Will Diamonds Burn if you try to solder Sizing Beads?

[ccuheartnurse]

Hi All,

Had another question, posed by a friend of mine & one I can''t answer. Question is, her ring is 3/4 eternity except for a very small sizing bar at bottom. She only needs to go smaller by 1/4 size & doesnt want the ring cut up & manipulated for such a small size. Her alternative is to put in small sizing beads or balls which a local jeweler has said would be 1.8mm (her ring is 2.8mm wide so would be very small). Only the jeweler said that there would be no way to put in Platinum balls because the diamonds would get burned & her only alternative is to settle for white gold balls. Is this the case? And why? She would much prefer platinum since her ring is platinum but if it will result in damaging the diamonds, then there is no question that that is top priority. The balls would be put in just on the outside of her sizing bar on the metal between the holes of the ring.

I should clarify that both her e-ring & wedding band would need to be done. The same jeweler suggested she solder them together & put in only one set of sizing balls. She has no interest in soldering her rings although she wears them 100% together. Her jewelers thought is that maybe with them both soldered, might prevent them from spinning more than they do.

Thougths? Recommendations?

Judy

 

[neatfreak]

I believe it is correct that diamonds can be harmed when platinum is used for soldering (with a torch) due to the really high temps platinum needs. It won't really be an issue to use white gold sizing balls, nothing bad should happen by using gold instead.

I wouldn't solder rings together just in case she ever need to wear them separately, or wants to say get a new ering setting, because then it can be really really difficult to separate them and it could ruin them to try.

If I were her, I would just get the sizing balls OR just get the rings resized, done right, I don't think it's that big of a deal. That's what the extra metal is for, right?

 

[pyramid]

I am sure the jeweller would tell her, well I hope so, but you should never use white gold solder on platinum because it would contaminate the platinum. I don't know the answer regarding using platinum solder to solder beads near diamonds and I know too that the temperature can burn the diamonds.

 

[firebirdgold]

Would the heat-sink putty stuff be effective enough to protect the diamonds?

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 5/26/2007 5:41:18 PM
Author: Pyramid
I am sure the jeweller would tell her, well I hope so, but you should never use white gold solder on platinum because it would contaminate the platinum. I don''t know the answer regarding using platinum solder to solder beads near diamonds and I know too that the temperature can burn the diamonds.

Isn''t this only if the platinum is the metal being heated? If you''re just attaching gold beads ONTO platinum I don''t think the heat from the gold would be enough to heat the platinum to the point of contaminating it. I might not be understanding this correctly, but my understanding was that platinum can only be contaminated if it''s melted, which it couldn''t do at such a low temperature.

Maybe an expert will chime in on this...

 

[pyramid]

Hi neatfreak

What I have read is where people have had a platinum ring resized and soldered with white gold solder that this can ruin the ring because the platinum is contaminated. I don''t now but I wouldn''t think the platinum would be being heated very high in that case because they would just need enough heat to melt the white gold solder. Yes this is only a guess maybe one of the experts will clear this up.

 

[denverappraiser]

I would recommend putting in platinum balls and having someone with a laser welder put them in. The jeweler is correct that platinum soldering temperatures will damage the diamonds. An alternative is to use platinum balls with white gold solder but I really do recommend against this because of the contamination problem mentioned above. White gold onto platinum is pretty much a one-way street. You can’t undo it.

I agree with the jewelers advice of welding them together and using a single set of knobs (again with the laser, not with solder) in order to reduce the spinning and the wear of one ring against the other.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[Manmountain]

"but you should never use white gold solder on platinum because it would contaminate the platinum"

If this was really true, then one should never use platinum solder on platinum because all platinum solders below 1700 contain no platinum.

Depending on the setting, it might be possible to unset enough stones to use platinum solder to solder platinum balls inside. If this is unreasonable, use white gold solder.

Soldering the set together may offer a solution as well. It would keep the set aligned and eliminate the possible need for a second set of balls.