Darkening under pave?

[lumpkin]

A year ago I took a dip in the pool with my ring on and, thinking that since it was 18k, less than an hour in the pool would not be a big deal, especially since most of the women I know wear their rings in the pool. Well, my pave went black. I took it to the jeweler and they gave it an acid bath, which got 95% of it out. I was told it''s the solder reacting with chlorine, and since it''s all metal underneath the diamond, it''s hard to clean. I didn''t wear the ring for a long time after that, and then, as some know, I had my new diamond mounted in it. After less than a month of wear, I''m noticing that the darkness under the diamonds is coming back. It''s not nearly as bad, but it really bugs me. Am I going to have to deal with this all the time or should I try a different jeweler???

Anyone else with pave noticed anything like this?

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

can we have a photo or 3 please?

Sounds really odd to me????????????

 

[David_Lundahl]

Permanent oxidation? I''m confused also, i''m with Garry....pics please.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 10/28/2006 7:46:28 PM
Author: David_Lundahl
Permanent oxidation? I''m confused also, i''m with Garry....pics please.

hey david - since you''re new here, would you venture an opinion on the effects of chorine and salt water on ring metals?

 

[lumpkin]

I have been having a hard time getting pictures of this, but here is my first attempt.

 

[Carlotta]

Recently when I went into a local jeweler...was asking re: cleaning methods....the girl brough out a ring that was literally EATEN by chlorine!!! The metal actually had disappeared!!!

 

[lumpkin]

Here''s #2. Very out of focus, but maybe that helps to give the overall impression of how only some of the stones appear dark. It is not the diamonds, it''s something -- oxidation, dirt, what have you, UNDER the diamonds. They fade a little when I clean them in the ultrasonic, but they don''t go away completely, and I''ve noticed that over all, they are getting darker.

 

[lumpkin]

#3. Hopefully between the 3 pictures you'll be able to tell what I mean. There is no darkening under the baguettes because they are seated in channels and open (no metal) on the back of them.

The first picture is on one side of the ring, #2 and #3 are of the other side.

 

[pricescope]

lumpkin, is that the same jeweler who made your ring? What did he use for solder? My guess it''s a material of the solder...
Because not platinum nor gold could be affected by chlorine (or salt water, Cehra) especially in such concentrations and temperatures as "swimming" conditions.

 

[lumpkin]

No they didn't make the ring. It's from a casting company -- I was told "Superior" but I only find costume jewelry when I search for it. I think it's the solder, too, or maybe they didn't get it very cleaned out before setting the diamonds during the manufacturing process. Very surprising since the diamonds are set so beautifully -- they are perfectly matched and very evenly set. The beads holding in the pave are super smooth. It was not a cheap ring and we paid a lot for it. Unfortunately, I don't use the jeweler we bought it from because I like my current jeweler so much more. The jeweler we bought the ring from is not as responsive because we didn't buy the center diamond from them, but our current jeweler doesn't care about any of that -- they have been super to work with. But it isn't their ring. I sure wish it was. Now I'm just trying to figure out how to fix this permanently. I have noticed that only about 1/3 of the diamonds are affected -- the others are as white as when it was brand new.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Weird

the ring appears to me to be what would typically be made by setting the diamonds in wax and casting with the stones already set. No solder anywhere if that is the case.

Solder can be attacked because of electrolytic reaction (the least stable element gets all the corrosion) - so it would be good to know if the ring has been mass made in that manner.

Are you really sure the same stones are always dark?
Ic can be that the pavilions are very deep and the stones go dark if people with a lot of very dark hair are looking at them. But some of the baguettes would do the same thing.

If you have any magnifying lens / hand held / loupe etc - try taking the photo thru it to give us a better scale - or use the full megapixel and crop out a magnified section for us Lumpkin

 

[lumpkin]

Well, I spent about 2 hours last night cleaning and working on this ring. The good news is that I got most of it out, alternating between my ultrasonic with 1/2 amonia and 1/2 water, and then using my electric toothbrush. The bad news is my ultrasonic died. Apparently it was not designed to cycle 30 times in a row.

I think I can get the rest out with another 30 cycles/toothbrushings. It''s MUCH fainter now, although I can see it at certain angles. No one else will be able to see anything unless I tell them it''s there.

