One key decision to make when you build your own engagement rings is the metal. Yellow, white gold and platinum are most common. Titanium bands and silver are less so. Rose gold engagement rings or copper are pretty rare.

Titanium bands are the new black in the wedding industry. Titanium has a long history in industries such the military, aerospace, medicine, etc. but has only been widely seen on the fingers of brides and grooms for the last 20 years. While titanium is not rare, it is one of the strongest materials around, compared to other materials of similar weight. For example, titanium weighs 75% less than gold, but is 50% stronger than steel of the same weight. Titanium is a tough cookie and will outlast other metals such as gold and platinum.

Wait, there are even more advantages to titanium bands. Since titanium is one of the 9th most abundant metals around, it is relatively inexpensive, thus, it will usually cost less than platinum and sometimes less than gold. The cost in titanium jewelry is not for the raw metal but the artistry and labor involved in designing the ring. Titanium is also hypoallergenic and will not make your skin turn green or other unsightly shades. It is a low maintenance metal and doesn't tarnish

Titanium can be combined with other metals such as silver, gold, and platinum and embellished with any kind of gemstone. It can also be colored to have sheens of any shade of the rainbow.

Titanium bands also have a few downsides. Titanium is often marketed as being scratch-resistant, but that's not exactly true. Titanium bands will show small scrapes and scratches just like gold and platinum wedding bands. However, any local jeweler should be able to polish a titanium ring look new again. you need to take care when picking out your ring size because re-sizing titanium rings is nearly impossible. You may be able to slightly increase a titanium ring size, but you really can't make it any smaller. Thus, don't plan on losing any weight after you purchase your ring.

There is an urban legend surrounding titanium, since it is such a strong metal, that if you get a titanium ring stuck on your finger, you will not be able to get it off and your finger will have to be amputated. What a horrible thought! This is not true--- as with other metals such as gold or platinum, if need be, titanium can be cut off one's fingers with a professional-grade ring cutting tool.

I don't think I've ever seen any women wearing rose gold engagement rings. Nonetheless, they exist and while not typically sold in most mainstream jewelry stores, can be found in antique stores. Victorian antique engagement rings (1835-1900) were often set in rose gold. You can also find rose gold engagement rings that are produced today. There are some online jewelry stores that actually specialize in producing them.

Most people have preferred the color of gold to remain close to that of pure yellow gold itself. Gold only naturally occurrs in the yellow shade. All others shades are produced by mixing 24K gold with other metals. Pure gold is too soft to wear as jewelry and so alloys are almost always added to it, regardless of the color desired. The term alloys refers to a combination of two or more metals. Gold alloys are a combination of gold, copper and silver. Nickel, zinc, and palladium are common components of white gold alloys. To create rose gold alloys, the silver content of gold is reduced while the content of copper is increased slightly. The more copper that is added to it, the deeper the rose hue.

One thing to note when shopping for a rose gold, is that the color of rose gold may subtly intensify with age due to a tarnishing of the the copper.