troubles cleaning platinum e-ring

[ficklefaye]

i hope everyone is having a good weekend. anyway, last week i noticed some black spots on my platinum e-ring, so i brought it into my jeweler to have it cleaned in the ultrasonic. i inspected it again yesterday and the same black spots were there.

i don''t wear my e-ring much because i would knock it around too much at work, so i''m sad that it''s dirty and not even the ultrasonic can clean it. do any of you have ideas on how i can clean off the black spots? my FI wants to use a needle to try to loosen them. is that a far fetched idea?

is it possible that the black spots could have come from a bad soldering job? i notice the black spots tend to be where the prongs meet the basket setting.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I could be that some polishing compound is stuck down in the little nooks and crannies. Did you mention it to your jeweler? What did he/she say?

 

[Bliss]

Uh oh. It sounds like a bad soldering job with maybe an alloy that had white gold or other non-platinum metal in it? I remember reading a recent thread with the OP mentioning this happened to her. It was a Fay Cullen ring?

ETA: here's the thread. Does it sound like this is happening to your ring? I hope not. (HUGS)

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/fay-cullen-buy-at-your-own-risk.110331/

 

[ficklefaye]

i mentioned it to my jeweler, he said that it could be because i wore my ring while i washed my hands, the soap deposits and all, after he brought it out of the ultrasonic, i was so wowed about the new shininess that i didn''t notice the black spots were still there

i guess it was my fault for not inspecting it before i left the store

i don''t think i can go to the jeweler again until next week because he is across town so i am trying to find some way to clean it myself

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

While soap, etc can collect in the nooks of a ring, I''ve never seen it be BLACK. Seriously, take it to another nearby jeweler and get a second opinion.

 

[beach]

I agree. From the information that you provided, it sounds like a poor soldering job. The jeweler should consider laser welding with platinum rather than using another alloy that will pit etc... However, not every jeweler has a laser welder because they are expensive. If you ever get a ring resized/fixed, ALWAYS get it laser welded IMO. Soldering joints usually appear over time.

 

[ficklefaye]

thank you, hudson_hawk and bliss. i was worried that it would be something with the platinum work. it was custom and they initially mounted the diamond lopsided so they had to do it again. i don''t know what type of material they used when they unmounted and remounted. i''ll see if i can run it by another jeweler.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 3/22/2009 12:49:43 AM
Author: ficklefaye
thank you, hudson_hawk and bliss. i was worried that it would be something with the platinum work. it was custom and they initially mounted the diamond lopsided so they had to do it again. i don''t know what type of material they used when they unmounted and remounted. i''ll see if i can run it by another jeweler.

If you''ve has work done on the prongs and that''s where the black stuff is, then it definitely could be the source of the problem.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 3/22/2009 12:46:13 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
While soap, etc can collect in the nooks of a ring, I''ve never seen it be BLACK. Seriously, take it to another nearby jeweler and get a second opinion.

Yes please get another opinion. Soap alone won''t do this. It''s obviosly from soldering material left behind....

 

[ficklefaye]

oh now i''m getting worried. is this something that a jeweler can fix?

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I''m sure they can come to a solution that takes care of the problem and is mutually agreeable.

 

[ficklefaye]

strange as this may sound, i bought some needles today and FI was able to scrape off the mystery black stuff from my e-ring, i dipped it in the cleaner, wiped it down with a lint free cloth and its good as new!

thank you so much for the help tho.