ForMatter/Materials/metal/Tungsten (Pure / Tungsten Carbide)
mat_tungsten_pure

Tungsten (Pure / Tungsten Carbide)

refractory metal / hard-metal jewelry · W, tungsten carbide, WC, wolfram
highlast updated 2026-04-27
metallic 0.00
hue shift +0°

Tungsten — the densest engineering metal in common use, 70% heavier than lead — and tungsten carbide, the ceramic-metal composite the jewelry market actually sells under the name "tungsten ring." Almost diamond-hard, scratch-resistant in a way no precious metal is, and brittle the way ceramics are: drop a tungsten-carbide ring on tile and it can shatter. The material that wears longer than the wearer.

Pure tungsten: BCC structure, density 19.25 g/cm³, melting point 3422 °C — the highest of any element. Tungsten carbide (WC + Co binder, the actual jewelry stock): hardness Vickers 1300–1700 HV (~9 Mohs, harder than corundum). Brittle by design; the alloy fails by fracture rather than ductile yielding. Cannot be sized with conventional jeweler's mandrel work. Generally machined in green-state (powder-pressed pre-sinter) or ground from sintered blanks.

mechanical

  • tensile_strength_mpa_pure_annealed1510
  • hardness_vickers_pure360
  • hardness_vickers_carbide1500
  • density_kg_m3_pure19250
  • density_kg_m3_carbide14800
source: ASM Handbook Vol. 2; Kennametal hard-metal datasheets

thermal

  • melting_point_c_pure3422
  • thermal_conductivity_w_mk_pure173
source: CRC Handbook

Sustainability

  • embodied carbon kg co2e per kg27
  • sourceEditorial estimate from ICE / Granta CES EduPack class databases — industry mean, with cradle-to-gate boundary unless otherwise noted. Embodied carbon for any specific product depends on supplier mix, recycled content, and energy grid; verify against a primary source before using these numbers in a sustainability claim.
  • recyclabilitymoderate-high — closed-loop tungsten-carbide reclaim is mature for industrial scrap; jewelry scale variable
  • biodegradableFalse
  • certifications—
  • localityprimary mining concentrated in China; alternative supply from Vietnam, Russia, Australia
visual
dark gunmetal gray as polished, with the telltale lower-warmth cast that distinguishes a tungsten ring from a stainless one across a counter
tactile
the heaviest ring most customers have ever held
weight perception
very heavy

PBR starter values

Principled BSDF defaults derived from the sphere metallic finish. Reasonable seed for Blender, Substance, Keyshot, Rhino — tune per material.

# finish:      metallic
albedo        #3a3a40
metallic      1.00
roughness     0.25
ior           1.45
transmission  0.00
clearcoat     0.00
sheen         0.00
anisotropic   0.00
copy as JSON 
{
  "albedo": "#3a3a40",
  "metallic": 1.0,
  "roughness": 0.25,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "transmission": 0.0,
  "clearcoat": 0.0,
  "sheen": 0.0,
  "anisotropic": 0.0
}
Blender 4.x Python 
# Blender 4.x — Principled BSDF
# Tungsten (Pure / Tungsten Carbide) · finish: metallic
import bpy
mat = bpy.data.materials.new(name="mat_tungsten_pure")
mat.use_nodes = True
bsdf = mat.node_tree.nodes["Principled BSDF"]
bsdf.inputs["Base Color"].default_value         = (0.0423, 0.0423, 0.0513, 1.0)
bsdf.inputs["Metallic"].default_value           = 1.000
bsdf.inputs["Roughness"].default_value          = 0.250
bsdf.inputs["IOR"].default_value                = 1.450
bsdf.inputs["Transmission Weight"].default_value = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Coat Weight"].default_value        = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Sheen Weight"].default_value       = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Anisotropic"].default_value        = 0.000
KeyShot Python (lux) 
# KeyShot 11+ — lux Python API, Generic material
# Tungsten (Pure / Tungsten Carbide) · finish: metallic
# Run from Window → Scripting Console
import lux
mat = lux.createMaterial(name="mat_tungsten_pure", materialType="Generic")
mat.setProperty("diffuse",      (58, 58, 64))   # 8-bit sRGB
mat.setProperty("metallic",     1.000)
mat.setProperty("roughness",    0.250)
mat.setProperty("indexOfRefraction", 1.450)
mat.setProperty("transparency", 0.000)
mat.setProperty("coatingWeight", 0.000)
Substance pbrMetalRough 
{
  "_format": "Substance Designer / Painter \u2014 pbrMetalRough constants",
  "_about": "Tungsten (Pure / Tungsten Carbide) \u00b7 finish: metallic",
  "baseColor": {
    "r": 0.0423,
    "g": 0.0423,
    "b": 0.0513
  },
  "metallic": 1.0,
  "roughness": 0.25,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "opacity": 1.0,
  "anisotropyLevel": 0.0,
  "_notes": "Channels listed are the standard Substance pbrMetalRough output. Drop into a Uniform Color node per channel, or as the constant input on a layered stack."
}
glTF 2.0 Metallic-Roughness 
{
  "asset": {
    "version": "2.0",
    "generator": "ForMatter"
  },
  "materials": [
    {
      "name": "mat_tungsten_pure",
      "pbrMetallicRoughness": {
        "baseColorFactor": [
          0.0423,
          0.0423,
          0.0513,
          1.0
        ],
        "metallicFactor": 1.0,
        "roughnessFactor": 0.25
      },
      "extensions": {
        "KHR_materials_ior": {
          "ior": 1.45
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}
USD Preview Surface 
# USD Preview Surface — UsdShade.MaterialLook prim attributes
# Tungsten (Pure / Tungsten Carbide) · finish: metallic
def Material "mat_tungsten_pure" {
    token outputs:surface.connect = </mat_tungsten_pure/PreviewSurface.outputs:surface>

    def Shader "PreviewSurface" {
        uniform token info:id = "UsdPreviewSurface"
        color3f inputs:diffuseColor = (0.0423, 0.0423, 0.0513)
        float   inputs:metallic     = 1.000
        float   inputs:roughness    = 0.250
        float   inputs:ior          = 1.450
        float   inputs:opacity      = 1.000
        float   inputs:clearcoat    = 0.000
        token   outputs:surface
    }
}
↓ download glTF material
ProcessCNC Milling · Sandblasting (Abrasive Blasting)
Substitutes
Titanium Grade 5 (Ti-6Al-4V)
Stainless Steel 316L

Citations