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Metal Allergies?

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crossmyfingers

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Do any of you lovely ladies (and gentlemen!) have metal allergies, or do your significant others? How do you deal with it? What kind of ring did you end up getting or do you plan to get?

I can''t figure out what metal I am allergic to. I know 10k gold doesn''t work from a few different rings in the past. Some random metal in a $10 ring from a mall store blistered my fingers this summer, bummer because it was a great looking ring. I''m hoping platinum will work for my future e-ring. I want to buy myself a right hand ring since I had to recently retire my trusty sterling silver ring after it also blistered my hand. Maybe 18k gold could work? I''d like to stay low-end on price but just have something simple to wear on my right hand. It feels naked now that I''m not wearing anything!
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I''d love to hear if any of you have any advice as to what to try. Or if any of you know whether any particular online jewelers have good return/exchange policies for when I do get my e-ring. And yes, I am looking at policies myself too, just hoped you all might have some good suggestions.
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ChloeTheGreat

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Dec 25, 2009
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Sorry to hear you have such an inconvenient allergy!
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I have had reaction to CHEAP metals, but I don''t know what to tell you about the high quality stuff. Hope you find something that works for you!
 

LtlFirecracker

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I am allergic to nickel. I am wondering if my temp setting has some nickel in it, because a couple times my skin was starting to look dry in that area, but nothing too bad. It could have just been dry skin.

I got my earrings set in platinum because I didn''t want to risk it. My ears are very sensitive and I have had reactions to 18kt gold and WG. But my hands have not had the same issues.
 

Luckyeshe

Ideal_Rock
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I also have a metal allergy and I know that I''m allergic to nickel. I wear WG or YG and I only buy my sterling silver from Pandora. Most of the time I wear silver, I normally have a bad reaction, but not with Pandora. When you react to jewelry, is it immediate? Buy some small pieces of wg, yg, or silver and see if you react. Tell the SA you have metal allergy and may be returning the merchandise if you are allergy. Most of the SAs I''ve spoken to have been very good at helping me if I do end up allergic to their jewelry. Good luck! Hope that helps!
 

monarch64

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Yes. I have a nickel allergy. I am able to wear 14k/18k/platinum though, thankfully. I know of some who are even more sensitive and cannot even wear 14 or 18k gold, whether it is white or yellow. Platinum and palladium are purer metals and if you can wear those you are in luck.

Sterling, if rhodium-plated, is also acceptable for my skin, although only on surfaces that aren''t pierced. My earlobes for whatever reason are far more sensitive than my wrists, neck, etc. As a jewelery-lover it is quite an annoying affliction!
 

monarch64

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Date: 12/29/2009 12:05:46 AM
Author: Luckyeshe
I also have a metal allergy and I know that I''m allergic to nickel. I wear WG or YG and I only buy my sterling silver from Pandora. Most of the time I wear silver, I normally have a bad reaction, but not with Pandora. When you react to jewelry, is it immediate? Buy some small pieces of wg, yg, or silver and see if you react. Tell the SA you have metal allergy and may be returning the merchandise if you are allergy. Most of the SAs I''ve spoken to have been very good at helping me if I do end up allergic to their jewelry. Good luck! Hope that helps!
Luckyshe, I have a Pandora bracelet as well and have been fine with it for a couple of years. However, SO just gave me a Pandora clip as well as some "knock-off" charms (a Dorothy/Wizard of Oz charm and a dangly guitar, even though Pandora makes the guitar one
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) I sound ungrateful, I''m sorry. But I think both of those knock-offs are pewter and I am waiting for my wrist to break out before I end up having him return the charms. Pandora''s sterling and Tiffany''s I have never had a problem with.
 

fuzzers

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Jul 15, 2008
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Hey, crossmyfingers. It sounds like you''re allergic to nickel. I had the same kind of reaction with a $10 mall ring... itchy blisters around my finger. Not pleasant! I can wear white/yellow gold rings though without any problems. I''ve never tried platinum! I hope you find something that works for you!
 

AustenNut

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It''s been awhile since I''ve worn any silver rings, but come to think of it I did start to blister under one. Anyway, I wear 14k white gold and have been fine. They also have come out with a white gold that is alloyed with palladium rather than nickel, so if you use that then it may prevent an allergic reaction. Palladium and platinum are also supposed to be fine for people with nickel allergies (palladium costing much less than platinum). And as far as silver goes you may want to consider Argentium silver. I''ve never used it myself but I''ve heard good things about it, and I think Julia Kay Taylor uses it a lot.
 

audball

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A friend of mine is allergic to just about everything but they had her engagement ring cast in palladium and they haven''t had any trouble, it''s affordable from most vendors too!
 

