How durable are black zirconium rings?

One of the most common questions I have from my clients is “how tough are black zirconium rings”? There’s no straightforward answer besides “pretty damn tough with exceptions”.

First we have to understand what it is. Black zirconium starts out as pure metallic zirconium which isn’t black to begin with.

It looks like any other metal. The ring is machined from this pure metal and is brought to the finishing stages including polishing and brushing where needed.

The ring is then heat treated using a very high temperature for a period of time, and a chemical reaction takes place on the surface of the zirconium. It reacts with oxygen once it is hot enough, and begins to “grow” zirconium dioxide on the surface of the metal.

Zirconium dioxide happens to be black, which is great.

The zirconium dioxide that has formed on the surface also happens to be ceramic in nature and has a hardness level similar to sapphire. In other words it is extremely hard and scratch resistant. The caveat is that the layer is thin, only microns in depth, and the metal underneath is not as hard as the black surface layer. So hard impacts on hard materials, and constant abrasion will inevitably cause wear and tear eventually, although it will be mild. Most likely just on the edges of the ring, which is where abrasion mostly occurs.

Things to avoid

• Don’t wear it to the gym, barbells have very rough knurled steel grips.

• Avoid concrete and bricks.

• Metalworking