Platinum ring bent AGAIN!

[princesultan]

Hey everyone,

So a few weeks ago my finacee's ring bent pretty badly out of shape. It had been re-sized and then it bent a few weeks later. The jeweler decided to make a brand new ring because he was worried it might have been due to the re-sizing however he was extremely shocked that it bent in the 1st place. We received the new ring a few weeks ago and the thing bent AGAIN. My finacee isn't doing any heavy lifting and she's being very very careful with it. What gives?

I attached a pic of the ring the 2nd time it bent.

 

[kenny]

Either she is not conscious of the stress she is putting on the ring or the material is defective.

Maybe both since it does not look like one of those dangerously thin designs so popular today.

 

[oldminer]

Although I can't be sure, it appears that this ring is set with tiny diamonds going way down the shank sides. If so, then all those drilled holes to set the diamonds into weaken the strength of the ring and allow it to bend far easier than a solid ring would. Am I correct that there is a long row of diamonds on each side of the center stone?

The bending can ponly be caused by stress in wearing the ring, but because of the extra metal removed, the weakness might just be too much for your fiance's way of doing ordinary things.

 

[Upgradable]

Something as seemingly benign as gripping the steering wheel can do this. Basically it is conforming to her finger and her lifestyle. Our fingers are not perfectly round, so I personally wouldn't worry if my ring did this. I would just continue to wear it in the same orientation on my finger that cause the "remolding." I think it more likely to weaken the ring if you continue to have it straightened. Especially with any melee diamonds.

Admittedly, I'm not a jeweler. Just my take on things.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I am curious as to what platinum alloy was used.

 

[princesultan]

Although I can't be sure, it appears that this ring is set with tiny diamonds going way down the shank sides. If so, then all those drilled holes to set the diamonds into weaken the strength of the ring and allow it to bend far easier than a solid ring would. Am I correct that there is a long row of diamonds on each side of the center stone?

The bending can ponly be caused by stress in wearing the ring, but because of the extra metal removed, the weakness might just be too much for your fiance's way of doing ordinary things.

good call oldminer.

just came back from the jeweler and read your post. he also commented that the holes shouldn't have been drilled all the way through. he said that they won't be drilled all the way through when he makes the next one. he will also get the platinum cast by a different company as supposedly they way have a harder platinum. we'll see what happens.

 

[Mike R]

Although I can't be sure, it appears that this ring is set with tiny diamonds going way down the shank sides. If so, then all those drilled holes to set the diamonds into weaken the strength of the ring and allow it to bend far easier than a solid ring would. Am I correct that there is a long row of diamonds on each side of the center stone?

The bending can ponly be caused by stress in wearing the ring, but because of the extra metal removed, the weakness might just be too much for your fiance's way of doing ordinary things.

good call oldminer.

just came back from the jeweler and read your post. he also commented that the holes shouldn't have been drilled all the way through. he said that they won't be drilled all the way through when he makes the next one. he will also get the platinum cast by a different company as supposedly they way have a harder platinum. we'll see what happens.

You should also look at getting a thicker wall thickness to the band also, at least 2mm thick for a pave band.
A thicker wall thickness and not drilling the holes all the way through along with a harder alloy should help a lot.

 

[aviastar]

Something as seemingly benign as gripping the steering wheel can do this. Basically it is conforming to her finger and her lifestyle. Our fingers are not perfectly round, so I personally wouldn't worry if my ring did this. I would just continue to wear it in the same orientation on my finger that cause the "remolding." I think it more likely to weaken the ring if you continue to have it straightened. Especially with any melee diamonds.

Admittedly, I'm not a jeweler. Just my take on things.

It really doesn't have to be serious force to bend it, like Uppy said; I knew a lady who could not figure out why her ring was constantly going out of round in a major way- it was flattening out across the bottom of the shank over and over again. Turns out, she kept the beat of the music with her hand on her steering wheel in the car and it was the force plus the repetition that damaged her rings. Who'd have thought simply keeping time in the car could have such a big effect?

