In truth, tungsten carbide wedding rings are not made from pure tungsten. Pure tungsten in its natural form is an ore, and does not polish up to the shine that people love about tungsten carbide rings. Makers of tungsten carbide rings need to combine tungsten ore in a powder form with various binders and sinter it all together at very high temperatures in order to achieve the desired result – a beautiful, polished and nearly indestructible tungsten carbide ring.
A nickel binder is the preferred formulation for tungsten carbide rings, as many other binders can cause your ring to discolor with wear. Many inexpensive rings use one of these lesser binders, and aren pleasant to wear or look at!