James Allen ring needs recoating after 8 months

[arcticcatmatt]

Hello all!

Some of you may remember my long post on proposing to my woman at a special waterfall with the ring you guys helped me build. It is white gold.

Well after 8 months the bottom of the ring has turned to yellow gold. Amanda also wants it resized. James Allen recoats the ring free but I have to pay shipping to get it there. They charge 25 for resize which is understandable. We need to have it shrunk down to 4.75 (it is a 5.00 now).

But what is not understandable is how an 8 month old ring looks horrible already. Amanda works in an office environment and handles no chemicals and does not abuse the ring in any way. She cleans it with water only. It has never seen a chemical.

 

[stone-cold11]

Different people has different body chemistry. Some just wears off the rhodium faster than others.

 

[tyty333]

I''m sorry to hear this...but from what I understand it is the chemicals in her skin that make it change colors. I have
heard anywhere from 3 months to several years for recoat depending on your skin. I wonder if JA can give it an
extra thick recoat. I think I would ask if its possible.

 

[HopeDream]

Hi Arcticmatt,

I can''t speak to the quality of your girlfriend''s ring, but I can tell you my experiences with plating and coatings.
I have especialy acidic skin and as a result I corrode the finish on watches and strip plating off jewellery - no chemicals involved, just my natural pH.
I wonder if your girlfriend is the same? I hope the re-sizing and re-plating goes well. If you ask them too, I''m sure they could make the plating thicker to prevent premature wear.

Good luck!

 

[arcticcatmatt]

I will ask them.

Everywhere on the ring is fine, including the inside diameter that contacts her skin all day. It is the outside coating on the bottom that is bad.

I will have a picture later I hope.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Ditto Stone-cold. The rate at which the rhodium plating on WG wears off differs from person to person. it could be her body''s chemistry, it could be chemicals she comes in contact with regularly (like chlorine or ammonia) or it could be that the way she uses her hands puts the bottom of the shank in contact with other things and it rubs off faster. It has no connection with the quality of the product or the vendor''s intentions towards their customer. Replating is just something that has to be done regularly on WG rings. Also, my jeweler usually replates when they do repairs like resizing so the spot where they cut the ring looks seamless with the rest of the ring. I would ask them if this is something they do as part of the resizing.

 

[cara]

The need for frequent replating is one of the hazards of getting white gold. Some people can go years without needing replating, others need it every few months, some don''t bother and like the soft color of unplated white gold. I didn''t want the hassle so I went with platinum - however while plat retains its color it does develop a patina of tiny scratches over time. If you want it to stay shiny you have to polish it frequently - like less than every 6 months for my general wear amount.

I doubt it has anything to do with the quality of the JA product. It is the wear pattern that your FI puts it through. Contact is contact, and the bottom of her rings probably touch things regularly. The rhodium plating is normally quite thin and it is a white gold ring, so that color will show through when the rhodium is rubbed off.

 

[lknvrb4]

I had this same problem with my original e-ring. I had it three months and it turned yellow. I then had it rhodium plated and it lasted only a few months. I went with palladium for my current e-ring and it''s perfect.

 

[arcticcatmatt]

She wears no other rings. She has had white gold rings in the past and had no problems. We have well water so no contact with chlorine. I have to pay 32 bucks to ship this ring back to get fixed. If I have to do this every 6 months I made a bad decision. I looked at her other white gold rings that she has worn in past years and they are fine.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

However frustrating, it is repairable. My DH''s Bulgari wedding band was replated within a year of wearing--and he really does very little

....it happens.

cheers--Sharon

 

[motownmama]

Can''t some reputable just dip it locally??

 

[CLEICS]

Hi Im sorry to hear about your ring. I used to have a white gold engagement ring and had exactly the same problem despite also owning a white gold sapphire ring which only now (2 years later) is beginning to show any fade of whiteness. In the end I got so fed up with going back to my jeweller all the time to replate that I upgraded to Platinum (I also developed a bit of a weird rash on my finger which hasnt reappeared since switching to plat). I quizzed a few different jewellers and the answers were pretty much the same, The rhodium plating will wear off more quickly if you wash your hands a lot, come into contact with chemicals, sleep in a white gold ring. or have acidic skin ph. However how noticeable this wearing off is will depend on the metals used to make your white gold ring as some metals e.g. palladium are naturally very white so when mixed with gold to create white gold might give a whiter appearance than other metals, which I think may explain why my sapphire ring has remained beautiful but my engagement ring always looked a bit dirty and dull after a few months. One thing that can help I think is ''triple dipping'' when they replate your ring

hope this helps I must admit I wasnt happy until I switched to platinum.

