Brand new ring showing sign of wear?

[zomby woof]

Is it normal for a platinum setting to show wear after only 3 days? I am talking about slight nicks and divots at the bottom of the shank. This is a Mark Morrell ring, and it is composed of 900 Platinum, not the harder 950 version. Would the 950 be that much more resistant to wear, or is this just a normal thing with any platinum alloy?

 

[Circe]

That doesn''t sound unusual (though "divot" as opposed to plain old "scratch" makes me wonder). The day I got married, my husband and I went rock-climbing on the beach - me still in my dress - and I dinged my w-ring slightly and thought, ah! something to remember this by. (Well, after I thought a few 4-letter Anglo-Saxon words.) 9 months later? It''s completely invisible under the even layer of tiny, tiny scratches that give platinum its patina. Post a pic or two if you''re worried, but this sounds completely normal to me.

 

[decodelighted]

I thought 900 was harder than 950 ... my own is 900 (though highly textured) but it looks great after 3 yrs.

If you mean dings or scratches on the under surface of your ring where it hits tables & things than, yeah, that happens. With any ring I''d imagine. Elsewhere I''d wonder what''s up.

 

[RxTechRN2b]

My platinum rings look like that on the bottom -- the neat think about platinum is that it never wears away, the metal is simply "displaced" as it scratches. You can have it polished professionally from time to time (which will return your ring to its original shine) or enjoy the wonderful patina that develops. I happen to love the patina!

 

[John P]

Date: 7/15/2008 12:08:11 PM
Author:zomby woof
Is it normal for a platinum setting to show wear after only 3 days? I am talking about slight nicks and divots at the bottom of the shank. This is a Mark Morrell ring, and it is composed of 900 Platinum, not the harder 950 version. Would the 950 be that much more resistant to wear, or is this just a normal thing with any platinum alloy?

Actually, cast Pt900/Ir is harder than cast Pt950/Ir. As a general rule for cast alloys, Pt950/Cobalt is very hard (135HV) followed by Pt950/Ruthenium which is nearly as hard. Pt900/Iridium is near 110HV and Pt950/Iridium around 80HV. This can change with different treatments (cold working, annealing, etc). What is appropriate for a piece of jewelry depends on its intricacy, application, what kind of gemstone(s) it will hold, etc.

Here is a common misperception: Pt950/Co and Pt950/Ir, while they might seem the same, use dramatically different amounts of platinum since they are alloyed by weight, not by volume. Example - if you combine 95% bricks and 5% feathers by volume those are going to be much different amounts of each than combining 95% bricks and 5% feathers by weight.

Here is a graphic breakdown by volume

 

[Indira-London]

That''s fascinating John!

Re. how quickly can a ring start showing signs of wear/tear - as soon as you start wearing it - teh amount of wear/tear varies as some people do more with their hands than others! As most people do a lot with their hands, rings especially at the back start showing signs of wear/tear e.g. everytime you turn a metal door handle or knob, the back of your ring can rub against the metal door knob/handle and the metal surfaces can scratch each other!

As any metal can wear over time: diamond jewellery should be regularly serviced (e.g. every 6-12 months) to a) check that the diamonds are still secure and b) to restore the finish of the metal e.g. platinum by re-polishing and 18ct white gold by re-rhodiating.

Similarly, rings that are worn on your doing-hand show more signs of wear/tear.
Rings that do not fit well and keep swinging around, can get scratched/worn all over hence its best for diamond ring to fit snugly so that the wear/tear is confined to the back.

I hope this helps.

 

[purrfectpear]

I suspect that Mark''s rings seem to show wear only because they start out with such a high, high polish. Scratches and little dents will appear more obvious.

 

[jewelerman]

I think that many people believe that jewelry ...because its metal...should show no signs of wear...and the more expensive the piece the more it should be able to go through...had a client once who wore her platinum engagement ring(3 plus carat center)while she worked with weights in the gym and while white water rafting and couldnt understand why her ring''s shank had flattened after only a few months of never removing it...through rafting and gym ect...

 

[bizsteve]

Hi Zoomby Woof. Can you post an update? What have you learned? Did you talk to MM? I''ve got a similar one on order so knowing what to expect would be helpful. Thanks much.

Oh, by the way, I saw your pics you posted in past weeks -- the ring and the happy couple shots were great.