Grimy Platinum?? Patina?

[sugarplum]

hi all,

for the past few days, i''ve noticed that my platinum ring feels grimy and not smooth, especially on the bottom of the ring. at first i thought i might gotten some lotion or some sticky substance (food, glue, etc.) stuck on it but after cleaning it, it still feels grimy/kind of sticky.

sooo... i''m thinking perhaps it''s the patina that may be developing. i''ve had the ring for less than a year and this would be my first "encounter" with a platinum patina. is that how it feels? grimy and not smooth? or is something going on with my ring?

 

[mrssalvo]

hmm..i had my plat rings for years and they did develop patina but never felt grimy or dirty. maybe take them to have them cleaned in an ultrasonic or something and see if that''s it?

 

[lisa1.01fvs1]

Odd, no grime/sticky stuff here.

The scratches should be small enough that you wouldn''t feel them no matter how many.

Unless there is a big chunck out of the metal but that wouldn''t explain the goo feeling.

 

[HeartingDiamonds]

Agree withe above. I have several plat pieces that have patina''d nicely over the last few years but it never feels stiky or grimy. Did you come in contact with some type of adhesive maybe? Im sure its something that your jeweler should be able to buff out.

 

[hairgirl95]

ya know, its really interesting you posted this. My previous plat. setting kinda did the same thing! It just seemed like the metal lost its luster and crispness. When I touched it, it felt weird and yes, kinda "sticky". I cleaned it and cleaned it and it didn''t change it. I had it buffed and polished, and it helped, but it was never the same again. I don''t know what caused it either. I never wore the ring while doing anything strenuous or while working with cleaning chemicals, so I really couldn''t figure it out. I even noticed when I would tap the bottom of the band with my finger nail, it didn''t "ping" but sounded like a dull thud after it started to feel weird. I would love to know what causes it too. If you get some answers, let us know.

 

[sugarplum]

thanks for your replies, everyone. hairgirl, do you you still have your setting or wear it?

i''m not hard on my hands and don''t recall coming into contact with any harsh chemicals while wearing it. it still has a high shine/luster (only the bottom is starting to develop a patina). when i rub/run my finger over it, it feels sticky...like there''s a thin film on it only there isn''t!

i wonder if it could be the lotion i wear? are there any known chemicals or substances that react to/can alter platinum?

 

[oobiecoo]

I don''t have any experience with platinum but I had a similar experience with my wg engagement ring. After I got it, I felt like it was dirty and sticky feeling and would wash it compulsively. No one else believed me though so maybe it was just in my head... it drove me crazy though!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Date: 3/30/2008 1:22:35 AM
Author: sugarplum
thanks for your replies, everyone. hairgirl, do you you still have your setting or wear it?

i''m not hard on my hands and don''t recall coming into contact with any harsh chemicals while wearing it. it still has a high shine/luster (only the bottom is starting to develop a patina). when i rub/run my finger over it, it feels sticky...like there''s a thin film on it only there isn''t!

i wonder if it could be the lotion i wear? are there any known chemicals or substances that react to/can alter platinum?

Platinum is non reactive to almost anything - It is probably the patina - millions of little scratches and dents - so it becomes a little like a fine nail file or emery board - is that what you feel Sugarplum?

 

[sugarplum]

Date: 3/30/2008 5:19:56 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)

Date: 3/30/2008 1:22:35 AM
Author: sugarplum
thanks for your replies, everyone. hairgirl, do you you still have your setting or wear it?

i''m not hard on my hands and don''t recall coming into contact with any harsh chemicals while wearing it. it still has a high shine/luster (only the bottom is starting to develop a patina). when i rub/run my finger over it, it feels sticky...like there''s a thin film on it only there isn''t!

i wonder if it could be the lotion i wear? are there any known chemicals or substances that react to/can alter platinum?

Platinum is non reactive to almost anything - It is probably the patina - millions of little scratches and dents - so it becomes a little like a fine nail file or emery board - is that what you feel Sugarplum?

hi garry- if i lightly run my finger over the ring, i do feel the little scratches and dents but it''s not rough like a nail file/emery board. it''s smooth but feels like there''s a thin film on it causing it to feel "sticky". could it be the scratches making the platinum surface not smooth anymore so it feels that way (i didn''t think a patina would make a ring feel "sticky")?

basically it''s not smooth to touch meaning my finger doesn''t glide easily and smoothly over the metal like it did before. now it feels like it has a thin film on it. i have a solitaire and this sticky feeling is more apparent on the bottom of the ring (where it has the most scratches and dings) but the rest of the ring also feels a little sticky (i do a have a few tiny scratches on the rest of the setting). i''m thinking it''s the developing patina but it''s strange that it feels sticky...

