Gold has fascinated humans from time immemorial. Historical records state that the Incas used to refer to gold as “tears of Sun”. Gold has also been praised as the glory of immortals by the famous Greek poet Homer in his Iliad. This precious yellow metal can trace its name to Old English and Germanic origins, though several civilizations and cultures called it by different names, and do so today too.
It is rather difficult to arrive at when exactly gold was discovered, as gold deposits are spread all over the world. Several cultures and civilizations have been using gold for a long, long time. However, myth goes that thousands of years ago a child found a yellow, shiny rock in a shallow stream bed and gold was introduced to humans for the first time. Many kingdoms have risen and fallen for gold, which served as a medium of barter, and still backs several currencies across the world.
On the contrary, tungsten was discovered relatively much later in the 18th century, in 1783 to be exact. It was discovered by Spanish brothers Juan Jose and Fausto Elhuyur, who detected it in samples of wolframite, a very hard substance. Though gold was the favoured metal for making jewellery, the discovery of tungsten, the second hardest material in the world (the hardest being diamond) revolutionised the art of making jewellery.
Presented with gold, the most malleable metal, and tungsten the second hardest, and most durable metal, artisans set to work to create magic in the form of jewellery. The most common piece of jewellery made with a combination of tungsten and gold is probably the ubiquitous ring. The amazing range of designs and patterns created in this combination is so wide and overwhelming that it is often difficult to decide while shopping for gold plated tungsten rings.
One can either choose a tungsten ring with rounded, convex finish, with the top and inner walls plated with gold that adds sheen to the ring. On the other hand, a tungsten ring with inlaid gold in myriad geometrical patterns set in a black background that sets of the glitter of the gold is a favourite of most people. Yet some others prefer the black topped tungsten ring with a thin band of gold running right through in the middle, which displays a subtle simplicity in an expensive creation. The mind-boggling range in an affordable price range is probably what makesgold plated tungsten rings so popular.
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