Not so long ago, a wedding ring was a simply a “band of gold.” When platinum came on the scene in the 1980s, some high-end bands began to be made of that precious metal too.  But this last decade has seen a huge surge in what the jewelry industry calls “contemporary metals,” like titanium, steel, and tungsten carbide, which isn’t really a metal at all (more on that later.)  Recently, a relative of platinum, palladium, has also been added to the mix.

Why have hundreds of thousands of men chosen a band made out of one of these non-traditional metals? They are much more affordable, especially with the gold price now above $1,000 per ounce.

A ring made out of a high-tech material seems modern and in sync with a contemporary lifestyle.  Titanium, because of its light weight, feels more comfortable to some men. Steel has a classic industrial appeal, especially when combined with diamonds or gold. And tungsten carbide is marketed as being more durable than precious metals, with a superior hardness that resists scratching. Sales of tungsten carbide have surged in the past two years and are now estimated at 300,000 to 500,000 wedding bands a year.

But one of the country’s leading bridal jewelry designers wants men to think twice before choosing a tungsten carbide wedding band.

Scott Kay held a press conference today in New York to demonstrate that tungsten carbide is not as indestructible as a YouTube video might lead you to believe.  How did he do that?  He destroyed a lot of tungsten carbide rings. He tossed them against a marble tile and they shattered. He hit them with a hammer and they cracked. He put them in a vise and they broke in two.

Tungsten carbide, a metallurgist at the press conference explained, is not a metal but a metal matrix composite, a ceramic like material sintered from a powder of tungsten and carbon sintered with cobalt or nickel into an aggregate, which still contains tiny voids. Because it isn’t a metal, it can’t bend so a sharp shock can break it.

These tungsten carbide rings were thrown on the floor, shattering them

“When I go on the internet and read that tungsten rings are indestructible, unbreakable, durable, and strong, I have a real problem with that,” Kay says. “I have a problem with tungsten carbide for a wedding ring without 100% disclosure that it breaks when it falls on the floor.”

This jewelry mayhem had another point: Scott Kay announced a partnership with manufacturer Spectore Corporation metal alloy supplier Carpenter Technologies to launch the SK Cobalt collection of bands in a patented white metal alloy of cobalt, chromium, and molybdenum called BioBlu 27. The collection will be designed by Scott Kay and manufactured by Spectore from the high-tech alloy created by Carpenter.

The SK Cobalt Collection will retail from $125 up, with most bands in the $300 range.  They will directly compete with those not-so-indestructible tungsten carbide wedding bands.

Kay promises that the new bands will not shatter when hit by a hammer (and he of course demonstrated by doing just that.)

The bands in the new SK Cobalt Collection will also have a wider selection of styling than most bands in other contemporary metals because the BioBlu 27 alloy can be cast as well as machined, allowing more sculptural and organic designs and textures. Although stones can not yet be set in the new alloy, BioBlu 27 can be combined with precious metals, with or without gems.

SK Cobalt rings will be available in stores in the next two weeks. Helzberg Diamonds will carry an exclusive collection in the new alloy called “Brute Cobalt.”

“There is a need for a $300 wedding ring,” Kay says. “If gold was $100 an ounce, everyone would have a gold ring. BioBlu is dense, it’s solid metal matrix, it’s strong and it’s not brittle. I am excited about BioBlu 27. I want other manufacturers to use it also.”

SK Cobalt wedding rings in the BioBlu 27 alloy

At the 2002 U.S. Open, Serena Williams  won wearing nine carats of diamonds on her left wrist: a $29,000 tennis bracelet given to her by Harry Winston. Was it the luck of the diamonds?

The latest chapter in the love story: Maria Sharapova and Tiffany & Co.  This week at the U.S. Open, Sharapova is wearing a pair of lanky sterling and diamond Stria earrings designed by starchitect Frank Gehry.  Unlike Serena’s bracelet, these earrings are within reach even if you aren’t a number-one seed, retailing for just $850.

So now that Sharapova has her lucky diamonds covered, maybe that shaky serve will improve?

