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Question about platinum...not sure if this is the right area to post

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Thanks for posting a pic-
It is clear that there are yellow spots there-I am sure it''s much more obvious to you than to anyone else in real life though.

As far as platinum "tarnishing" I have polished my rings and shined them up and had black oxidation be left on the cloth, but never seen plat. turn yellow.

I think that this is either a YG solder or polishing compound issue.

I would take the ring to an independent appraiser just to confirm that everything is as it should be.
 
Date: 5/2/2007 9:57:36 AM
Author: TheDoctor
I believe that I may have an answer for you.
There may have been small particles of steel trapped under the diamonds from the drill or bur used to create the seats for the diamonds. Sometimes, the tiny blades of the burs wear down or break off and lodge themselves in the holes, and aren''t noticed by the setter. These small particles will rust when the ring gets wet, and the rust will plate itsself onto the surrounding metal.
The steel, and the stains, can be removed by soaking the ring in sulfuric acid. The acid will not hartm the platinum or the stones. A jeweller will have to do that for you. Polishing and cleaning alone will not get to the source of the problem.

Alternatively, there may have been solder used in the repair of incompletely cast claws in the micropave.
Platinum solders contains very little platinum, and can yellow in the same way that other solders do. I doubt that is the problem, as, if the ring was rhodium plated, the plating wouldn''t fail in a recessed area so quickly.
Thanks for your input. I''m working on trying to get someone locally to re-appraise the ring to confirm that the setting is platinum. I will bring your comments to a jeweler and see if they can do something for me.
 
I''ve also posted this issue elsewhere, and here is a more scientific response...does this sound plausible to anyone?

"That to me looks like a copper-core sealing finally lifting, a sort of blemish that occured in a natural manner attributed to the copper sealant that was applied before final firing; or more so, a blemish in a marcasite setting, is there any possiblity that the setting is vintage, because that is identical in coloring (at least on my monitor,) to the demineralization of the white iron pyrite in vintage platinum. Vintage settings of a certain age have a lot of the sulfide FeS2, which "decays"; or can go through disintegration stages, the final of which is a white, brittle, powder."
 
Giving everyone an update -

The ring designer wrote back...she has no idea why the micro pave part of the setting was yellowing. She reiterated that the ring was completely platinum, including the fillings. She recommended that I get the ring ultrasonically cleaned, and if the spots are still there, to bring it back to her to fix.

I took the ring to Charleston Alexander in VA and this is what happened: The technician used the ultrasonic cleaner to try and clean the ring. When the ring came out, those spots were still there. She then tried scrubbing the halo, but again, the spots were still there.

She then examined the ring with a loop, and noted that it looked like some sort of "gold" was used to solder parts of the ring. In her opinion, she said it was possible that soldering was needed AFTER the little diamonds were set. She explained to me that once diamonds are set, you should not use platinum to solder as it could damage the diamonds, so she thinks that some sort of gold (yellow maybe) was used to solder.


She said that we could have it re-plated with rhodium, but that the yellowing was likely to happen again, and we''d have to continually replate
it. The other option she suggested was that we get the ring reset. Either way, she said that this kind of yellowing should not happen so soon.

I also contacted an independent appraiser in the DC area. She took one look at the picture I took of the spots and immediately said that gold was used to solder.

So, my FI and I e-mailed the ring designer and we''re waiting back on what she says.
 
Well at least you know what the cause of the the cause of the yellow spots are now.
I thought that YG solder might be the cause...

My ring was brought down a size and the original jeweler used YG solder to close the seam in the shank and then dipped it in rhodium to hide the gold solder. W/I a year the seam where the ring had been sized opened up, so I had it laser welded to close it. I don''t think you could laser weld that close to stones though.
 

Hi everyone!


I spoke with the ring designer today. She called me earlier today to apologize for everything. She reiterated how everything she used personally was platinum, right down to the soldering. She told me that she left a message for the person who set the ring to confirm whether he used anything other than platinum.


My FI and I made an appointment with her on the 21st. We''re going to drop the ring off at her studio in Philly. She said that she is going to try a few buffing techniques and if that does not work, she will reset the ring. I think my FI and I are going to insist on her resetting the ring when we see her in person. I''d hate for her to try something, and inadvertently damage one of the diamonds.


I feel pretty good about the situation - she was really apologetic and said that something like this has never happened before.


So, I''ll post again when we know more information.


And, thanks again for all the input and encouraging messages.
 
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