Longtime Lurker--Urgent Help Needed RE: E-ring/solder issue

[hlpkaixin3344]

Hello all! I have lurked for a while. But I finally have a reason to post.

Today while out and about with my husband, we stopped for some ice cream. I managed to spill mine all over, including on my rings. So I washed my hands and took it off and set it on the table while I finished. It was a white table and I glanced over at my ring at one point and noticed that the where the head meets the band part looked yellow. My ring is all platinum but I knew they soldered it together to make it what it is since it was book-parts. I assume that means they didn''t use platinum solder. I put it on white paper on our patio table when we got home and sure enough, stark yellow. I had noticed it looked off before but I thought it was just a reflection til today.

Now since I have worn this ring for 2 years now, I doubt I have a whole lot of recourse. But I feel like while this wasn''t intentional or malicious, that it was misrepresented because I paid for all platinum, and now while I know the ring itself is platinum, there is obviously a part which is not platinum. And that either they didn''t know any better or they thought I would never notice.

I am going to stop in to that jeweler tomorrow and ask them how they can rectify it but I figured there would be at least one pro on here that can be of assistance before I do.

What kind of recourse do I have?
What, if anything, can be done? Can the gold be sanded off and it re-assembled with platinum solder?
Will I need a new setting altogether?

Please advise. I think my husband''s head is going to come off any moment, he''s so upset.

 

[hellolover]

hrm. I posted that. Maybe my screen name will show up this time.



edit: it did!

 

[ringster]

hi helloluver! welcome to PS!

that sounds like quite an upsetting find

wondering if you have any pictures to show what it looks like?

i'm not a jeweler but hopefully an expert can chime in and give their opinion

 

[hellolover]

Hello! Thanks for the reply!

I did take a couple reallllly zoomed in ones. Only one came out that was remotely clear. Ill attach it.

 

[ringster]

oh dear, that does look quite different doesn''t it.

i''m sure some experts will chime in -- maybe dinner time

 

[Diamond*Dana]

I am not a jeweler either, but I can definitely see what you are talking about...I would not be happy either! I hope that the jeweler is able to rectify this.

 

[neatfreak]

Looks like they used gold solder instead of platinum to me...many jewelers do it because they don''t know what they are doing with platinum...it isn''t ok IMO, but since it was so long ago, AND it''s hard to reverse from what I understand, it might be better just to rhodium it (which will make it white again) and call it a day...

 

[hellolover]

I mentioned that scenario to my husband and he almost cried. That, honestly, is an unacceptable way to rectify it to us. Especially considering that they presented it to us as platinum through and through, and clearly it is not.

I don''t think they did it on purpose, or I hope not...but I am unwilling to accept it be just rhodium plated to cover it. I chose platinum specifically to avoid this situation.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 7/2/2008 11:06:12 PM
Author: hellolover
I mentioned that scenario to my husband and he almost cried. That, honestly, is an unacceptable way to rectify it to us. Especially considering that they presented it to us as platinum through and through, and clearly it is not.

I don''t think they did it on purpose, or I hope not...but I am unwilling to accept it be just rhodium plated to cover it. I chose platinum specifically to avoid this situation.

Hi hellolover, I would be miffed aswell. Would you mind to elaborate on the highlighted part?

 

[2Artists]

That stinks. I would not be a happy camper about that. So sorry. But I do think that a good solution can be found for this. Deep breaths and give each other a hug. It will be OK.

female half 2Artists

 

[hellolover]

Date: 7/2/2008 11:33:14 PM
Author: arjunajane

Date: 7/2/2008 11:06:12 PM

Author: hellolover

I mentioned that scenario to my husband and he almost cried. That, honestly, is an unacceptable way to rectify it to us. Especially considering that they presented it to us as platinum through and through, and clearly it is not.


I don't think they did it on purpose, or I hope not...but I am unwilling to accept it be just rhodium plated to cover it. I chose platinum specifically to avoid this situation.

Hi hellolover, I would be miffed aswell. Would you mind to elaborate on the highlighted part?

