Titanium Jewelry: Profitable And Satisfying

There are a lot of choices for customers in the jewelry industry today. Wide array of styles, designs, metals, gems, and prices of jewelry are available that makes sure that there is something for each person. And with its increasing popularity in the past years, titanium jewelry has been a great product that made a lot of buyers giddy with excitement. Yet, customers are not the only ones who are thrilled by the continued popularity of titanium. Retailers, manufacturers and designers also have great opportunity with the current state of jewelry made of titanium in the industry.

 

Many people think that titanium is a fairly new metal, a notion that is both correct and incorrect. Technically, the titanium metal has been used since 1791 when it was discovered by William Gregor. But because of the demanding and expensive processes required to extract titanium from ores, it has only been used in laboratories until 1932. Commercial use of titanium started with military applications mainly for aerospace projects. Then it has been used in transportation and chemical processing industries.

 

Recent innovations in making the extraction process of titanium easier and cheaper, the jewelry industry got the opportunity to utilize the metal in the production of accessories that are more affordable than precious metals like gold, silver or platinum.

 

At the early 1990's, the first jewelry pieces made from titanium became available the public. In the start, using titanium for jewelry had been risky for manufacturers and retailers due to the fact that the "new" metal still did not have a guaranteed consumer market compared to the more established gold or silver. Yet, ever since its introduction, the reaction of consumers are quite positive to titanium even though it is cost a little more than alternative metals like stainless steel jewelry. This is due to its quite unique properties that give it a particular niche in the industry and attracting specific types of buyers.

 

Though not considered as a precious metal due to its abundance, titanium still costs relatively higher compared to other non-precious metals. This is due to the high cost and labor-intensive preparation of the metal. Despite this, many people today still buy jewelry made of titanium because of its unique physical properties which include the highest strength-to-weight ration among all metals, great durability, corrosion resistance plus its ability to get colored in different hues through anodization that will not fade or tarnish under normal circumstances. Nevertheless, the non-precious status of titanium can also serve retailers and customers well because unlike gold and silver whose prices are volatile, the price of titanium is not dependent on economic forces.

 

The majority in the consumer market for jewelry made of titanium are men who either buy it as special occasion jewelry (like engagement or wedding rings) or as casual accessories to compliment their styles. Female buyers are also seen as great patrons of titanium accessories (with still potential for growth) as more and more designers adapt the metal to their assortments and collections. It unique properties that makes it very competitive to other metals and when added to its rich history as a metal that reached outer space (titanium is widely used as materials for satellite and spaceship parts) makes this type of jewelry one of the most coveted products in the industry today, making retailers highly profitable while making more customers very satisfied.