Are your WG or YG rings still round?

[alloamie]

I hope I can word this in a way that makes sense so I can get some help!

My e-ring & w-band are platinum and I haven''t really worn gold rings until recently.
I starting a small stack of rose gold rings to wear in place of my e-ring & w-band for when I want a different look.

The first was a thin 2mm plain band (14K). After wearing it for 2 days, the ring was warped (still round, but when placed on a flat surface, half of the ring touched the surface, while the other half was raised up). I am in the process of getting a new band from the vendor.

The second ring is a thin, bead-set eternity band (18K). I''ve been wearing it about a week, stacked with my platinum wedding band, and it has also warped, and it is no longer perfectly round. I''m worried that the diamonds will start falling since the ring is all out of shape!

So my question is: Is this typical with gold rings in general? I''ve been wearing them for such a short period of time - and am already running into trouble! I have never had a problem like this with my platinum rings. I''m pretty upset b/c my e-ring diamond is currently being re-set into an antique-style rose-gold setting. I''m thinking I may have made the wrong decision to go with gold. I wouldn''t say I''m super hard on my rings. I''m careful when opening doors, grabbing keys, etc, but I don''t take my rings off all the time at all. Does anyone notice this with their WG or YG rings? Is this just me? Help!

Thanks in advance!

 

[oldmancoyote]

Date: 3/26/2009 5:51:04 AM
Author:alloamie
I hope I can word this in a way that makes sense so I can get some help!

My e-ring & w-band are platinum and I haven''t really worn gold rings until recently.
I starting a small stack of rose gold rings to wear in place of my e-ring & w-band for when I want a different look.

The first was a thin 2mm plain band (14K). After wearing it for 2 days, the ring was warped (still round, but when placed on a flat surface, half of the ring touched the surface, while the other half was raised up). I am in the process of getting a new band from the vendor.

The second ring is a thin, bead-set eternity band (18K). I''ve been wearing it about a week, stacked with my platinum wedding band, and it has also warped, and it is no longer perfectly round. I''m worried that the diamonds will start falling since the ring is all out of shape!

So my question is: Is this typical with gold rings in general? I''ve been wearing them for such a short period of time - and am already running into trouble! I have never had a problem like this with my platinum rings. I''m pretty upset b/c my e-ring diamond is currently being re-set into an antique-style rose-gold setting. I''m thinking I may have made the wrong decision to go with gold. I wouldn''t say I''m super hard on my rings. I''m careful when opening doors, grabbing keys, etc, but I don''t take my rings off all the time at all. Does anyone notice this with their WG or YG rings? Is this just me? Help!

Thanks in advance!

I don''t think it''s a question of material - tensile strength of platinum and 14/18k gold is similar (though Pt is a bit higher), but I see a pattern there...

 

[DivaDiamond007]

I agree with the previous poster. I''ve had one or two thin gold rings (10K) that warped over time, but I''ve never had a problem with my 14K YG wedding rings. I recently got a 18K 2mm Lucida band and no problems yet and it hasn''t left my finger!

 

[Honey228]

I don''t have any insight, but I have a similar concern. My fiance-to-be has always had a problem with his rings warping and losing shape over time. They were silver, but they were definitely thicker than 2 mm. We had planned on buying him a white gold band, but we''re concerned that the same thing will happen. Is there a particular K that we should aim for? I had asked about platinum, but we were told that it was almost as soft as gold.

 

[Inanna]

I have all 18k WG rings, and have never experienced this problem. I think your issues are likely connected to the (lack of) thickness of the bands/shanks. ETA: My e-ring is probably less than 2mm at the bottom of the shank, however you also have to look at the thickness of the ring from the side. If it is very flat, it will be weaker and more likely to bend.

Honey228 - Silver is incredibly pliable, unlike gold and platinum. I have incredibly thick silver jewelry including a 10-12mm "collar" type necklace. It bends quite easily, which is what I want it to do, but this would not happen without a great deal of force if it were gold or platinum. My FI also has a 6mm silver ring which he needs to have professionally reshaped every 3-6 months (sometimes the shank even gets so warped it breaks). He has absolutely no issues with his gold rings.

 

[oldmancoyote]

Honey228: Platinum and gold have greater tensile strength than silver (roughly the ability to withstand force without permanent deformation). Typical ranges (which depend on the alloy components, working methods and heat treatments) are:

Pt: 380 - 790 MPa

Au 18k yellow: 550 - 880 MPa (with high copper %; about 10% less if high silver %)
Au 18k white: 400 - 1000 MPa (palladium alloys ~30% lower than high nickel alloys)
Au 14k white: 550 - 1100 MPa (as above)

Ag: 270 - 460 MPa

So, it''s possible that platinum or white gold would be strong enough to withstand the stress, but it may not. If your fiance leads a very active/sporty life, you may want to look at stainless steel or tungsten/tungsten carbide.

 

[AprilBaby]

I have been wearing my 14kt yellow gold band for 30 years and it has never warped.

 

[iluvcarats]

The only ring I have ever had go out of round is platinum.
It is micropave, and diamonds keep falling out.
My jeweler says it is because they didn''t use enough plt.

 

[Rhea]

I have a 2mm x 1.25mm off the finger in 18K white gold and it's still round. It's engraved 1929, but I've only had it for 3 years.

I think your thin rings are just too thin to hold up. How many mm are they?

 

[alloamie]

i''m wondering if its a quality issue with the two bent rings.
the plain band is 2mm x 1.2mm.
the eternity band is 2mm by 1.5mm.

I also have two 1mm bands from kateszabone (etsy), and they haven''t bent at all and i wear those all the time on my right hand!...

from the responses i see, it seems like the rings should not warp/bend so easily. i''m keeping my fingers crossed for my e-ring reset.

 

[oldmancoyote]

Date: 3/26/2009 6:12:47 PM
Author: alloamie
i''m wondering if its a quality issue with the two bent rings.

It could be that they''ve been incorrectly heat treated. In the table/data I posted above, the lowest number is for annealed (heated and slowly cooled) material, which is about as "soft" as it can go. The highest number is for cold worked fully hardened material (most metals will become harder as they get worked on without heating them), and as you can see there''s a significant difference. If it''s just plain metal, you could ask a competent metalsmith to harden them through heat treatment (just heat to the right temp, then quench in water or brine, and repolish)

 

[Diamond*Dana]

I would think that it has to do with the thickness of the rings. All of my rings are either YG or WG and I have never had this happen to any onf them.

 

[diamondringlover]

I have never had any of my rings warp and I wear 10k and 14k yellow gold and the width''s vary from just under 2mm to 6mm...