antique palladium shank welded on 14k? top/setting?

[chinandolls]

I am totally confused about an antique ring! It shows the GRANAT hallmark inside the shank on one side and PALLADIUM inside the shank on the other side. The ring shank has been welded onto the upper shank/setting. The metals do not match above and below the welds. The upper tested as 14K gold using 18K aqua(?). There was no reaction to 14K nitric. I would think someone ran into difficulty resizing the ring (with palladium being brittle) and had to weld the lower shank area back on, but with there being a color difference........ Makes NO sense to me. I read about palladium dissolving in nitric acid, but the upper shank/mounting did not. Anyone familiar with GRANAT antique diamond settings??? When palladium AND 14K were used, I''ve seen stamps of 14KPAL.... Could the top be 14KWG OR Palladium OR Platinum????? ANY experienced thoughts on this would be appreciated VERY much!!!http://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/36.gif
Insert smilie

 

[oldmancoyote]

Bear in mind that Pd will dissolve slowly in pure nitric acid - a touch with testing HNO3 will not have much effect unless you leave the acid there for a while. Nickel-alloyed WG and palladium can be distinguished by using potassium iodide wetted with HCl on the touchstone, then rinsing with water - palladium will leave a reddish brown streak, while WG will not leave any marks. Be warned that if the WG is alloyed with palladium, you'll get the reddish streak there too!

Never heard of "Granat", but it's Germanic (and Slavic) for garnet. Could the stone in the setting be a garnet? (Is there a stone in the setting???)

It sounds like someone has welded a white gold shank onto a palladium head, but it's hard to say without seeing the ring. I'd leave that piece well alone, if you are considering buying it.

BTW - "antique" is usually employed when the item is at least 100 years old. Palladium was first used in jewellery ~1940, as a substitute for platinum (which was used during WWII in ammunition manufacturing, and thus became difficult to obtain)

 

[chinandolls]

Thanks for your input! It was advertised as being from 1895-1935, but also referred to as an antique ring. I will try to attach some pics. Center diamond quality appears to be good with some nicks around girdle. Smaller stones of lesser quality and SI-Is.

 

[chinandolls]

 

[chinandolls]

 

[chinandolls]

Would anyone ever put a palladium shank on a 14K WG head or a platinum head?

 

[oldmancoyote]

Date: 9/27/2008 11:39:22 PM
Author: chinandolls
Thanks for your input! It was advertised as being from 1895-1935, but also referred to as an antique ring. I will try to attach some pics. Center diamond quality appears to be good with some nicks around girdle. Smaller stones of lesser quality and SI-Is.

Fist of all, apologies for my bad - I should have said "someone has welded a palladium shank onto a white gold head"; I got confused

.

With that combination of metals it is possible that the head is antique or at least old, and that someone changed the shank to palladium because it wore out or they were tired of having it rhodium plated avery few months or so. However, the style is not consistent with a piece of the age indicated. The basket and the setting of the side stones would typically be more delicate and elaborate, possibly with scrollwork and a six or eight prong setting for the centre stone. Also, I don't think open baskets simulating a tension setting were in use before the 1980s.

The diamond also looks like a modern cut to me, but it's hard to say without a straight-on profile shot - the crown does not seem quite high enough, the table is relatively large and the faceting is modern.

I think you are looking at a modern ring which has had the shank replaced because of wear and tear, and palladium was the best match to the original metal's colour.

 

[arjunajane]

I am by no means an expert, but I agree with coyote on this one - the ring doesn''t look antique or even really like an old style..
I can''t answer your question about the metals, but Chinadoll I would be wary of whomever is selling this ring due to the inaccurate description..

 

[chinandolls]

Thanks SO much for your expertise on the ring issues! I really appreciate it!

 

[chinandolls]

I think you are right! Thanks so much for looking at my dilemma! Seller agreed to a return due to discrepancies found by my appraiser. I THOUGHT I was making a safe purchase due to the ring showing a recent appraisal from a graduate gemologist........... Guess maybe he was sleepy when he looked at it...... Dunno.....

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 9/29/2008 4:51:20 PM
Author: chinandolls
I think you are right! Thanks so much for looking at my dilemma! Seller agreed to a return due to discrepancies found by my appraiser. I THOUGHT I was making a safe purchase due to the ring showing a recent appraisal from a graduate gemologist........... Guess maybe he was sleepy when he looked at it...... Dunno.....

Good for you for having it appraised, hope you get your money back ok.

 

[oldmancoyote]

Date: 9/29/2008 4:51:20 PM
Author: chinandolls
I think you are right! Thanks so much for looking at my dilemma! Seller agreed to a return due to discrepancies found by my appraiser. I THOUGHT I was making a safe purchase due to the ring showing a recent appraisal from a graduate gemologist........... Guess maybe he was sleepy when he looked at it...... Dunno.....

Good. I''m glad things ended well for you. And kudos to the seller for honoring the contract.

Bear in mind that one thing is expertise on gems (which a GG should have); quite another is expertise on vintage/antique jewelry (which a GG would not be required or expected to have). And that''s without considering the potential conflict of interest when the appraiser is paid by (or even an employee of) the seller...