Certainly.

I chose platinum because it remained white. Platinum does not change color with wear, it just "patinas" and "dulls". Gold is yellow by nature, so "white" gold is not white, it's usually pale yellow because it's alloyed with whiter metals to lighten it up, and is covered in Rhodium to make it bright white. That rhodium will wear off, sometimes very quickly, sometimes very slowly. And then the yellow of the gold will show through.

I specifically chose platinum so that it would always be white.

 

[LGK]

I had an antique plat ring worked on by my bench jeweler, and he said that it had white gold prongs and a large piece of wg in the shank to up-size it. He felt it was a durability issue and removed the wg and redid it all with plat.

He said it was fairly common- first, the gold solder is cheaper, and second, many jewelers don''t work well with plat.

Considering the time that has passed and the fact that it''s kinda an indication of lameness that your setting was soldered with gold to begin with, I dunno if you''re likely to get much satisfaction out of the original jeweler. Nevertheless, I''d probably speak to them about perhaps getting a new setting or possibly fixing this one (*if* you trust them to try), and let them know your concerns (yellowing, durability) and how it was represented as solid plat.

I would unfortunately think you might be stuck with resetting entirely though. I''d worry about the durability of the join there, plus the sheer annoyance of looking at it. My jeweler felt the two metals didn''t join perfectly. And, the fact that the original jeweler did this shoddy work to begin with, I''d worry about letting them tinker with it further.

I''d be upset too. Sorry your DH is too!

 

[hellolover]

We were just discussing best-case and worst-case scenarios. I am really nervous about this due to the age and time that has passed and that the cost of metal right now is going to work against me. That they''ll say "tough luck". But he thinks that they will be so embarrassed by it that they will do whatever it takes to make it right. And I think in that case I think I''d choose a pre-made setting and have it set into that. I don''t expect to see any of our money back, so I am not really thinking along those lines.

Honestly-I don''t know how I feel about them handling the ring further, or setting my stone. I don''t want to risk something happening to the stone being removed from a setting and reset, isn''t that just an accident waiting to happen? The fact that this happened at a really reputable store with such a reputation in this city bothers me greatly. It''s so highly recommended around here.

I just have no idea what to expect, and the fact that I couldn''t go right there when it was discovered kind of makes me jittery.

 

[oldminer]

They may have some explanation for what looks like the use of gold solder. Sometimes a jeweler uses gold solder because it melts at a much lower temperature than any of the platinum solders. When you use lower heat, the platinum of the prongs may not become "annealed" or softened by the heating. If prongs are overly soft, it is pretty difficult to keep the diamond tight in its setting. Possibly, there is some other reason.

Either way, the solder joint likely can be cleaned up and soldered with a low heat platinum solder. Some of those darken due to oxidation, tarnishing, over time, but they don't get yellow, just darker grey. The platinum itself never tarnishes, but the alloy used in it to change its heating characteristics may tarnish over time a bit.

 

[hellolover]

We spent over 3 hours there this morning. The bench jeweler was visibly aggravated that it was brought to his attention that he''d not used platinum solder. He pretty much responded to our sales person that his only option was to rhodium plate that, to which my husband immediately shot back "that is an unacceptable answer". They are willing to credit us the cost of the metal towards a new setting, minus any labor even though the labor is really the problem in this case. So I looked through several casting books and didn''t find a whole lot that I really liked.

I tried on several settings they had in the store, and again, nothing really wowwed me.

My husband tried to get the money back to find a setting elsewhere, but they weren''t willing, which I really figured would be the case anyway. So, I mentioned that Id like to look online at some setting companies and asked if they could get anything from another company they don''t normally carry. One I liked was a criss-cross one that I saw on here. I think it''s a vatch? They are going to see what they can do to bring it in.

I am hesitant to let them set my stone, though I don''t know what they''ll do.

I am glad they owned up to the issue and are willing to work with me to get this situation resolved, but I think what bothers me more is that it wasn''t done the right way the first time.

So now I am hoping they can get some other settings I liked online into the store.

