Will polishing platinum rings once a year wear them down?

[Squizabel]

Just that, really. I love the shiny look. They aren't particularly delicate rings but I want them to last a lifetime. Jeweller says it's fine but I've read mixed things on the internet.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Do you already have the rings? Mine hasn't been polished in 4 years and still looks fine. I personally would not polish every year.

 

[OoohShiny]

I recall reading/being told that polishing Pt doesn't wear it down, just move the surface layer around to flatten the peaks/fill the dips caused by scratches.

That said, it would seem intuitive that some material must surely be removed over time!

 

[SeekingClarity]

I recall reading/being told that polishing Pt doesn't wear it down, just move the surface layer around to flatten the peaks/fill the dips caused by scratches.

That said, it would seem intuitive that some material must surely be removed over time!

I was under the same impression and it seems to be supported by Victor Canera. The following details were pulled from his website on comparing platinum to gold.

https://www.victorcanera.com/education/jewelry/platinum-vs-gold

Platinum by its nature is more of a "chewy" metal as opposed to gold which is more brittle. Both metals scratch over time with everyday wear but with Platinum these scratches don't remove metal content from a jewel. Polishing or re-polishing of a platinum jewel will result in almost no loss of weight or metal content whereas with gold, a jewel might lose roughly 10% of its weight. Therefore a Platinum jewel can be re-polished much more safely than a gold piece. Gold pieces lose much more metal content after a re-polishing compared to Platinum. This could be vital in areas such as prongs or beading on a pave piece which after re-polishing could severely weaken these prongs. A Platinum piece therefore will better stand the test of time and will be more durable than a gold jewel.

Alistair has told me that platinum scratches quite easily in his experience and is much harder to polish. Perhaps this is because it is denser and "filling in the scratches"?

 

[Squizabel]

Thanks very much all. Diamond seeker, I have the rings already and they are a year old - they are not badly scratched at all, it is more a "mind clean" thing of wanting them to look brand new again. Ooooohshiny and SeekingClarity, yes that's what I'd heard too - it's the "almost" no loss that bothers me - it must be something, but if it can last say 50 polishes before noticing a difference that's fine. But maybe it's 5? Or less? I wonder if it depends on the skill of the polisher too? So much unknown...

Maybe I am over thinking it as chances are I will want to upgrade or something before it wears out!

 

[WinkHPD]

In my long time in the industry, I sold my first gems in 1970, I have had the experience of seeing many platinum rings that were in excess of 50 years old. Often by the granddaughter of the original owner whose grandmother and mother wore the ring before she received it.

Some were beat up, badly, and some were pristine. It always depends on the care that was given the ring. ALMOST NEVER did I see one that could not be relatively easily be restored to wearable beauty with a good polishing and an occasional prong retipping.

A gold ring that old almost always was with a paper thin shank, a broken shank and worn out or lost prongs. It was sometimes not possible to restore the ring to a safe wearable state. I do not know how many times a platinum ring can be polished, but it is A WHOLE LOT, in my opinion.

In my opinion, if you are having an heirloom quality ring designed in white metal, start out with platinum, it will get many more years of wear than the same ring built in white gold.

Wink

 

[Squizabel]

Thanks Wink, that's great to know. Appreciate your input.

 

[SeekingClarity]

Apologies if this is the wrong place to be asking, but I thought it was related...

In a similar vein, will a ring with a brushed or satin finish lose much metal by being refinished? Is it significantly different for gold vs platinum? I'm assuming the answer is quite similar re: polishing, but I wasn't sure if the two processes were similar enough to make draw that conclusion. Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated!

Cheers,
SC

 

[Brian Knox]

OP, Once a year should not be a problem with the following caveats:

(1) Any ring with delicate detailing such as hand engraving, mil-graining, etc., needs special care to these design elements, as a high speed polishing wheel will remove metal from a Platinum ring. This also applies to prongs.

(2)If there are any deep dings or dents in the ring surface, these dings are best laser filled before polishing, rather than sanding/polishing down to the level of the dings.

(3) Delicate rings are more of a concern than heavier designs.

SC, IMO, the loss of metal for polishing is roughly equivalent to the metal loss when redoing a textured finish. Gold rings polish much faster (lose metal) on a high speed wheel than Platinum rings.

 

[Squizabel]

Thank you Brian, that's really helpful!