So, once upon in my 'About' I mentioned I was not a review site. But since then I have reviewed a few things. Some things I have purchased and some things I have not. I like to pride myself in honesty and when I review something; purchased or not I am quite upfront.
I recently have been given the opportunity to review a Koa Wood Ring, graciously provided by: Altin Place out of Los Angeles, California. The ring I chose to review was their Offset, I thought it a little smarter than their other rings. As pictured above it has an etching of the Hawaiian Island, which the Koa wood is derived from. I thought that was a sweet little touch to the VERY, light weight, titanium ring. The beauty of the Offset is you can wear it with the wood band close or away from the body. I would interchange this as well as the finger I wore it on.
Being married, I did not replace my wedding ring with the Koa ring but I did rock it on the right hand on both the ring and index finger. It was light-weight, smooth around the edges and easy to live/sleep with. All of those qualities are something that potential wedding bands should possess. As for wear and tear, here is the break down. Keep in mind I have worn the ring for only a month.
I am a potter and have removed the ring when throwing pottery (makes grooves in my pieces) to keep the clay from drying out the protective layer around the wood. But I have used it while trimming, glazing and other pottery related activities... it has held up like a champ (showering doesn't seem to cause problems either). I also like to travel and had the chance to take the Koa Ring to below freezing levels in the Arctic; the ring stood up like a champ. As titanium has a tendency to do as it does; scuff. But as I see it, in a wedding band, it means it weathers the good and the bad just like a marriage does. If you want flawless go for a lighter on the pocket-book tungsten ring. But if you want high quality and beautiful shine through the scuffs of life go with the Koa (or gold/platinum).
Like I have said, I have only had the pleasure of wearing the ring for a month and have not seen any defects or downfalls to the ring yet. This ring, as per the website has an unbeatable warranty, "Not all wood rings are created equal and many just won't look as good 5 years, or even 6 months down the line. But this line of titanium and koa rings and wood wedding bands for men come with a Lifetime Guarantee." How often can you get that kind of guarantee with anything?! If the company gets me back in another 6 months or even 5 years I can provide further data.
If I was a gal that needed a matching theme thing to happen I would for for the: bangle, ring, earring combo. Alas I don't wear earrings and bracelets get in the way of my work. But as far as a ring goes, this one has yet to get in my way and it looks good.
