Did my fiance's ring undergo a chemical reaction?

[diamondnewguy]

Hi all. Thanks again for past and future help. In short, I purchased an 18k yellow gold H&A solitaire ring from a very reputable vendor much discussed on here several months ago, however, have had an odd experience this past weekend. Basically, my fiance noticed that some of the gold has reacted/vanished from her ring (turned silver/dark greenish) in nature. She said that she had applied a small amount of wrinkle cream to her face, and that it must have accidently contacted the side of the ring. However, neither of us had heard of anything like this happening, and just wondering if 1) this is a common occurrence, 2) if there is a list of common products to watch out for, and 3) could the ring have been made with a cheaper product than specified? We are currently talking with the dealer, and they have been very helpful so far with finding out what happened and suggesting where to go from here. Thanks for any suggestions/comments.

 

[oldminer]

The gold itself could not have reacted to any substance safe enough to use on a person's skin. However, the alloy in the gold may have reacted in some way. Gold's alloys do react with acidic compounds and possibly something in the lotion discolored the alloy a bit. It likely is a very shallow and completely removable discoloration, but of course it is disturbing that it happened at all. SOme alloys react with bleach and chlorine. You should not wear gold in chlorinated swimming pools for this reason as it makes the metal hard and can lead to premature brittle cracking or breakage.

I doubt anything serious occured, but keep us posted.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I've used nearly every cream on the market and the most it's done to my jewelry is gunk up my diamond requiring a quick scrub.

Can you take the ring into a local jeweler and have them look at it and/or stick it in an ultrasonic for a cleaning?

 

[Aerix]

I'm wondering what kind of ingredients were in the skin cream. I immediately thought of salicylic acid or alpha hydroxy acid but I don't know how they would affect 18kt yellow gold...

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I'm wondering what kind of ingredients were in the skin cream. I immediately thought of salicylic acid or alpha hydroxy acid but I don't know how they would affect 18kt yellow gold...

The gold should be okay. I use a AHA lotion on my legs almost every day and my rings haven't reacted. They're 14k yellow gold.

 

[Aerix]

I'm wondering what kind of ingredients were in the skin cream. I immediately thought of salicylic acid or alpha hydroxy acid but I don't know how they would affect 18kt yellow gold...

The gold should be okay. I use a AHA lotion on my legs almost every day and my rings haven't reacted. They're 14k yellow gold.

Thanks! I was curious about that.

 

[denverappraiser]

As David points out above, gold itself is remarkably inert stuff but the alloy can react with various chemicals and peoples' skin chemistry will vary quite a bit from one person to the next. If it's a recurring problem, contact the jeweler and they can put a rhodium plating on the inside of the ring (or polish it off if there's one already there) and this will change the chemestry enough to solve the problem in the majority of cases.

If you're concerned that the material is less than the 18k represented, talk to an appraiser about it. It's easy to test. Incidentally, I do NOT recommend using pawn shops and gold buyers for this sort of testing. It's not that they don't know, and they usually work inexpensively, but they tend to use distructive sorts of testing and they may not be as careful with your treasure as you would wish.

 

[lbbaber]

I use prescription strength retina-A (great for acne AND wrinkles---who would of thought at 34 I would be worried about BOTH??) Anyhow, the cream does a number on everything from my Jewelry to my linens and towels. I know in alot of over-the-counter women's wrinkle creams they use a weaker version of retina-A. Get the ring re-polished and it will be fine

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Two Summer's ago I noticed that all my yellow gold rings left black/green rings on my fingers. This continued for two days and remember I was dehydrated at the time. A few days later when well hydrated the problem resolved and hasn't happened again.

 

[diamondnewguy]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the insightful responses so far. Attached is an image of the ring, and vendor thinks it has undergone a chemical reaction. In case anyone is curious, here is a picture of what happened, as well as all the ingredients: purified water, C12-15 alkyl benzoate, glycerin, cetyl alcohol, polyglyceryl-10 pentastearate, behenyl alcohol, sodium steroyl lactylate, butylene glycol, titanium dioxide, alumina, simethicone, potassium cetyl phosphate, propylene glycol, diazolidinyl urea, methylparaben, propylparaben, triethanolamine, tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), cetearyl alcohol, cetearyl glucoside, panthenol (pro-vitamin B5), xanthan gum, dimethicone, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower extract, retinyl palmitate, disodium EDTA, BHT.

 

[february2003bride]

Oh my gosh DNG! That picture is shocking! It almost looks like the ring was plated gold not real gold! I'm so sorry that happened to your FI's ring

 

[Fly Girl]

Oh my gosh DNG! That picture is shocking! It almost looks like the ring was plated gold not real gold! I'm so sorry that happened to your FI's ring

Ditto. It looks like a thin layer of gold has peeled off.

I've used lotions for years, and all they do to gold jewelry is gunk it up a bit. I remember from my chemistry days using aqua regia (Latin for royal water), which is a combination of strong hydrochloric acid and nitric acid, and this would dissolve gold. Any substance safe for your skin will NOT dissolve gold.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Oh my gosh DNG! That picture is shocking! It almost looks like the ring was plated gold not real gold! I'm so sorry that happened to your FI's ring

Wow, agreed that it looks like a thin layer of gold peeled off.

Which cream did she use? I REALLY highly doubt any regular cream would do such a thing! Not sure about Retina-A creams b/c I haven't tried any of those.

 

[diamondnewguy]

Hi again,

The cream was Equate Anti-Wrinkle cream SPF 15 original formula. Also, we would be extremely disappointed if the ring was just gold plated. It was purchased through Brian Gavin Diamonds, and would hope they would be not selling plated settings. I suppose anything is possible though...

