Show me your well-worn platinum

[ladyciel]

Hi Everyone,

I don''t have a ring to show off (yet!), but I''m requesting photos from all of you with well loved (read: heavily worn) platinum rings. I''m well aware that platinum rings quickly show scratches from day to day wear, and I realize they can be "fixed" by polishing. What I''d like to see is the look that results from extended wear WITHOUT polishing. I know some people actually like this look, but I''ve never seen it for myself. Your help is appreciated!

Any hey, isn''t this a great excuse to grab a camera and take new pics of your babies??

 

[snlee]

I get my jewelry cleaned and polished regularly but my husband refuses to get his wedding band polished. He's been wearing it daily for almost a year and it's pretty beat up. I'll try to take some pictures later to post.

 

[mrssalvo]

here''s a thread with a couple of pics. try searching patina and you''ll likely find some more info:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/patina-on-platinum-anyone-have-a-picture.24414/

 

[monarch64]

I''ll get on it tomorrow...haven''t taken or posted any pics of my rings for a year now, ha! Mine''s only 4 yrs. old, hope that counts as far as "well-worn!"

 

[rainydaze]

i have a platinum solitaire ering and a 3mm platinum wband, and just had them polished for the first time about a month ago (after 5+ years of wearing them). they were quite dull and i was feeling a little less than in love with them, but after the polishing WOW WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! i had no idea how dull they really got and what a difference that makes in the overall effect!! they were so shiny and made my diamond seem to sparkle so much more! the polishing was free from my jeweler and they did it in 10 minutes while i waited, but already they are starting to wear again. i''m sorry i don''t have before pics, but the link below will show you pics the day of the polishing.

despite the wear, i would still prefer platinum to wg, because i would be more bothered by a yellowing effect and having to replate. that said, i have been looking into a new ering setting and new band, and like the idea of pave for many reasons. one of them being that there is less metal, thus less dulling effect, and the diamonds do all the glimmer work. diamonds don''t dull, after all.....

again i''m sorry i dont'' have patina pics for you, and best of luck with your decision!!


https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/dirty-dame-with-a-polished-princess.61587/

 

[ladyciel]

Thanks for the search tip and link, MrsSalvo. Snlee and Monarch, I''d still appreciate those pics if you can get them! Rainydaze do you know what type of platinum your ring is? I''ve read that there are differences in the plat alloys'' resistence to scratching, which is one of the reasons Mark Morrell insists on the 900-Ir version rather than the 950 which is softer and easier to work with at the bench. I would love to find some examples to see the differences in how the alloys age for myself. So, for anyone with pics, can you also post your alloy type if you know it? Thanks!!

 

[monarch64]

I took some pics earlier but then discovered my battery was low so right now it''s charging and in a couple hours I''ll upload the pics and post them for ya.

 

[monarch64]

Please excuse the not so professional quality of these photos...this one probably best shows how the outside of the rings has developed the patina while the inside just has a few scratches. Btw, my rings are 950, not 900. Back when DH proposed I don''t think he knew that there were different consistencies of platinum. The solitaire setting I have is the jeweler''s basic stock setting with a diecast WG head, we have looked at other settings but I just haven''t gotten around to that project yet, hee hee.

 

[monarch64]

A blurry and blinding bathroom shot, just for fun. I was trying hard to maintain a steady hand and the Scope bottle made the perfect mount for my rings, lol!

 

[monarch64]

Here''s one more in daylight, no flash, so hopefully you can get an idea of what patina looks like in natural lighting. I should probably have taken some outdoors, but we have those horrible 17 year cicadas right now and they scare the heck out of me. I don''t spend much time outside when they''re awake and buzzing around.

Hope these pics give you a better perspective. I agree with another poster who said she''d rather have patina than worry about WG having to be re-plated or rhodium''d due to yellowing. Plus I love the weight of plat.

 

[rainydaze]

Date: 6/10/2007 10:20:32 AM
Author: ladyciel
Thanks for the search tip and link, MrsSalvo. Snlee and Monarch, I''d still appreciate those pics if you can get them! Rainydaze do you know what type of platinum your ring is? I''ve read that there are differences in the plat alloys'' resistence to scratching, which is one of the reasons Mark Morrell insists on the 900-Ir version rather than the 950 which is softer and easier to work with at the bench. I would love to find some examples to see the differences in how the alloys age for myself. So, for anyone with pics, can you also post your alloy type if you know it? Thanks!!

hi ladyciel, unfortunately i don''t know what type mine is..... it is engraved with PLATBB. no idea what that means!!!

 

[snlee]

Here's a picture of my husband's platinum wedding band. He's worn it daily for about a year. I'm not sure if it's 900 or 950.

 

[Girlrocks]

Have you thought about palladium? It has the durability and color of platinum, but it is stronger, so it doesn''t scratch as easily. It doesn''t have to be replated like white gold, and the price is somewhere in between gold and platinum. I recently had my 3 stone white gold ring reset in palladium, I was tired of the re-plating, but I had some of the same concerns as you do as far as the patina and the strength of platinum. I have been very happy with the palladium, the hardness is between that of white gold and platinum, however, it doesn''t wear away as gold does.

 

[monarch64]

Ladyciel, looking forward to hearing your responses...

 

[ladyciel]

Thanks for the photos, Monarch and Snlee! As for the palladium, I don''t know if the jewelers my fiance-to-be is considering even offer the option to work with it. I do like the weight of platinum, so that would be one downside to going w/ palladium...