 

[oldminer]

You are rather lucky that the jeweler owned up to the problem and that they are even willing to do anything accomodating. Many would just stonewall you and tell you rhodium is the answer. Truthfully, there is nothing really wrong about using a bit of gold solder on a platinum piece although when you believe the entire piece was platinum, it can come as sort of a surprise. Probably there are many people perfectly content with their platinum rings who have some gold solder "lurking" in some hidden crevice. Unfortunately your solder decided to show itself and I can fully understand the discoloration issue which you have a problem with now. If the current ring were to be dis-assembled, the gold excess solder totally cleaned off, and the ring re-assembled using either laser welding or platinum solder, would this be acceptable? Depending on the exact design, this might be a way to get you past the issue. Your jeweler may simply not have the technical skill or equipment to make this happen, but someone here likely could do this sort of remake. Maybe someone will provide a recommendation. I know that in the location where I now have my appraisal business, my partner runs a jewelry repair business and the things laser welding can do that a jeweler''s torch can''t do are a real eye opener for a traditional bench guy.

(I am not soliciting the work, please, but only citing what I have recently seen with laser based repairs which I believe are pretty amazing)

 

[hellolover]

I am torn on whether the cleaning off/laser welding would be acceptable or not. Id rather have it just replaced with a 1-piece casting where I know it''s solid platinum and no soldering is needed.

My biggest issue is that I don''t like his answer of how they''ll just risk destroying my diamond by not taking it out of the setting first, as if to say "well yea it''ll get ruined but we don''t care".

Their bench jeweler has shown to me that he''s simply not able to do what I think should be common practice otherwise I feel he''d have done it right the first time around. And that just bothers me.

They did say that if it''s laser-welded it would have to be sent out to someone who can do that. And Id rather just go straight to where they''ll do it than send it out.

 

[oldminer]

Often a one piece casting cannot be cleaned and polished to the same level of fine finish that a multi-piece item may be finished to. Most fine made jewelry is multi-piece primarily so that the finishing process can be cleaner. It takes time to assemble something cleanly, but getting into all the crevices is not as easy when all the complexity is found in a single piece casting. The amount of gold in the solder joint that has gotten your attention is miniscule, but it is quite visible per your photo. I sure hope you get a final result that really makes you happy. I''m afraid you are not quite headed in that direction so far. If you are committed to doing a better job than what you current jewelre can offer you, I suggest you temporarily re-rhodium the bad spot and travel to a place somewhere where you have been recommended to get it done correctly at some future point in time. Don''t risk damaging your diamond for the sake of this solder joint.

 

[hellolover]

Thank you for your kind words and your input.

If they can obtain the setting I liked, and hopefully send my stone there for mounting, this could be favorably resolved, as I don''t trust them to mount it properly. If not, Ill have to just stop wearing it til I can save up enough to replace it elsewhere.

I did track down the ring I was thinking of, and called to tell them where I found it and the phone number to call and inquire about it. I may have really ridiculous expectations but I am hoping they call back today.

 

[hellolover]

Decided to post another update.

After several calls and visits in the last couple days, we have come to an agreement on what to do. This jeweler is unable to obtain the Vatche Royal Crown (found the name!) setting in Platinum from the company, the only option they were given is that we buy through a local Vatche dealer and go from there. We called 2 of them and were effectively told "no way" even though they'd be making the same amount either way. So since that was not an option, my husband and I started looking to other options.

There was one setting book I didn't check out while we were there because it was in someone else's hands so I asked the name and went to their online catalog. We found one that we both liked so we decided to order in this fairly pretty stock setting and have my diamond set into that. The cost difference is just a couple hundred dollars after our credit for giving them back my "botched" setting. I think it will look great with my wedding band and I am excited. I should be able to see and approve the setting Tuesday or Wednesday when it gets in, and hopefully all I will have to say is "yes!"

This is what I chose, it's from Unique Settings of New York


Thanks for the support and for the constructive advice and concerns.

 

[hellolover]

ok ill try again.