 

[HVVS]

Might be that it was sized before, and there is solder there or "filler" gold or something in that region that otherwise isn''t the same metals chemistry. I have a WG ring that was soldered with yellow solder, and I have a platinum one that has gold solder. Rhodium plating hides that.

 

[ImpatientOne]

If I wear my white gold ring daily, it shows yellow within a couple of months

 

[JSM]

Engagement rings are worn a lot more often than many other rings. Also, depending on the gold content of her other white gold rings, they may be less prone to turning yellow (18kt gold has more gold than 10kt, for example, 10kt would have more "fillers" and therefore less gold toned underneath the rhodium plating).

I would have to get my engagement ring plated every 6 months, but really it needed it after 3. It just isn''t compatible with my body chemistry.

 

[radiantquest]

I have had my white gold ring for almost two years and it is just faint yellow in the same spot that hers is turning. I agree that it has to do with acidity in her body chemistry, but I bet it is only doing it on the bottom because that is where her palm sweats. You dont much hear about the top of peoples fingers sweating, but most peoples palms do.

On the sizing, I would not size it now. I believe that I read right and this is an engagement ring. It doesnt make sense to me, but it is true that the wider the band area the tighter it will feel. Once she gets a wedding band both rings will feel a little tighter. My advice about the sizing is to wait until she is wearing both rings and if it is still too loose then size it or both.

 

[arcticcatmatt]

Well here we are again. This time they looked like this after just 6 months. My wife is not happy and I look like a fool. I regret purchasing these rings. She has other rhodium plated gold rings and they do not do this. It is only the James Allen rings that do this. Wedding band and ering going back today. These are at 9 months and I would say 80% of all the plating is GONE. At 6 months they looked just like this and I asked her to wait a few months.
I regret this purchase. These rings look like crap after just 6 months. She don't wear them in the shower or around ANY household chemicals. These rings are like kids to her and she pampers them.. they never see any chemicals what so ever and all she does is run a computer at work. She wears her other rhodium plated rings with NO problems.. its just these JA rings ugh.
I asked them how much to switch to platinum since I have lost faith in how they are coating in Rhodium and they told me over a couple thousand.. they said I have to pay for the small diamonds again since they don't reuse them. I look like a fool to my wife.

 

[TristanC]

Sad to hear. Might be worth your while asking around other jewellers who may do replating to try their rhodium replate. Might be some strange coincidence that the JA one is extra reactive around your wife.

 

[hoofbeats95]

You should be able to get them replated for about the same cost in shipping them back to JA. I have some rings in WG that I have to get plated a lot. Others not so much. I can't stand that yellow look so I went with plat for my wedding set. I've only been married just over three months, but I adore plat. I was so worried and did so much research. It was a tough decision. But I decided scratches would bother me less than the yellow look. Because WG scratches too. So far I'm right. I'd try getting them dipped somewhere else and see if a different mix doesn't work better for your wife.

 

[cookies]

The bottom of my original e-ring turned yellowish after I wore it every day for a few months. I never bothered to re-plate it, as I somehow prefer the yellowish look over the white (and kind of harsh) look. Then I got my wedding ring set in un-plated white gold. No need for plating, ever. Problem solved.

 

[arcticcatmatt]

I dont' believe the "its her chemistry" thing either because the insides of these rings are PERFECT and shiny.. the side that sits on her skin all day. JA's site calls this ring "White Gold" when in fact it isn't.. its Rhodium plated yellow gold

 

[cookies]

its Rhodium plated yellow gold

Oh no! I am really sorry this has happened to you. If you hold your wife's ring next to a yellow gold ring, the color difference should be really obvious, i.e., white with slight yellow-ish tint vs. rich gold. If you don't see much a difference, then..

 

[YoungPapa]

JA's site calls this ring "White Gold" when in fact it isn't.. its Rhodium plated yellow gold

Matt,

This statement is untrue. Your CSR and the forum here at Pricescope have been trying to explain to you that white gold (especially white gold that is 18kt) will turn yellow over time. Whether that be six weeks or six years will depend on wear and body chemistry, but eventually it's going to happen.

We would be more than happy to take back the rings and exchange them for the same designs in platinum. I can even authorize 100% credit. All you need to do is pay the difference between your original purchase amount and the current price of the set in platinum.

Hope this helps.