I sure hope I don''t have to eat an ultrasonic every few months to keep this clean. I wish I could just live in this ring, but it looks like I can''t without having this happen, so off it goes unless I''m leaving the house, I guess, and definitely not to wear to work (at my son''s preschool where I clean things repeatedly).

Thanks for responding. If you ever come across this in your business, please post about it and how you resolved it.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 10/29/2006 9:06:23 AM
Author: lumpkin
Well, I spent about 2 hours last night cleaning and working on this ring. The good news is that I got most of it out, alternating between my ultrasonic with 1/2 amonia and 1/2 water, and then using my electric toothbrush. The bad news is my ultrasonic died. Apparently it was not designed to cycle 30 times in a row.

I think I can get the rest out with another 30 cycles/toothbrushings. It''s MUCH fainter now, although I can see it at certain angles. No one else will be able to see anything unless I tell them it''s there.

I sure hope I don''t have to eat an ultrasonic every few months to keep this clean. I wish I could just live in this ring, but it looks like I can''t without having this happen, so off it goes unless I''m leaving the house, I guess, and definitely not to wear to work (at my son''s preschool where I clean things repeatedly).

Thanks for responding. If you ever come across this in your business, please post about it and how you resolved it.

it sounds like maybe you have something sticky/gummy down there that isn''t coming off with the ultrasonics and dirt is sticking to it and that is coming off = or rmaybe there''s a lot of metal debris under the stones tht is colelcting dirt!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

No way are you going to get any tarnish of with a claener - so it is just dirty diamond syndrome (good news)

Have you tried 1/2 cup boiling water, dash ammnia and dash dish detergent?
and a firm bristle toothbrush

 

[lumpkin]

No I haven''t tried boiling water. How long should the ring be left in there? Should it soak or should I just dip it and scrub?

It does seam like there is something seated right under the diamonds and it''s in there but good! Hopefully some boiling water might do the trick, but are there any cautions?

Thanks!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 10/29/2006 9:06:47 PM
Author: lumpkin
No I haven''t tried boiling water. How long should the ring be left in there? Should it soak or should I just dip it and scrub?

It does seam like there is something seated right under the diamonds and it''s in there but good! Hopefully some boiling water might do the trick, but are there any cautions?

Thanks!

I don''t think garry is suggesting putting it in actively boiling water - just boiling water and pouring it over the ring to let soak with amonia and dishsoap... not to like stick it in a pot of boiling water and let it just boil in the pan! and scrub them with a toothbrush....

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

C is right - put water in cup and ring in boiling water is fine - wont hurt the diamond
But:

If you put jewelry in to a saucepan on the stove, the phone will surely ring and you will cook your jewels.

Holloways Murphy law

You could also use the high pressure steam from a good cuppachino machine to blast behind the stones

 

[denverappraiser]

This is what the little holes on the underside of the ring are for. It makes the stones much easier to clean and it doesn''t leave a piece of metal behind the stones to get ugly. If you don’t have them, it’s much more of a pain in the tucas because there’s a space behind each one of the stones that can accumulate crud and it’s nearly impossible to get out. This is laziness on the part of the setter but you’re the one who ends up suffering for it. I second Garry’s suggestion of a regular hot water bath with some cleaner in it but with one caveat.

DON”T BOIL AMMONIA!

The fumes are poisonous. Add the cleaner after you heat the water, not before. It works a lot better if you do this fairly often so that the holes don’t get packed tightly before you start.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[lumpkin]

Thank you VERY much everyone. I''m glad you clarified about not putting the ring in an actively boiling pot. I actually thought that''s what you meant.

Thank you for also clarifying about putting the amonia in after taking the water out of the pot. I would not have known that, either (see why I love Pricescope??)!

My jeweler (who did not sell us this ring) did tell me about the holes behind the pave. Mine does not have them, and when we bought the ring, I thought that was actually better because I thought it meant they weren''t skimping on the gold. It is actually quite heavy as gold goes, and because the stones are set so perfectly, I thought it was better. Oh, well, live and learn.

I will give it a hot bath once a week. I''m also going to invest in a better (meaning, one that will hold up to more continuous use) ultrasonic. I''m going to bid on an e-bay commercial unit and see what happens. If you have any advice in that regard, I would also welcome that. You''ll probably save me from buying something that has some little known defect (like the pave without the holes, LOL).

Thanks again. I really do appreciate the help.