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 6/11/2007 1:20:56 AM
Author: snlee
Here''s a picture of my husband''s platinum wedding band. He''s worn it daily for about a year. I''m not sure if it''s 900 or 950.

if it isn''t stamped then it is prob 950 - I think if it is less than 950 they have to say plat 900 or plat 850 etc.

 

[monarch64]

Date: 6/13/2007 3:29:18 AM
Author: Cehrabehra

Date: 6/11/2007 1:20:56 AM
Author: snlee
Here''s a picture of my husband''s platinum wedding band. He''s worn it daily for about a year. I''m not sure if it''s 900 or 950.

if it isn''t stamped then it is prob 950 - I think if it is less than 950 they have to say plat 900 or plat 850 etc.

Ditto.

 

[Skippy123]

Wow, Monarch, your ring is gorgeous!

 

[monarch64]

Date: 6/13/2007 9:51:39 PM
Author: Skippy123
Wow, Monarch, your ring is gorgeous!

Skippy, you sweetheart...those are probably the most unflattering shots of my ring I''ve posted here!

You just made my whole week, LOL!

 

[snlee]

Date: 6/13/2007 9:50:40 PM
Author: monarch64

Date: 6/13/2007 3:29:18 AM

Author: Cehrabehra

Date: 6/11/2007 1:20:56 AM

Author: snlee

Here''s a picture of my husband''s platinum wedding band. He''s worn it daily for about a year. I''m not sure if it''s 900 or 950.

if it isn''t stamped then it is prob 950 - I think if it is less than 950 they have to say plat 900 or plat 850 etc.

Ditto.

Good to know. Thanks!

 

[fafa]

Here''s our set of Christian Bauer band. They''re PT 950. We have been wearing them since 2000. You can see how scratch up they look.

 

[fafa]

Hand shot.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 6/14/2007 1:27:48 AM
Author: monarch64

Date: 6/13/2007 9:51:39 PM
Author: Skippy123
Wow, Monarch, your ring is gorgeous!

Skippy, you sweetheart...those are probably the most unflattering shots of my ring I''ve posted here!

You just made my whole week, LOL!

Monarch. . . I have never seen your ring before and it is gorgeous. . . in fact I think you should start a thread in SMTR. Do you have one?

 

[monarch64]

Date: 6/14/2007 5:15:47 PM
Author: Skippy123

Date: 6/14/2007 1:27:48 AM
Author: monarch64

Date: 6/13/2007 9:51:39 PM
Author: Skippy123
Wow, Monarch, your ring is gorgeous!

Skippy, you sweetheart...those are probably the most unflattering shots of my ring I''ve posted here!

You just made my whole week, LOL!

Monarch. . . I have never seen your ring before and it is gorgeous. . . in fact I think you should start a thread in SMTR. Do you have one?

No, I never started a thread for it, I did put it in the e-ring eye candy thread a loooong time ago, I think it''s on page 52 or something, and of course now there are about 100 pages on that thing, lol! I guess since I found PS a few years after I got engaged and married and I didn''t think about starting a thread on it. But one of these days I''ll get ambitious and take some fun pics that don''t involve a bottle of Scope in the bathroom or my living room furniture and start a thread, hee hee!

 

[Skippy123]

Monnie, please do start a SMTR. Sorry for the hijack Lady.

 

[ladyciel]

No worries, Skippy.

Thanks for the pics, Fafa! Do you like the patina? In the photos it looks like it actually makes the engraved line stand out even more, since the lines hold the shine better.

 

[fafa]

Date: 6/15/2007 3:49:05 PM
Author: ladyciel
No worries, Skippy.

Thanks for the pics, Fafa! Do you like the patina? In the photos it looks like it actually makes the engraved line stand out even more, since the lines hold the shine better.

Yes, I like the look of patina. My band has a brush finish when it was new so it wasn''t shiny to begin with. The scratches are not too noticable unless you look at it real close. The engraved line design is still very shiny. It throws off subtle sparkles when my hand moves.

 

[twodoor2]

I have two heavy thick platinum bands, and every time I would get them repolished, they would like terrible in a week, so I finally gave up on platinum. It''s strong and precious, yes, but the scratching drives me crazy. I have a platinum band that weighs a hefty 28 grams (yes I like humongous rings), and everyone thinks it''s silver since it''s so scratched and not that pleasant looking. I think platinum does have one good attribute, if you have a gold prong setting, you need to get it replaced every five years or so if you wear it all the time. Platinum prongs never need replacing. Gold also scratches away and loses weight with time. Platinum never loses its weight, the scratches deflect the proportion of platinum that is scratched away to the outside of the scratch. That''s it''s amazing molecular property, the platinum band your great grandma wore, weighs just as much as it did when she bought it. With platinum, you never have to worry. Therefore, I recommend to get a gold band and platinum prongs for cost efficiency. Pendants are also okay because they don''t get scratched as much, and if you have a very valuable pendant, I would only choose a platinum chain to wear it on. Even the most delicate platinum chains are super super strong. I also would pay attention to the with the platinum alloy since most platinum jewelry is only 950 or 900 parts pure. The best alloys are ones that are part irridium (strongest), and stay away from any platinum alloy with cobalt (cheap and not strong). Here are all my ugly scratched up platinum bands. Aren''t they beautiful ??? - NOT!!!