Lanie

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I have an allergy to nickel. I can''t wear many earrings and cheap rings give me rashes. When I was looking at rings with my then boyfriend, we looked at platinum and palladium. I wanted palladium and there are a couple of companies that sell them but if you ever needed a repair on your ring, it''s next to impossible to find a jeweler who will work on a palladium ring. Believe me, I wanted one especially after seeing the huge price difference. Scott Kay has a palladium line that we looked at through Bailey banks and biddle (if they are still in business!) Palladium looks similar to platinum but there is a difference. Long story short, we got platinumrings for the both of us and no problems at all. I can''t imagine being allergic to my wedding ring! Good luck!!!
 

AprilBaby

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I am allergic to nickel so I wear 14kt yellow gold. I cannot wear white gold of any kind. Platinum would work, as would palladium. 10 kt yellow gold has too much nickel. BTW, It is illegal to put nickel in white gold in Europe so if you had your heart set on wg, try a European vendor?
 

Katydid321

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I have no idea what I''m allergic to in terms of metals. It depends on the day, I swear! I''ve found that I''m ok with gold after a few days of wearing it. I''ll have a reaction the first couple of days, but then I''ll be ok. Anything other than gold and I''m in BIG trouble. Good luck!!
 

crossmyfingers

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Thanks for all the replies everyone.

I bought a 14k white gold band to see if it breaks me out, it should come in any day now. Maybe it will work? I told the SA that I''m seeing if I''m allergic to it, and they said I have 60 days to return it, even if it has been worn, for a full refund. So why not? If it doesn''t work, I might splurge a little and get a platinum RHR for myself... Partly to test for allergies, mostly just to have a nice RHR.
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I''ve already told my BF we most likely will have to get platinum for my e-ring, and he was really understanding about it. But I''m going to research palladium right now. I''ve read about golds and platinum but not palladium yet. Thanks for the mention of that!
 

Erin

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I''m also allergic to nickel. Found out in the 3rd grade when I wore my new candy hearts necklace I got for my birthday and my neck was all splotchy and itchy.

I can wear 14K for short periods of time, but then that area gets rashy. I am fine with 18K. My boyfriend says, "How convenient."
 

crossmyfingers

Shiny_Rock
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Follow-up time. I picked up my 14k white gold band this weekend. I think I''ll be taking it back this week. (I have 60 days to return it, so thankfully I''m not worried about that.)

The salesperson was really pushy and made me uncomfortable - I shouldn''t have bought from that store, honestly, and I''m not sure why I did. I originally wanted to try 18k white gold, but she told me that 18k white gold "never looks white" because of the yellow gold content. What? I''ve seen several on this board that look shiny and white in 18k gold. So I gave up on arguing with that and went for 14k white gold. I know I shouldn''t have, but I didn''t want to argue any more with her.

Too bad though! Because then when I used the ring sizer to see what size I wanted, I told her I wanted 7.5, and she informed me that was much too loose, that I needed a 7 instead. The 7 took a *lot* of wiggling to get on and off, I was really cold at the time so my hands were already as small as they ever get. I explained that my hands swell a lot later in the day or when I''m warm or exercising. She still insisted I need a 7, that otherwise I would certainly lose the ring. Well, now that I have it, the 7 will not fit my right hand, and barely even fits my left hand - and since it''s actually a wedding band, BF is uncomfortable with me wearing that on my left hand. (He pokes fun at me anyway if I wear anything on that finger so far, but this is definitely not going to fly.) And the last thing I need from everyone who keeps asking me when I''m getting engaged is "why are you wearing a band?!"

Long story short: we won''t be buying my engagement ring from that store. No way.

(And my BF is comfortable getting my e-ring in platinum (
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), so I''ll probably just wait till then to see if my hand freaks out or not.)
 

Revana03

Rough_Rock
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Jul 20, 2009
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i am one of the freak like .00005% of the population allergic to platinum (and pretty much any alloy with nickel in it) My sweet fiance and i found this out the hard way the morning after he proposed when my finger looked like a sausage with a big sparkly jammed onto it. He had spent so much time researching and thought platinum would be fool-proof as far are offsetting the risk of any kind of allergic reaction. Most platinums are actually alloys with 5% nickel content; my DF went the extra mile and got 100% platinum (well the replacement of nickel in the alloy is irrhodium, which is in the platinum family). I had to have my ring dipped in white gold and will need to do this probably once ortwice a year from now until forever
 

crossmyfingers

Shiny_Rock
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Date: 1/13/2010 1:01:17 AM
Author: Revana03
i am one of the freak like .00005% of the population allergic to platinum (and pretty much any alloy with nickel in it) My sweet fiance and i found this out the hard way the morning after he proposed when my finger looked like a sausage with a big sparkly jammed onto it. He had spent so much time researching and thought platinum would be fool-proof as far are offsetting the risk of any kind of allergic reaction. Most platinums are actually alloys with 5% nickel content; my DF went the extra mile and got 100% platinum (well the replacement of nickel in the alloy is irrhodium, which is in the platinum family). I had to have my ring dipped in white gold and will need to do this probably once ortwice a year from now until forever