 

[Laila619]

I would switch to 14k white gold if you can. It's very durable. Some of the platinum alloys are soft and prone to bending unfortunately.

 

[princesultan]

Okay so it is starting to bend again in the exact same shape. I think there is something defective with this ring. I highly doubt it is anything my fiancee is doing. This is the THIRD ring made and it has started bending only after 1 day!!! The holes are covered on the inside of the band where there used to be holes this time, although the color of the metal ks a tad different from the rest of the ring. I really don't know what to do anymore.

 

[princesultan]

does anyone think the thickness of the ring is an issue? supposedly the platinum used is pt950, which i believe is supposed to be one of the strongest....

 

[sonnyjane]

After hearing that this third try is bending after just one day, I'd say something is going on. Either the ring is crappola, or your fiancee is a lot rougher on her ring than she thinks, or a combination of both. How long ago did you originally purchase this ring? Are you past the point of being able to just say it's defective and start from scratch somewhere else? Definitely not normal...

 

[princesultan]

Purchased in April. We got the 3rd ring Friday afternoon. She wore it the rest of Friday and all of Saturday. She is extremely careful with it. We went out to do activities this morning. She took it off because she's scared to do anything with it and when she went to put it back on we noticed it was slightly out of shape. I really doubt it's her. She's scared to do anything with it and she's extremely tiny.

 

[sonnyjane]

I don't suppose you'd be lucky enough to have a 90 day return policy would you?? How did you pay for the ring (i.e. credit card protection?)

 

[princesultan]

I don't suppose you'd be lucky enough to have a 90 day return policy would you?? How did you pay for the ring (i.e. credit card protection?)

Return the ring and do what? Go somewhere else? This is a very respectable jeweler who is willing to do whatever is necessary to fix it. The thing is he's not even sure what's going on... I probably could get my money back if I really wanted but I don't think that's the best idea either.

 

[sonnyjane]

I don't suppose you'd be lucky enough to have a 90 day return policy would you?? How did you pay for the ring (i.e. credit card protection?)

Return the ring and do what? Go somewhere else? This is a very respectable jeweler who is willing to do whatever is necessary to fix it. The thing is he's not even sure what's going on... I probably could get my money back if I really wanted but I don't think that's the best idea either.

Your money, your time, your decision. These boards are full of people that kept hoping that their jeweler would fix it, yet time and time again, they were disappointed. To quote a few of the experts here, "If they could do it right, they would have done it the first time." You're saying that your confidence is still high going into the FOURTH attempt in 3 months? If he "is not even sure what's going on", how does he plan to fix it?

 

[Enerchi]

I had a ring that was from a B&M store and it had several issues that never seemed to be corrected properly. I was offered, and accepted, a full refund and my diamonds back (I owned the stones, they just did the setting) and then went to BGD to have my ring remade. No regrets!

Worth thinking about....

 

[CharmyPoo]

I agree to consider returning the ring and starting with someone else. I have rings that are far more delicate - thinner width wise with pave every where. No problems with bending like your photos at all and I wear my wedding set daily.

 

[webdiva]

Okay so it is starting to bend again in the exact same shape. I think there is something defective with this ring. I highly doubt it is anything my fiancee is doing. This is the THIRD ring made and it has started bending only after 1 day!!! The holes are covered on the inside of the band where there used to be holes this time, although the color of the metal ks a tad different from the rest of the ring. I really don't know what to do anymore.

You've gotten a ton of good suggestions here - what is the alloy they used? There are different kinds of platinum.

 

[princesultan]

it's something i need to consider i guess.

i'm going to find out what the alloy is today. on the bottom of the ring for the past 2 times he made it, there were small dents that would appear, i guess maybe the platinum used is really soft? he said he's using plat950, but i'll find out what the alloy is.

 

[distracts]

I don't suppose you'd be lucky enough to have a 90 day return policy would you?? How did you pay for the ring (i.e. credit card protection?)

