White gold????

[Kayakqueen83]

I have a friend that recently got engaged. It has been a bit of a tumultuous and brief relationship so when she told me that she was getting her ring re-dipped after only 2 months I grew a bit concerned, only compounded with the fact that her fiancé bought the ring off of eBay from a mass retailer. My question to you extremely knowledgeable people is: Is it normal for a white gold ring to be redipped within two months of wearing or does this show a lack of gold in the ring?

I’m not very knowledgeable in the area of gold. I just learned that it needed to be redipped occasionally. But how often is occasionally? I am asking this because I always thought I would get a white gold ring but I’m a bit weary after hearing about my friends ring. Do any of you have any thoughts/knowledge about this process to share?

Thanks so much!

 

[chrono]

Gold = yellow. That is the natural colour of gold. To make gold appear whiter, the alloys are changed to mix with whiter metals, namely, nickle. Most white gold is rhodium plated to give it that white sheen. Body chemistry plays a large part in how it interacts with the metal. Some people can wear white gold for umpteen years without having to replate, while a few unlucky ones have to replate theirs every few months. There is now 18kt WG which is supposedly whiter than 14kt WG and also palladium WG (nickle free) which does not need replating for life but it has a slight grayish cast.

 

[Kayakqueen83]

WOW! Thanks so much!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I agree. Certain people''s body chemsitry turns WG back to yellow quickly. There will be a stamp (ie 14K, 18K) if you are curious if it is REALLY gold.

 

[kiana]

I may be lucky when it comes to body chemistry or whatever, but I have a white gold piece that I''ve worn for over 10 years now. It''s antique and as far as I know has *never* been replated, even before I was lucky enough to come across it. (It''s a star sapphire ring -- the stone has a chip in it due to the fact I wear it constantly and it''s been banged around a few times.)

I just had to take it in to the jewelers due to the fact that one of the prongs broke and the stone fell out -- they had to redo all of the prongs, and in the process they cleaned it. However, they did not replate it -- if they had I''m pretty sure it would have cost a lot more than what it did!

It''s 14k and at least 30 years old, so it''s not a super new alloy. I know it doesn''t have a high nickel content because I am incredibly allergic to nickel, as well as several other metals. (Odd, I know, but I can only wear low-nickel white gold, sterling, and titanium -- have never tried platinum but I''m sure it''d be fine too.)

Has she had to have her other white gold jewelery redipped often too? It truly may be body chemistry....

 

[monarch64]

My husband''s wedding band is 18k white gold and he had to have it dipped six months after we got married! He''s one of those people whose chemistry just isn''t conducive to wearing white gold on a daily basis. So your friend''s ring is probably gold, but maybe her skin doesn''t react well with the alloys used to make yg appear white (rhodium, etc.). If she''s truly concerned whether the ring is "authentic," I would tell her to take it in for appraisal. And definitely tell her to check for the stamp inside the ring which will tell her for sure what kind of metal it is.