Oh wow, thanks for posting! I don''t think I''ve seen anyone post about having any reactions to platinum (or, well, the tiny bit of alloy in it). I''m worried I might be in that little ''freak'' percentage with you. If I am, I''ll look at getting an alloy other than nickel, or getting it dipped/coated/treated somehow. Thanks for the heads-up!
 

LilyKat

Brilliant_Rock
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Jun 8, 2009
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835
By far the most common jewellery allergy that people have is nickel (as can be seen from this thread!). So, I would avoid that.

Different companies use different alloys. Some platinum is alloyed with nickel; most isn''t. Most, but not all, white gold is alloyed with nickel. When choosing a ring, you will need to ask the vendor which of their settings are nickel-free. Also make an agreement with the vendor before you buy that you can exchange the setting if you turn out to be allergic to it (most will agree to this, perhaps for a small restocking fee).
 

kthor6

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
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Odyssey of Identifying my Metal Alleriges (Nickel and Iridium)-- Advice and Questions

I developed allergies on my hands to both gold and platinum apx. 3 years ago when I became pregnant. They are unabated to date. Topical steroids are an option, but certainly not for long term use, i.e. a watch or wedding band. I note many of you who have posted have referred to the use of Elidel, but at least as to use by children, it has been pulled from the market. (My daughter was on it for a year and the FDA made a decision that there was not enough long-term testing for children and possibility of increased cancer risk. I believe that it is still approved for adult use, though.)

Things I can wear on my hands without reaction: 24 (almost) kt gold jewelry made by Gurhan, as the alloy is thought to be brass. I have not had this jewelry tested by a lab, so it is my jeweler's guess (Zadok out of Houston) on the alloy.

Things I cannot wear on my hands: 900 platinum (lab tests on ring showed presence of alloys of apx. 5.6% iridium, 3.2 % rhodium, and .03% nickel), 18 kt yellow gold, 18 kt white gold.

Through extensive research, I have identified the most likely culprits: nickel and/or iridium, which both have multiple medical and epidemiological studies showing dermatitis/eczema reactions to nickel and iridium dermal exposure. Though the nickel levels in the 900 platinum ring I tested are very low, they are thought to be much higher in another white gold ring I wear which also causes reactions. Oddly, an 18 kt Cartier tank watch which my jeweler (who reps for Cartier) assures me has no nickle, also causes the same contact dermatitis. I have not had it lab tested.

I have ruled out rhodium as a possible culprit in the 900 platinum ring-- I did extensive searches of medical abstracts/studies and found no published findings on rhodium allergies via dermal contact. (Note there was a possibility of allergic reaction to rhodium fumes, but that would not be at issue for dermal contact with jewelry.) That leaves the iridium and trace nickel levels.

So, here is the QUESTION-- My dear husband is having a setting custom made for me in NYC for a ridiculously large, though much appreciated, diamond ring for our 10th anniversary. Think 10 carats for 10 years (2 ct side stones and 6 ct center stone-- princess cut). Anyway, the jeweler is using 995 platinum. (Other alloy is still unknown to me but assured as not being iridium or nickel.). I have read much in these posts about about the 999 Memorie Purity Collection and the very high Vickers hardness levels they achieve because of the casting process used. I can't use one of their settings, because there is nothing they have that can accommodate these size stones. SO.... How do I insure that the jeweler in NYC making this custom setting with 999 platinum gets the necessary Vickers levels to hold stones of this size? What type of reputable lab can do the testing for us? And should the jeweler be sending it out for testing and verifying Vickers levels before we take possession?

Thanks to any who can help on this.
 

kthor6

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
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3
Cost of lab testing--

FYI: the cost of the lab tests I mentioned above was very reasonable ($85), compared to the pieces at issue.
 

kthor6

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
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I saw your reference to iridium being present in your new band. Though less common than nickel, this is also a possible culprit. (See my long post below about lab-testing and studying medical studies.) I saw no studies linking rhodium to dermal allergies. You then mentioned dipping the ring in white gold in the future, which I think might be a bigger problem because you are back into the nickel problem again as present in most white gold. Talk to your jeweler about a rhodium coating. That might be the trick.
 
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