Maria Sharapova wears Tiffany earrings designed by Frank Gehry

I downloaded the kit and used it to produce the style you see below.  (A little Photoshop experience makes it easier since you have to use layers but there is also a pdf version.) No doubt you think you can do better? Try it yourself!

A panel of judges will pick the top three designs which will then (of course!) be put up for a vote on the site. If your design is selected, you’ll get a trip to the 2010 People’s Choice Awards to see your design worn on the red carpet.  And your design will be added to Kendra’s new collection.

Contender? My necklace design using the design-your-own tool kit.

The Hope Diamond

The Hope Diamond, the crown jewel of America’s gem collection, was donated to the Smithsonian fifty years ago.  (Harry Winston famously sent it, the most valuable gem in the world, from New York to Washington by Registered Mail.) The Hope, which is the Smithsonian’s most popular exhibit, is famous as much for its supposed curse as for its beauty.  It does exhibit a very unusual firey red fluorescence that is pretty eerie.

The Smithsonian is marking the anniversary by commissioning a new setting for the 45.52-carat dark blue Hope, from Harry Winston, of course.  You can vote on which of the three finalists will be the Hope’s new setting.  The three designs are extremely conservative. Dare I say dowdy?  Judge for yourself below.

But, fortunately, the new setting, which will be revealed on the Smithsonian Channel’s “Mystery of the Hope Diamond” documentary in March 2010, is only temporary. The Hope will be exhibited loose until March 2010 then in its new setting for about six months. The Hope will be returned to its old setting by the end of 2010.  The old setting is looking pretty chic, I must say, especially in comparison to the new. Think you can do better?  The Smithsonian has a design your own setting website where you can submit your own ideas.

New setting designs by Harry Winston symbolize "modern hope in America"

This month style blogger and Glamour magazine “Glambassador” Valerie Elizabeth of SocietyStylist.com (aka Elizabeth Hearst) is wearing the same little black dress for 31 straight days, adding accessories to change her look.

The growing audience for this kind of sartorial stunt isn’t surprising: for recessionistas everywhere, the idea of “shopping your closet” is very appealing.  But the point of the projects (and the fun of visiting the websites each day) is to really change the daily look despite the constraint.

And the variety of Valerie’s outfits each day really does prove how much accessories matter.  It also demonstrates a) how many shoes, belts, and handbags the average stylish woman owns and b) how many stylish women have pretty pedestrian tastes in jewelry.  Although Valerie wears a new (borrowed) watch style from sponsor Michele watches every day, often with a new coordinating colored leather strap, her wardrobe of jewelry is painfully limited.  She wears the same pair of CZ stud earrings from Nordstrom almost every day. Target is her go-to source for necklaces. And, sadly, her favorite gift from her husband is a fake sapphire ring he bought on eBay for $100! Elizabeth, honey, your last name is Hearst. You have $2,000 handbags. You can do better.

Valerie Elizabeth: real style but fake jewelry

Cate Blanchett wears the gemstone statement necklace

With bling oh-so-over, adornment for the red carpet is a bit more difficult. I mean, just a year ago, all a celebrity needed to do to nail it was to don some diamond chandelier earrings and a million-dollar armful of diamond bracelets. But how does one look well-dressed and suitably star-like yet at the same time ostentatiously non-ostentatious? Cate Blanchett might have the answer here: a yellow gold and gemstone bib necklace. The yellow gold makes the necklace a bit more casual, the white of the agate beads keep it summery, and the silhouette is strong enough to stand up to the bold color of her dress.  Even the Fug Girls liked this look. Loose locks, the relaxed fit of the dress, and the dangling beads of the necklace combine to make it a tad bohemian, which makes it less serious but definitely not less glamorous. A strong statement necklace worn alone seems to be the perfect answer to the dress-down dress-up dilemma.

Hey, we’re all feeling a bit cash-strapped due to the credit crunch, so this isn’t surprising, but gold price forecasters haven’t yet learned how to take all this into account.  The bottom line?  Any surge in the gold price is likely to cause a corresponding surge in scrap, which will act as a drag on the price.  Gold may be less volatile than forecasters have suggested over the next year.  And it will once again, be a record year for scrap.