Titanium is perhaps the most exotic of metallic elements that can be considered a household word. To the public at large titanium represents all things high-tech and special; the ultimate upgrade to ordinary steel and aluminum. Its growing use in jewelry can be partly attributed to this perception though, in fairness, the metal's characteristics are noteworthy in their own right: strong, light and able to be worked into countless shapes. It also helps that its perceived high cost is actually mostly due to marketing because its ores are if not inexhaustible then so plentiful that despite massive growth in demand over the last few years the price has remained relatively steady and comparable to other, far less sexy industrial commodities like chromium and nickel.

A final note of interest regarding titanium is the ease with which it can be anodized. By passing a small electric current in an conductive solution such as salt water an infinitesimally small amount of the metal oxidizes at the surface. The layer is so thin that most light can pass through to the unoxidized surface just below. That small amount of light that is absorbed rather than reflected changes its wavelength making it appear a different color. This property is exploited to beautiful effect in most titanium jewelry and, as you can see, is employed here as well.

Embedded within this 50mm Lucite cube is a one inch egg-shaped piece of titanium of 99.95% purity. It is anodized a mesmerizing indigo color that shifts depending on the viewing angle, always presenting a blue center with purplish fringes no matter which way you look at it!