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Date: 3/30/2008 2:13:19 PM
Author: sugarplum

Date: 3/30/2008 5:19:56 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)

Date: 3/30/2008 1:22:35 AM
Author: sugarplum
thanks for your replies, everyone. hairgirl, do you you still have your setting or wear it?

i''m not hard on my hands and don''t recall coming into contact with any harsh chemicals while wearing it. it still has a high shine/luster (only the bottom is starting to develop a patina). when i rub/run my finger over it, it feels sticky...like there''s a thin film on it only there isn''t!

i wonder if it could be the lotion i wear? are there any known chemicals or substances that react to/can alter platinum?

Platinum is non reactive to almost anything - It is probably the patina - millions of little scratches and dents - so it becomes a little like a fine nail file or emery board - is that what you feel Sugarplum?

hi garry- if i lightly run my finger over the ring, i do feel the little scratches and dents but it''s not rough like a nail file/emery board. it''s smooth but feels like there''s a thin film on it causing it to feel ''sticky''. could it be the scratches making the platinum surface not smooth anymore so it feels that way (i didn''t think a patina would make a ring feel ''sticky'')?

basically it''s not smooth to touch meaning my finger doesn''t glide easily and smoothly over the metal like it did before. now it feels like it has a thin film on it. i have a solitaire and this sticky feeling is more apparent on the bottom of the ring (where it has the most scratches and dings) but the rest of the ring also feels a little sticky (i do a have a few tiny scratches on the rest of the setting). i''m thinking it''s the developing patina but it''s strange that it feels sticky...

When we file and emery it in the workshop it feels sticky too. i think that is what you are feeling. it is a strange metal

 

[hairgirl95]

Hey sugarplum-
No, I don''t have that setting anymore. I actually traded it in on a different plat. setting. BUT, I am curious to see if this one does it too. The first 1.5 years I had no problem with the old one. It started that sticky weird feeling after the first year. Interesting what Garry wrote--that would explain why mine felt better after polishing but still not like new. This is really weird huh! Are you going to try and buff it to see if it helps? Let us know how it works out.

 

[kcoursolle]

Go get your ring polished and you will figure out whether it was patina. Scratches develop very quickly with platinum especially where the ring is being knocked on the bottom. Polishing is inexpensive and should take out most of the scratches and make the ring shiny new again if the problem was patina!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Date: 3/30/2008 5:03:46 PM
Author: kcoursolle
Go get your ring polished and you will figure out whether it was patina. Scratches develop very quickly with platinum especially where the ring is being knocked on the bottom. Polishing is inexpensive and should take out most of the scratches and make the ring shiny new again if the problem was patina!

The fact it only happens where the most scratching is makes it a lay down mizare I think KC

 

[sugarplum]

hairgirl- i plan to get it polished sometime soon so i''ll let you know if that fixes the sticky issue.

i think it''s a patina. i examined my friend''s platinum setting and it has pretty much the same sticky feeling at the bottom of the ring. weird thing with my ring is that i can also feel some stickiness on the rest of the ring that''s still shiny and new, not just on the bottom where it''s dull and the majority of scratches are. i was starting to think it''s because i clean it too often!

thinking it''s the squeaky clean, sticky feeling or that perhaps the metal was reacting strangely to the jewelry cleaning solution. i''m thinking some polishing will take care of it.

 

[Venice]

Try this - take a jewelry polishing cloth and use the inside part of the cloth to really buff the ring, then use the outside of the cloth to polish the ring. This may help.

 

[sugarplum]

hi all- i finally got a chance to get my ring polished and viola, no more sticky feeling. i guess it was the patina. strange that it''d feel sticky and grimy but it doesn''t anymore...for now. we''ll see what happens when a patina starts to develop again.

 

[Rhea]

I didn''t see this post the first time around, but touching my ring just now it does feel slightly sticky. Not in an annoying or obvious way, but ever so slightly noticeable. Maybe it''s the power of suggestion and I''m just imagining it. Or it could be the engraving in my ring. Whatever it is, it''s kinda cool feeling!

 

[Muss]

I was just thinking about this post the other day when talking to someone about plat.

Thanks for the update