 

[diamondnewguy]

Regarding my last post...I just received in email confirmation that the setting was 100% 18K, and that they do not sell gold plated settings. They will try to determine the root cause, and have also been helpful as usual with my many questions.

 

[slg47]

it is stamped 18k and I don't think BGD carries plated settings. I have never seen anything like that before!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi again,

The cream was Equate Anti-Wrinkle cream SPF 15 original formula. Also, we would be extremely disappointed if the ring was just gold plated. It was purchased through Brian Gavin Diamonds, and would hope they would be not selling plated settings. I suppose anything is possible though...

I've used this and have never had any issues at all w/my rings. I'm so sorry, hope it gets fixed relatively easily and soon!

 

[mrswahs]

Wow, that's just awful

I hope you get everything sorted out!

 

[that_someone_special]

Doesn't look like peeling to me. Looks like something corrosive was spilled on it.. and not the lotion.

 

[hoofbeats95]

Wow. That is crazy. I have full confidence BGD. You bought quality. What happened is a mystery. Please keep us posted!

 

[oneandahalfrock]

I wonder...
Perhaps she was using cleaning products earlier in the day with her ring on and didn't notice it until she was doing something where she was paying more attention to herself, like put on face cream.
I know about every clean I have warns to wear rubber gloves, and I never wear my rings when cleaning.
Good luck!

 

[yssie]

Goodness!


Looks kinda like white rust, like you find on bolts and pipes and stuff where it's wet (zinc hydroxide apparently )

 

[Hospatogi]

Hi again,

The cream was Equate Anti-Wrinkle cream SPF 15 original formula. Also, we would be extremely disappointed if the ring was just gold plated. It was purchased through Brian Gavin Diamonds, and would hope they would be not selling plated settings. I suppose anything is possible though...

My mom uses something very similar to this and it has gotten on her 22kt gold band but other than being alittle messy to clean nothing like this has ever happened to her ring. I am def going to tell her to be more careful using this in the future while wearing her jewelry. Im really sorry about your ring and I hope that it can be fixed very soon. Thank you for sharing this with us because I know I am going to be more mindful of what chemicals come in contact with my jewelry from now onward.

 

[slg47]

Hi again,

The cream was Equate Anti-Wrinkle cream SPF 15 original formula. Also, we would be extremely disappointed if the ring was just gold plated. It was purchased through Brian Gavin Diamonds, and would hope they would be not selling plated settings. I suppose anything is possible though...

My mom uses something very similar to this and it has gotten on her 22kt gold band but other than being alittle messy to clean nothing like this has ever happened to her ring. I am def going to tell her to be more careful using this in the future while wearing her jewelry. Im really sorry about your ring and I hope that it can be fixed very soon. Thank you for sharing this with us because I know I am going to be more mindful of what chemicals come in contact with my jewelry from now onward.

I seriously doubt this was from the wrinkle cream, but definitely good to be more careful when wearing jewelry!

 

[sonnyjane]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the insightful responses so far. Attached is an image of the ring, and vendor thinks it has undergone a chemical reaction. In case anyone is curious, here is a picture of what happened, as well as all the ingredients: purified water, C12-15 alkyl benzoate, glycerin, cetyl alcohol, polyglyceryl-10 pentastearate, behenyl alcohol, sodium steroyl lactylate, butylene glycol, titanium dioxide, alumina, simethicone, potassium cetyl phosphate, propylene glycol, diazolidinyl urea, methylparaben, propylparaben, triethanolamine, tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), cetearyl alcohol, cetearyl glucoside, panthenol (pro-vitamin B5), xanthan gum, dimethicone, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower extract, retinyl palmitate, disodium EDTA, BHT.

Looking at those ingredients, nothing is jumping out at me as being highly corrosive to gold. I don't think it's the cream. If BGD is willing to examine the ring to figure it out, I'd take them up on their offer.

 

[Laila619]

Wow. I'm so sorry!

 

[Luminous-MB]

By looking at the picture you posted, it does appear as peeling. One thing that could have happened is that throughout the manufacturing period, when the rubber mold was created, if for any reason any little thing got into it, allowing for an air bubble to be created in the wax, it could have led to this current peel. I am not familiar of this happening to yellow gold rings, but have heard it from white gold.
It is not likely that this occurred from face cream, even though I am a little skeptical with the things they throw in there!, but only from a serious, harsh chemical of some sort otherwise.

 

[Jim Summa]

Is it possible she was around some mercury?

 

[HopeDream]

I wonder if the gold acted as a catalyst for some sort of reaction in volving the aliminum oxide (alumina) or the titanium dioxide, and if either of those two metals came out of solution and crystalized on the surface of the ring? Maybe some kind of redox reaction?

I can't imagine anything mild enought to go on human skin should corrode gold.

Hopefuly the discoloration can be polished off!

 

[diamondnewguy]

Hi all. Thanks for the input and suggestions. It is still a mystery as to what caused it, but at this point we are just hoping it can get fixed. It was first noticed on Sunday after the cream, so that's why we first thought that that was what it is, but have both been trying to think of what else it could be. The only other things on that day were either hair spray or make-up. But again she has used these before. Chances are it was something before, and she just didn't notice it til this past weekend. Other than that, we are at a loss, as I do most of the cleaning, and her job does not involve any substances. I'll keep everyone posted. But BGD has been very helpful and willing to see what's wrong and if it is correctable!