Often times individuals seeking to purchase a tungsten ring find themselves debating whether they should engrave their tungsten carbide ring. Some believe that engraving a ring could void their lifetime guarantee or warranty. Professional jewelers often receive questions regarding the warranty validity if an engraving is obtained. The simple answer is that an engraving will not invalidate your warranty, but we know that many retailers tell their customers that it does. That is simply not good practice.
In our experience in the jewelry industry, retailers often tell their customers that an engraving can void their warranty or lifetime guarantee because the “structural integrity” could be considered weakened. Any breaks or severe scratches that may arise down the road can be attributed to the engraving, which weakened the structure of the ring. When you examine the nature of tungsten wedding bands, you’ll quickly see the fallacy in those thoughts.
Tungsten carbide is among the hardest substances known to man. Diamonds are one of the few substances that are stronger. Outside of diamonds, tungsten carbide is the hardest substance used in jewelry. Tungsten carbide is a very difficult substance to break, so it is very doubtful that a relatively insignificant (in terms of damage to “structural integrity”) alteration would result in such a drastic effect as a break. Why would a retailer state an engraving would result in a void warranty, you ask? Well, the retailer may not want to honor their lifetime warranty and this gives those retailers a loophole into not honoring your warranty, and relieved of their duties under the warranty.
When it comes down to it, an engraving is a simple, not very deep scratch. The magnitude of an engraving should not affect the ring in terms of how it will hold up structurally. Be weary when you see this and find a retailer who owners its warranty even if you obtain an engraving.
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