Desperate need of goldsmith''s opinion

[Demelza]

I'm freaking out a bit here. I had my shared prong platinum wedding set soldered together in order to prevent damage from girdles rubbing against one another. In the meantime, I've decided to upgrade my center stone which means changing out the head. I decided that I definitely do not like wearing my rings soldered together and want them taken apart at the same time the new head is installed. Here's the problem: the manufacturer is claiming that the rings might need to be rebuilt because the rings were solderered together with white gold, not platinum. He's concerned that this may have destroyed the metal and that the rings won't come apart cleanly. I was told by the jeweler who did the soldering that this wouldn't be a problem. I don't know who to believe and, of course, I'm devastated to think that my wedding ring might need to be replaced. Does this sound right?

 

[Lynn B]

OH NO! I can''t help you with the technical answers you need, but I''m sure one of our experts will be able to.

What do they mean "rebuilt"? Like totally from scratch?! That sounds drastic - and expensive. Perhaps the jeweler who did the soldering should be contacted? Oh, whattamess. I am so sorry!

If it really is all that... I think I''d just leave them soldered together.

Lynn

 

[MissAva]

Didn''t you just more to Canada? Would it be too expensive to mail them to the jewler who did it and have them fix it? Rebuilding sounds pricey and like it would take a while. I am sorry D that is just no good.

 

[AndyRosse]

Oh NO!!! Have you contacted the jeweler who soldered the rings together? I would tell them what the other jeweler is saying and see what they say...If they screwed something up, then I sure hope they will make everything right!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

i think jeweller 2 is just covering his butt.
I can not see any reason why the WG solder should be a problem.

If it was done by fusing them, or with very high temperature plat solder, then you really would be up the creek in a barbed wire canoe

 

[Demelza]

Garry -- thanks very much for your reply. That''s what I was told by the first jeweler -- he said that using white gold solder would be the best way to ensure a good clean up later on. I asked this specifically because I wanted the option of separating them at a later date if I didn''t like wearing them soldered. The manufacturer is saying that it would have been better had he used platinum solder. The only reason I soldered them together to begin with is that 2 of the diamonds had small chips because the girdles were rubbing. When I purchased the set, the manufacturer told me in no uncertain terms that there would be no problem with the diamonds rubbing against one another. I liked the rings so much that I decided to keep them, but now...Urgh!

 

[denverappraiser]

Cleaning up white gold solder is a pain in the rear but it''s not usually that much of a problem. It''s not possible to tell without looking at the piece to see what the gold got into but I would be surprised if it''s that serious an issue.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[Demelza]

Well, I spoke to the manufacturer again. This time he said that the rings wouldn't need to be rebuilt after all, but that the clean-up would be extremely difficult because "no professional jeweler would ever use 18k white gold solder on platinum." I don't quite understand that comment. As long as they do a good job and the head is installed in such a way that the rings sit flush, I don't really care. This company has a great product and I would order from them again for that reason alone, but I haven't been 100% thrilled with the customer service. I have to say I'm quite nervous to get them back. I hope they look as good as new. The jeweler who soldered them is really good -- there are only four small solder joints that are hardly visible. I kind of wish I had just had him do the work, but I wanted the head installed like the ones on the original manufacturers website. Oh well. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[AndyRosse]

Demelza, I''m sure they will do a fine job cleaning up the rings. They have a great reputation here!!

 

[mrssalvo]

I think they will come back good as new. You can always remind them you will be posting pictures on a diamond website and including the name of their company

 

[MissAva]

Mrs Salvo makes a great point. They link Pricescope from their web page so people can read about them here. I doubt they want people reading that they have less then great service as this is often a deciding factor for buyers.