18k Gold Screw Back Problems

[michelejo]

Dh got me 1/2ct tw diamond solitaire earrings last Christmas.

I wanted screw-backs (specifically, push on, screw off) because I planned to wear them every day and not take them out to shower, swim, sleep, etc. I'm notorious for losing earrings--really--so knowing he wanted something a little more expensive than I did (i.e. not the $200 pair I saw at Target and would have settled for, LOL)I made sure he knew I had to have screw back.

So he got the 18k gold settings and within a month or two, the threads were worn off the posts completely. The jewelry store then charged us $40 bucks to replace the posts, because dh hadn't bought the "gold" warranty and 30 days had passed.

The new configuration is so TIGHT that I cannot get them off without hurting my ears and my fingers!! But, the most annoying part is that the new posts are *tarnishing* where they contact my skin. Upon closer inspection, they are not the same tone as the baskets. But I react to nickel and the like and am not reacting to these, but still.

Should 18k gold be tarnishing? I've never had gold tarnish on me at all! I've been wearing my 14k gold wedding set for 10 years and it hasn't tarnished. Neither did my 10k gold CZ studs I once had! (Lost one of those...told ya I lose a lot of earrings!)

Dh thinks they used a stronger material for the new posts and he doesn't care...says that whatever needs to be used to function properly is called for and this doesn't bother him at all.

I think if they replaced them with something other than 18k gold that they should have been up front about that.

Anyway, what if anything, should I do? Even if I have no recourse with the store, I'd like to know what these posts are.

 

[tomatoe]

hi there michelejo, i dont think that the new posts r tarnishing and that they are not made of gold. all my 18k and above yg earrings turn 'blackish' around the part where the posts r in contact with my ears. i dont know what exactly causes the reaction (maybe, oxidation?) but i know it always happens to me and my earring posts. do not fret, i had my earrings cleaned recently by a b&m and they were able to clean away the 'blackish' part for me

 

[niceice]

A couple of thoughts...

With regard to your first pair of earrings, were you screwing the nuts on or sliding them on over the posts? Click, click, click is really wear, wear, wear... We had a client who went through two sets of screw back posts in a really short period of time and we couldn't figure out why, but then the client put the earrings on in front of us when she picked them up and we watched in horror as she slid the nuts on over the posts by pushing them on instead of screwing them on... So there is that possibility...

Another thing to check is whether the nuts you have are actually threaded nuts and not the standard friction slip-on earring nuts meant for friction posts... These have a smaller hole and if you're screwing those on over a screw back post they are likely to cut down the threads pretty fast and be difficult to twist.

Although 18k gold has more gold content than 14k gold, it still contains nickel and thus might still irritate your ears and tarnish if you have a sensitivity to nickel... Switch to 950 platinum, it's hypo-allergenic.

 

[michelejo]

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On 1/6/2004 1:02:07 AM niceice wrote:

A couple of thoughts...

With regard to your first pair of earrings, were you screwing the nuts on or sliding them on over the posts? Click, click, click is really wear, wear, wear... We had a client who went through two sets of screw back posts in a really short period of time and we couldn't figure out why, but then the client put the earrings on in front of us when she picked them up and we watched in horror as she slid the nuts on over the posts by pushing them on instead of screwing them on... So there is that possibility...

Another thing to check is whether the nuts you have are actually threaded nuts and not the standard friction slip-on earring nuts meant for friction posts... These have a smaller hole and if you're screwing those on over a screw back post they are likely to cut down the threads pretty fast and be difficult to twist.

Although 18k gold has more gold content than 14k gold, it still contains nickel and thus might still irritate your ears and tarnish if you have a sensitivity to nickel... Switch to 950 platinum, it's hypo-allergenic.----------------

Well, I was pushing because the store (Crescent

) said they were "push on-screw off." I still push them on because I'm hoping they'll wear down slightly so I won't continue to need pliers to get them off. (Well, I'm exaggerating, but it's a battle and very painful!). I am sensitive to nickel but can wear gold no problem...any kind. I just think it's suspect that the posts are tarnishing when I've never had any kind of gold jewelry tarnish on me.

The nuts definitely don't look threaded to me; they just look like standard nuts. Interesting... Thanks!

 

[michelejo]

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On 12/21/2003 4:17:47 PM tomatoe wrote:

hi there michelejo, i dont think that the new posts r tarnishing and that they are not made of gold. all my 18k and above yg earrings turn 'blackish' around the part where the posts r in contact with my ears. i dont know what exactly causes the reaction (maybe, oxidation?) but i know it always happens to me and my earring posts. do not fret, i had my earrings cleaned recently by a b&m and they were able to clean away the 'blackish' part for me

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Thanks - that's good to know.