questions about small dent in WG?

[changcon]

Hi,

I''ve been lurking for a while and have learned a lot from this site (thanks!), but this is my first post.

When my husband and I first got engaged, he gave me a promise ring with a tiny diamond (.05 ct) that he had selected when he went home to visit his parents in Italy.

Now it''s two years later and we''ve upgraded (as much as we can upgrade on a grad student salary of course) with a nice .47 carat diamond from NiceIce. We wanted to duplicate the design of the promise ring for sentimental reasons (my husband had picked out the design himself, etc. etc.) so we went to a jeweler in upstate NY. He discouraged us from platinum and made the ring for us in white gold. I love the final product, but I have a few questions...

1) The jeweler charged $450, is this reasonable for a relatively simply WG design?

2) Can we request the wax mold so that we can have the ring remade in the future should it become necessary without having to pay again for a custom design? What is the protocol for the molds?

3) Most immediately distressing to me is that I''ve noticed a small dent/spot. It almost looks like it could be rubbed away since it''s a localized spot, but it''s definitely there. I was surprised by this since I''ve only had the ring for a week and a half & since I''ve never seen white gold do this. My wedding band is white gold and it''s scratched up, but there are no spots/dents like the one I see on the engagement ring. Scratches I expect on white gold so I''m prepared for that. But can anyone tell me if this spot thing is normal?

I wish I could post pictures, but I don''t have my camera with me at the moment...

Thanks in advance.
-Connie

 

[Rod]

I''m not in the business so my advice doesn''t really mean anything. It seems that you paid a very reasonable price for a custom made ring. I recently had a ring made for myself in platinum (I''m a guy) and my setting was over 4 times the cost of yours. I don''t know about the wax. It seems doubtful they''d have any further use for the wax, but for $450, it wouldn''t seem the wax should be included. Plus, as I understand it, the wax, was actually made out of a mold that is actually ceramic and when the molten metal was poured into the mold and subsequently cooled in water, it likely broke apart, leaving the rough ring you have on your finger. Again, this is only from reading on this site and I could be completely wrong.

The spot you mention, could be Rhodium plating that came off, or if it''s a dent, you might have banged the ring pretty hard. All metals, including white gold can dent if hit hard enough. The only suggestion I''d offer on that is to take it back and let the jeweler who made the ring look at it.

Congratulations on getting your upgrade in a brand new setting. I''m sure it''s beautiful.

Best wishes..........