Return the ring and do what? Go somewhere else? This is a very respectable jeweler who is willing to do whatever is necessary to fix it. The thing is he's not even sure what's going on... I probably could get my money back if I really wanted but I don't think that's the best idea either.

Your money, your time, your decision. These boards are full of people that kept hoping that their jeweler would fix it, yet time and time again, they were disappointed. To quote a few of the experts here, "If they could do it right, they would have done it the first time." You're saying that your confidence is still high going into the FOURTH attempt in 3 months? If he "is not even sure what's going on", how does he plan to fix it?

I agree with Sonnyjane. Either return and change the design of the ring, since it's obvious this jeweler can't get this design right, or return and get your money back and go somewhere else.

Is your girlfriend sleeping with the ring on?

 

[lewood]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but your jeweler said he was having the third attempt remade to correct the tiny diamond holes, correct? He was also going to use a different platinum company for this remake, correct? But instead you got a ring back with a slightly different color metal covering up the holes that doesnt match the rest of the ring? I don't think the ring was remade. I'd be super upset. Platinum should not bend that much in a day or two, and I'm fairly certain your fi isn't being rough on her hands because she is probably so scared to do anything with her hands now! Poor thing. As upsetting as this may be, I'd have the diamond removed and go with a setting from a different company. I'm so sorry for all of your grief.

 

[Laila619]

It's obvious this jeweler's Plat alloy is very soft. I would not keep remaking the ring in Plat, at least not with this jeweler. I would strongly consider either 1) getting a refund and selecting a different ring with a more durable shank, or 2) having the current ring remade in 14 or 18k white gold.

 

[princesultan]

So the alloy is iridium

 

[Enerchi]

all that sounds like it should be fine, but obviously there is SOMETHING going on. I know you and your SO love this ring, but maybe it is better to just start over --- if you can get a full refund (or even a partially healthy refund!).

Just from my own experience, all this nuisance stuff adds up and I started to totally dislike my ring! Starting with a clean slate could be a better idea...

 

[princesultan]

I hear you. What about if they made the wall of the band thicker?

 

[Enerchi]

I don't know enough about the structural integrity of a ring but I do wonder if the melee on the sides isn't a potential risk factor for it bending out of shape.

Is there another jeweller in your area you could take it to to be evaluated?? Or would you even consider exploring with one of the PS vendors? the style looks like it would be easily replicated...

I just know for me, too much went on and on and ON!, that to go back to my B&M store, even when they offered to remake it and remake it with another bench, I was "done" with them and just wanted out. But that's me...

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Is it 95% plat and 5% iridium? Because if so, that is the softest of alloys. Our master ring makers here only use 95plat/5ruthenium or 90plat/10iridium which are harder and more durable and more scratch resistant. I would insist on one of those.

Read this excellent article which describes platinum alloys by Mark Morrell:

http://www.mwmjewelry.com/platinum_purity.htm

 

[Dreamer_D]

It sound to me like they just filled the holes in the ring on this so-called "third remake".

You know the definition of insanity, right? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If this jeweler could correct this he would have. I highly doubt the ring has even been "remade", but just straightened and polished and now sodder used to fill the holes in the back of the ring

It is not YOUR job as the customer to fix this and find a solution. It is the jewelers job to fix it. If he cannot, then you get a refund and move on. It is very simple. You obviously like this jeweler, but he has proven that he cannot make this type of ring in a way that is structurally sound. Your fiance should be able to wear her ring without fear of any damage.

ETA: did you buy this ring in cash with no receipt like you were thinking of doing in your earlier thread?

 

[princesultan]

if it came down to it i could get a full refund, no doubt about it. i'm not worried about the refund. this is a jeweler that is known around the city and has been in business for several generations. they deal with my parents and they've been great to me even throughout these problems so i would like to try and settle this with them. they are working with me and won't give up.

that being said, i would consider a refund but only after i know for sure there isn't anything else they could do.

they're going to try something else, i think maybe make the wall a bit thicker and try not to drill the holes down as much. i can report back if you guys like.