Hi my name is Alex Tabaie with Stuller, and today we're here to talk to you about contemporary metals.  This product category is the leading growth source of men's jewelry, mainly due to the appeal the younger generation.  In these recessional times, this product category not only offers affordable prices, but popular designs as well. The intention of this video is to make you the authority on contemporary metals and to make you a hero in the eyes of your customers.

There are six primary types of contemporary metals jewelry: stainless steel, titanium, hi-tech ceramic, cobalt, tungsten, and white tungsten.  We'll go over the features and benefits of each material and how it can meet your customer's needs.

Stainless steel.  The most important thing to note about stainless steel jewelry is that it's measured on purity and hardness.  We here at Stuller use 316l surgical grade steel for all our stainless steel jewelry.  It is the easiest of new metals to apply precious applications such as gold or diamonds.  It can take bezel, pressure, bead, or channel set diamonds.  Stainless steel will scratch, but there are many polishing compounds on the market that when used with classic polishing wheels, will restore the product to its bright or satin finish.  While stainless steel is engravable using a diamond engraver, a laser engraver is the most effective.

Titanium jewelry.  Not only is titanium the most durable contemporary metal on the market, but it is also the most lightweight.  The key assets of titanium is the resiliency relative to the softer precious metals.  Diamonds can be applied through bezel or pressure settings.  The care and cleaning is done with hot water and soap.  Titanium will scratch, but there are many polishing compounds on the market that when used with classic polishing wheels, will restore the product to its bright or satin finish.  Titanium, as with stainless steel, is engravable using a diamond engraver or preferably a laser. 

Hi-tech ceramic.  Especially Stuller's Ceramic Couture jewelry line uses the process of powder metallurgy in which it is subjected to intense heat for centering and then polished by diamond wheels.  It's a result of this process the Ceramic Couture jewelry is heat resistant and nearly scratch proof.  They retain a forever polished look and are colorfast in white, black pink, blue, and brown colors.  High-tech ceramic have become most popular in watches and now Stuller offers a complete line of Ceramic Couture jewelry including watches, bands, and bracelets for both men and women.  While substantially stronger than regular ceramics, high-tech ceramic can be brittle if dropped or propelled against another hard surface.  High-tech ceramics can be restored to showcase quality by cleaning with hot water and soap, but avoid using an ultrasonic cleaner or any chemicals other than alcohol.  Removal of a ceramic band can now be accomplished quite easily using the exclusive Stuller Ring Cracker.  

Cobalt bands not only afford you the opportunity to sell a product that looks like white gold, but they're also extremely durable against breakage. And with Stuller's dura cobalt formula, you can actually stretch the product a quarter size. Cobalt can be cast or made from extruded tubing.  This material is excellent for adding diamonds by bezel or pressure setting. Cobalt does scratch, but can be restored to its original form with the use of special compounds and wheels developed by Stuller. Removal of cobalt requires a high speed cutter on two sides.  The recommended care of cobalt is similar to other contemporary metals, using hot water, soap, ammonia, and/or alcohol.  Refrain from using ultrasonic cleaner or other chemicals.

Dura tungsten is also used a powder metallurgy and centered under extreme heat with proprietary alloys of natural elements finished off with a diamond wheel producing a forever polished ring.  Stuller's patent-pending dura tungsten is arguably the most durable tungsten band on the market due to the addition of titanium powder in place of the more brittle tungsten carbide powder.  Removal is easily accomplished with the exclusive Stuller Ring Cracker and can be done in store without any intrusion or skin contact.  Tungsten bands should be cleaned with hot water, soap, ammonia, and/or alcohol and a steam cleaner.  Avoid using an ultrasonic cleaner or other chemicals.

White dura tungsten gives you a white gold look while using the same tungsten composition and maintains scratch resistance. Stuller's patent-pending process allows our tungsten bands to be scratch resistant, colorfast, and free from flaking.  A key feature is the mix of hard chrome and platinum for color.  It is similar in process to the automotive chrome plating placed on bumpers and mirrors for scratch resistance.  There's a common myth about a tungsten band that it can't be removed or if it is it's not easy and you have to use vise grips or possibly even a hammer.  So what we wanted to show you here is that we actually a Stuller have created a product that is going to remove a tungsten band safely and quickly of which is non-invasive, will not touch the finger and will not touch the skin.  Alright and now what we'd like to do is we'd like to actually give you a demonstration and show you how easy it is to actually remove a tungsten band.  So you're going to see you're going to go ahead and are going to take the tool.  And you're going to go ahead and place it around and you're going to get it nice and snug in the center of the band. And once you do that, you get to give a few turns and you're going to hear the initial fracture.  It doesn't mean the band's broken.  It's just the initial fracture.  You're going to go ahead give it a couple more turns and there you have it. Tungsten band has been safely removed within 30 seconds.

Our contemporary metal bands have all been designed primarily with one focus and that's lifestyle.  You know for example, a guy with an active lifestyle who's hard on this ring is going to be absolutely thrilled with the fact that our tungsten bands are virtually scratch-proof.  And I want to go ahead and I want to give you a little demonstration just to show you what I mean.  So here I have a regular plain polished tungsten band and a steel file and if you're going to take note I'm going to scratch the band and there's absolutely no mark.  One of the features of the tungsten band is the weight.  So what we want to do is we want to show you the comparison of a weight of a tungsten band and a 14-karat gold band.  First what we're going to do is we're going to show you the weight of a 14-karat gold band. As you can see, it weighs a little over eight grams.  Now I want to show you the weight of a tungsten band.  As you can see it weighs just around nine and a half grams.  This is one of the reasons why I've tungsten band has been so popular.

Although the features and benefits of contemporary metals meet different lifestyle needs, they all have one thing in common: they're all reasonably priced in retail under 300 dollars. Now you can be the most knowledgeable resource of contemporary metal jewelry for your customers. If you have any further questions, you should feel free to contact one of Stuller's customer care professionals at 800-877-7777, and/or visit Stuller.com for the full range of products we offer in each of these contemporary metals.