 

[hoofbeats95]

What a great solution! A very generous one. I think it's the best answer. Your wife would probably be very happy with platinum. You can just do routine polishing. I work at a computer all day and from what I see I will be polishing my plat rings much less that I was dipping WG. My initial ering was WG and I was getting it plated every 6-9 months cause the yellow annoyed me. I love plat! Do it!

 

[sphenequeen]

One does not have to beat the heck out of their ring for plated white gold to appear more "blonde" than stark white. 18k yellow gold is 75% YELLOW gold and 25% white alloy. Gripping a steering wheel, opening doors, carrying anything remotely heavy, etc. is going to effect the bottom of the shank. If she wears a wedding band against the engagement ring, that will cause friction and loss of rhodium.

The natural state of white gold is not to look super white, hence the replating. While frustrating, re-rhodium plating is part of the upkeep of the ring.

 

[sphenequeen]

James Allen Schultz|1311263376|2973787" data-source="" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

JA's site calls this ring "White Gold" when in fact it isn't.. its Rhodium plated yellow gold

Matt,

This statement is untrue. Your CSR and the forum here at Pricescope have been trying to explain to you that white gold (especially white gold that is 18kt) will turn yellow over time. Whether that be six weeks or six years will depend on wear and body chemistry, but eventually it's going to happen.

We would be more than happy to take back the rings and exchange them for the same designs in platinum. I can even authorize 100% credit. All you need to do is pay the difference between your original purchase amount and the current price of the set in platinum.

Hope this helps.

Now THAT is customer service!

 

[YoungPapa]

Matt,

I also thought this graphic might be helpful. It comes from the Platinum Guild.

 

[cookies]

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We would be more than happy to take back the rings and exchange them for the same designs in platinum. I can even authorize 100% credit. All you need to do is pay the difference between your original purchase amount and the current price of the set in platinum.

This is a very generous offer!

 

[Lula]

Matt, I'm sorry you are having these problems. I see Jim from JA has offered a solution. Yes, as Jim mentions, white gold, especially 18 kt. white gold, is not white at all, but it is not yellow gold either.

But before you commit to platinum, you should know that the natural color of platinum is not the "chrome white" of rhodium either.

My suggestion is that you and Amanda visit a few jewelry stores in your area and ask to compare a platinum setting with a rhodium plated setting, and see what you think.

Keep in mind that although platinum is naturally white, it also needs to be polished regularly to maintain a high-shine finish. Over time, platinum develops what is referred to as a "patina" which is simply a layer of microscopic dings and scratches which dull the polish on the metal. Below is a photo of a ring I own that is made of 18 kt. yellow gold with an unpolished, or matte, platinum inset on the wedding band. The prongs on the engagement ring are also platinum, and the platinum is polished.

So while the platinum ring will not turn "yellow" in the same way 18 kt. gold white gold will, it will become dull due to wear and require polishing to maintain its high-shine finish. Make sure there is a jewelry store in your area that offers this service. I just don't want you to trade one problem for another. Because if what you're after is the "chrome" look of rhodium plating, my suggestion is that you wait on the platinum and try this first:

1. Is there a Jared's in your area? They will rhodium plate your ring for a pretty reasonable fee, $30 - $40.
2. Take the ring to Jared's (or any other local jeweler who has plenty of experience with rhodium plating). Ask the jeweler to remove all of the current rhodium plating and re-polish the ring for you to remove any scratches or dings in the gold.
3. After the old plating is removed and the ring is repolished, have it freshly rhodium plated by the jeweler.
4. Have Amanda wear the ring as she normally does, and see if you get the same results with the rhodium wearing off. If yes, consider platinum. If no, it's the "blend" or process JA is using in the rhodium-plating process that doesn't work for Amanda, and ask JA for a credit to cover a few future rhodium platings by your local jeweler.

 

[JuneRose]

James Allen Schultz|1311263376|2973787" data-source="" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

JA's site calls this ring "White Gold" when in fact it isn't.. its Rhodium plated yellow gold

Matt,

This statement is untrue. Your CSR and the forum here at Pricescope have been trying to explain to you that white gold (especially white gold that is 18kt) will turn yellow over time. Whether that be six weeks or six years will depend on wear and body chemistry, but eventually it's going to happen.

We would be more than happy to take back the rings and exchange them for the same designs in platinum. I can even authorize 100% credit. All you need to do is pay the difference between your original purchase amount and the current price of the set in platinum.

Hope this helps.

Wow I am VERY impressed by this!!