As an EMT, I find myself having to specialize my jewelry. I have a nice ornate wedding band, but also a durable and sanitizeable (for blood borne pathogens) tungsten ring. I have applied the same to my masonic jewelry.

This ring cannot be scratched by anything less than another tungsten object or a diamond. This has been put to the test inadvertantly against metallic stretchers, car components, and even an emergency ring cutter (***important to note for those that have crushing risks, such as construction workers and the like, there's a possibility we might not be able to get it off without extremely specialized equipment. We have to use a compression technique which could hurt the finger).

The rings design is obvious to those who know what to look for, but subdued enough so that most won't notice the S&C in common lighting. This is good for my purpose as it could be viewed as improper given my need for uniformity at work, and might be good for those masons who don't wish to advertise their membership. I for one, would like something more ornamental for certain occasions where I don't have to be concerned about durability.

**Another important notation, when giving honors or just clapping in general, be careful not to strike this ring against another, such as a wedding band. This will scratch the other ring terribly. Also, i have scratched this ring against my tungsten wedding band while giving honors, but this is only noticeable under close inspection. This is no problem once you realize the possibility, and you can slightly adjust your hand without putting too much thought to it.