Resizing platinum ring with white gold?

[Twinkle_Twinkle]

Hi,

Is it common procedure for a jeweler to resize a platinum ring up by inserting white gold into the band? Or is it possible for platinum to have variations in color?

I purchased a platinum ring some time ago, took it to my local jeweler to have it sized up, was quoted a (verbal) fee of $100, and I agreed to it. Two days later, my ring was ready to be picked up, and I was charged a final price of $180 for the resizing.

Anyways, to make a long story short, I paid for the service and took the ring home. I thought the underside looked a bit yellow in comparison to the white of the rest of the ring, but I put it out of mind since, surely, with the price I paid, the new metal insert had to be platinum and not white gold.

One of the prongs wound up cracking later on, so I took the ring to a different jeweler in my old hometown to have the prong fixed. I asked him about my concern that white gold had been added to the ring to increase the size, but he took a look and assured me that it was all platinum.

The damaged prong had to be fixed with white gold solder, and it's fairly easy (for me) to tell the difference in color between it and the other three prongs. When I took a picture of the ring, the white gold on that particular prong looks terribly similar in color to the insert in the bottom of the band. I don't know what to think now about the work done on it.

I no longer wear this particular ring, and I am considering advertising it for sale in my local paper; however, I'm not sure if I should lower the price because the band is possibly not entirely platinum.... Any thoughts?

 

[TheDoctor]

Remove the diamond and scrap the ring, it has been ruined by the amount of non-platinum material added. White gold solders corrupt the platinum and can be used sparingly in particular instances, but your ring has been soldermized. Selling the mount to someone else will be like passing along a viral illness.

 

[Twinkle_Twinkle]

So, are you thinking that the ring size was increased with white gold and not platinum? I know for a fact that the prong was fixed with white gold, but the underside is still a question for me.

Any suggestions on how/where to scrap the ring?

 

[TheDoctor]

We have seen this sort of thing before. Not common but it does happen in shops where the benchies don't give a damn, or don't know what they're doing. The price you paid for that service was objectionable. Hard to tell from the photo whether the added piece is indeed a different metal, but it could be. The solder, and the amount of it showing, is the worst of it though.
Proper retipping is not done with solder, it is accomplished by adding a piece of identical prong material and soldering it in place, then carefully blending the new piece to match the profile. Sounds like the second jeweller wasn't any better than the first.

I don't know what to suggest for where to sell the platinum. Check your local yellow pages and call a manufacturer, not a retailer.
You should be paid a scrap value of about $38.00 per gram minimum. Have the buyer cut the diamond out while you are there so that you won't be worried about being taken advantage of...

 

[february2003bride]

Remove the diamond and scrap the ring, it has been ruined by the amount of non-platinum material added. White gold solders corrupt the platinum and can be used sparingly in particular instances, but your ring has been soldermized. Selling the mount to someone else will be like passing along a viral illness.

Ditto. Also, I had my platinum ring sized up and was charged $60.00. I called two other jewelers to compare and was quoted the same price. To pay $180 and they used white gold, they completey ripped you off. Looking at the inside of my platinum ring, there is no color difference.