HELP ASAP please - estate jewelry find - platinum 500?

[Miss Sparkly]

I found a beautiful ring at an estate jewelers last night. I was drawn to how clear and sparkly the diamonds were and didn't even pay attention to the weight of the ring and the stamp (which is almost gone due to sizing). I took it to my jewelry after buying it and found out that all the stones in the channel set are loose and that it's stamped 500. They are hesitant to work with it as they don't know what it is mixed with. The area where it was sized also was overheated and pitted in two places on the inside of the shank. I got a bit emotional last night and called and left a message (it was nice) stating that I wanted a refund - but after seeing the stones again I remember why I loved it. So, what is platinum 500? Is it durable? After the stones in the channel are tightened should I have no issues wearing it? I told the gentleman on the message that I was stopping by at noon today.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Gypsy]

Hoping one of the appraisers sees this so I'm giving it a bump for you.

Taking it to a GOOD independant appraiser who is familar with estate jewelry is probably your best bet.

Also, you could call Ari at Singlestone and ask him if he knows what platinum 500 is, and see if he would qoute you for a repair. I wouldn't have an estate piece worked on by a bench that is not familiar with vintage jewelry, you can get some wonky results if you do.

Wink at HPD or Bill at Pearlmans Jewelers might be able to help you as well, they both have access to a few different benchmen and I believe both have benchmen that work on estate pieces. Whenever I called Ari's repairs qoutes have always been much higher than everyone elses. On the other hand, I've seen his work and his repair work and it is impeccible.

I have had Wink work on a vintage band for me and the work was beautiful. I've bought a preowned piece from Pearlmans that needed a little work and the result there was perfect as well. So I would recommend them on the basis of personal experiences with them.

 

[Michael_E]

The FTC guidlines only require that the amount of platinum, in parts per thousand, be marked on an item containing platinum and that any other platinum group alloys be marked as well. 500 parts per thousand is considered the minimum and that's what you have. There's no telling what other elements are in the alloy making up your ring, probably a mix of copper, silver, maybe some gold and a pinch of frog fur. The only thing that really matters when working on it is if heat is used that it is not so much as to melt the piece. If I were working on it I would consider a test with the lowest melting temperature platinum solder available. Your bench jeweler knows this and is probably reluctant to mess around with using heat on it, since it's hard to tell just how hot they can get it before they have a problem. If they have a laser welder, then no problem and that's what I'd suggest using on unknown pieces like this.

 

[Gypsy]

Michael, that was great information, thank you!

Sparkly Blonde, you can ask also Michael to see if he will do a repair on your piece. I've never purchased from Michael, but I have spoken to him about projects and he's very knowledgable, and the work I've seen on here is always very nice.

If a bench doesn't want to do a job or they are scared and push back, I've learned to understand that means that I would be better off working with someone that knows what they are doing. It's not good for anyone to force a working relationship.

 

[starryeyed]

So what happened today Sparkly Blonde???

 

[Miss Sparkly]

He sent me to his benchman to tighten the stones. He did a very poor job and did not fully tighten the stones. Pissed off me decided it would be a good idea to pinch it together with a pair of plyers (I pinched gently and protected the gold with a cloth) and it worked Scary! Anyway, like I said the stones are great so I'm thinking of putting it away until next year and having it re-made. I also wanted to have my e-ring re-made into unplated white gold so maybe that can be my birthday present next year

 

[starryeyed]

He sent me to his benchman to tighten the stones. He did a very poor job and did not fully tighten the stones. Pissed off me decided it would be a good idea to pinch it together with a pair of plyers (I pinched gently and protected the gold with a cloth) and it worked Scary! Anyway, like I said the stones are great so I'm thinking of putting it away until next year and having it re-made. I also wanted to have my e-ring re-made into unplated white gold so maybe that can be my birthday present next year

You are too funny! Sparkly Benchwoman Blonde! Great idea with the cloth and pliers.

Are you happy or do you feel like the dealer pressured you?

 

[Miss Sparkly]

I'm good and felt there was no pressure. I did think it was really odd that the benchman rhodium plated the platinum. It had a nice steely gray to it. Oh well

 

[starryeyed]

I'm good and felt there was no pressure. I did think it was really odd that the benchman rhodium plated the platinum. It had a nice steely gray to it. Oh well

I didn't know platinum could also be rhodium plated. I thought platinum just needed to be polished. Is it super shiny?

Now you'll have to wear it, to wear down the finish!