a short little rush thinking you might have found white gold, platinum or a silver honker, but most you can tell at a glance what they are, especially the black ones.
They tend to be manly sized .. I take a 10.5 ring and many if not most are larger than that. Also very slippery, which explains why so many are being lost. I often find 2 or 3 in a single outing.

They are what they are, far away from PM but a step above junk - They are attractive rings and at least they don't corrode.

 

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[smokeythecat]

Very interesting. I haven't found one yet.....lots of hours at the beach, too.

 

[Xraywolf]

Hmm, wonder if region could be a factor ?
A few here might be as old as 3 years but before that, I never seen them they are fairly recent. Now there are booths at malls/flea markets ect that sell them by the pallet, and it shows at the beaches. A friend of mine recently bought one for $40, I told him sheesh, I would have sold you one for $10.

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Stainless steel rings are cheap..30$-40$. Tungsten carbide rings start around 100$ and go up to 300-400$ they are not cheap but about as good and useful as a fishing weight

 

[Xraywolf]

Wow you are right, Tungsten ain't no joke. I always assumed they were semi junk like stainless.
I think all the black ones I have are tungsten

 

[Irishgoldhound]

People do not buy tungsten or titanium as a wedding band, in 10 to 20 years when your finger is bigger you cannot re-size tungsten or titanium. They are not resizable or solderable. So you'll have to throw out your cheap wedding band.

 

[Xraywolf]

Well, they do buy them as wedding bands, whether thats a great idea or not I don't know - Or maybe thats not what you are saying and just needed a comma.

Alls I can say is I have some discount tungsten rings for sale !

 

[Rodbuster209]

Like Xraywolf said they showed up here in my area about three years ago, when pm's were more expensive. They are worn as wedding bands also here.

 

[Irishgoldhound]

They are nice looking rings but why some people spend big bucks on titanium is ridiculous to me. My buddy bought a titanium carbide ring when he got married and he paid over $300. I think some people are oblivious to the real value of titanium they think cause they paid that much, that the ring is worth that much. So, why wouldn't you spend that $300 on a nice white gold or platinum ring? At least it has value. Or if you can't afford gold or platinum, why not buy a nice silver ring,? cheaper but still holds more value than tungsten. Just my thoughts. Anyway, like said...they are nice when they show up in the scoop.

 

[Xraywolf]

Maybe when people consider what kind of dinky gold ring they would get for $300 vs tungsten, the heft is what sways them.
They are reasonably attractive, resistant to corrosion & wear ,,, But its true they don't have intrinsic value and likely will never have it.

I think precious metals are nothing short of a racket, am glad in a way if these rings are making a dent in PM ring sales. When you think of it, if you went out and bought a gold ring today for $500 and decided next week you'd rather have the $$, you'd probably be doing good if you were able to get half of what you paid, even if you sold it back to the same shop you bought it from. They'd offer you maybe 10% over spot and that is about it.
So even the investment angle is overplayed and even non existent, unless you are talking about the distant future and that can be a crap shoot.

 

[Irishgoldhound]

At least Pm's will always hold a value wether it's less in the future or more. I would rather leave my children my jewelry containing real pm rather than a piece of shiny crap.

 

[Xraywolf]

For sure, I'd rather inherit it too !
If its free, the investment factor falls right out the window, its all profit.

 

[aa battery]

very cool i found my 1st one the other day size 10

 

[MexGT]

I share your same "problem" my friend lol

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I've found a number of them myself.

And I remember the excitement I felt each time I saw them in the scoop.

And then feeling a wee bit less excited after I identified what they were.....

 

[Xraywolf]

Nice Mex - I bet there are at least a few guys out there who blows us both away.
But we have also seen in this thread an experienced beach hunter with many hours at beaches who has not found a single one yet.

They are a little letdown to see in the scoop but I've trained myself to like them, sometimes its nice to find anything besides clad and bottlecaps.

 

[CASPER-2]

a lot of guys wanted to see white gold over the years in their scoop (or silver colored platinum)
- now I want to see yellow all the time - cause 99% of the time hopefully you got actual gold - at least from the saltwater
in fresh I guess a lot of your gold plate may hold its color if fresh drop - but out of the ocean - I want to see yellow
I get a silvery ring now a days in the scoop - I don't get as excited as much until I see its insides
but I would rather get a tungsten than a cheap bubblegum machine ring or avon ring
I did get more of the "new" metals rings this year than in the past - so I feel everyones pain a little more

 

[detectahead]

This is last 3 yrs and several more not shone from this year.
Worthless, I give them to friends.

 

[Xraywolf]

wow, quite a haul.

I figure it this way - I save junk jewelry, I save corroded pennies, so I'll save stainless.

 

[MexGT]

Lord of the rings? lol

Yeah im saving the stainless junkers too !