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Problem with engagement ring purchased from Goldsmiths
I purchased in Nov 07 an engagment ring for my fiance from Goldsmiths. It was said to be 18ct gold and cost £1000 plus £100 for guarantee.
My OH has worn the ring for under 3 months and it is now starting to turn yellow. I have been told that white gold is actually yellow and rhodium plated and this must be the plating coming off, and that the only option is to pay £22 to have it replated.
I am very unhappy as to get it replated every few months would end up costing me a fortune. At the time of purchase i asked the difference between white gold and platinum and was advised that platinum was more hard wearing but they never mention coatings or white gold changing colour. What can i do? ?
Re: Problem with engagement ring purchased from Goldsmiths
I have been told that white gold is actually yellow and rhodium plated
Who told you that? That is not quite correct. White gold is an alloy of normal gold and another white metal which will make it white. The word "alloy" means that it homogeneous mixture of the 2 metals, not one on top of the other.
Then, it probably has been plated with rhodium to make it more shiny, this however shouldn't get the ring to turn yellow once that wears off.
I am currently wearing a ring with 18 ct white gold which I have been wearing non-stop for about 8 years, and whilst it is not as "silvery" white as it was, it is most definitely not yellow either, and I can tell you it cost a LOT less than £1000.
Such a coating, if not subjected to undue abrasion, should have a lifetime of, typically, 3 years before it wears through to reveal the gold alloy underneath.
You might want to print it off in fact, considering that it is from the Gold Council, it would be a bit hard to argue against their opinion!
Certainly reading through this, it looks as it if it is the rhodium plating which has worn off, but it shouldn't have so quickly, so with this in mind, what do you want to do? I am assuming that the sentimental value of the ring means your fiancee will be heartbroken if you were to replace it, so this might not be the best solution. I think that you might just want to come to an agreement with the jewellers that they'll re-plate it for free over the next x amount of months/years.
The problem you have is that it is a case of Caveat Emptor yet again. If you didn't ask the right questions (who would, I hear you say? Well yeah. ), they didn't have to volunteer the answers which would have allowed you to possibly make a different choice.
For future reference (wedding ring?), platinum is ALWAYS a better choice than white gold. You get what you pay for, and platinum is expensive for a very good reason.
Good luck, let us know how you get on.
Apologies to people who I was in the process of helping, I may be gone some time.
Re: Problem with engagement ring purchased from Goldsmiths
Just to say that there is actually no such thing as 'white' gold. All gold is alloyed with other materials in order to dilute the 'gold' colour, but the higher the percentage of gold (and 18 carat gold 75% gold) the less of other metal can be used to alloy it so the more 'gold' it will still appear. Most people are aware of this, but it is also a question which the customer usually asks, ie "what is white gold" or "will it keep its shine". It is a tricky one for a jeweller to volunteer otherwise they would never sell any.
All white gold (and a lot of platinum) is plated, usually with Rhodium otherwise very few people would buy and it will never stay in the same condition as the day that it was bought. 18 carat gold being a soft metal will tend to lose the plating fairly quickly (although I would say that 3 months is a little quicker than usual). Most people don't bother getting them replated - just keep the ring shiny with a regular wash and polish.
When it comes to the wedding ring - I would disagree with Bookie - don't get platinum now that you have an 18 carat engagement ring - the harder metal rubbing against the soft gold will wear it away quickly, and 18 carat wears (relatively) quickly anyway - it will undermine the stone setting and wear the shank of the engagement ring. Always use the same grade of metal for the wedding ring, so 18 carat again.
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Any advice given is done so on the assumption that recipients will also take professional advice where appropriate.
If I have been helpful in any way - please feel free to click on the STAR to the left!
Please note that PMs may well not be answered unless they relate to issues which cannot be included in a Forum post, and also because I am only available infrequently at present
Re: Problem with engagement ring purchased from Goldsmiths
Just to say that there is actually no such thing as 'white' gold. All gold is alloyed with other materials in order to dilute the 'gold' colour,
Yes, that's what I said.
When it comes to the wedding ring - I would disagree with Bookie - don't get platinum now that you have an 18 carat engagement ring - the harder metal rubbing against the soft gold will wear it away quickly, and 18 carat wears (relatively) quickly anyway - it will undermine the stone setting and wear the shank of the engagement ring. Always use the same grade of metal for the wedding ring, so 18 carat again.
Only if you wear both rings on the same finger, surely?
Apologies to people who I was in the process of helping, I may be gone some time.
Re: Problem with engagement ring purchased from Goldsmiths
Originally Posted by Sidewinder
The hallmark should just have the assay symbol, maker and '750' inside the shank - unlikely to be anything different.
Well it should contain the manufacturer mark, carat reference, fineness and assay office mark.
If it does not bear the required hallmarks, and the seller has applied a description indicating that it is holly or partly made of gold then the seller has committed an offence (s.1 (a) Hallmarking Act). Funnily, hallmarking is not particularly well enforced (if at all). If the seller has misdescribed the item, they have committed an offence, and the buyer will have recourse for breach of contract.
Re: Problem with engagement ring purchased from Goldsmiths
Originally Posted by Bookworm
Yes, that's what I said.
You did indeed - sorry!
Originally Posted by Bookworm
Only if you wear both rings on the same finger, surely?
I have always thought that engagement and wedding rings were usually worn on the same finger
Well it should contain the manufacturer mark, carat reference, fineness and assay office mark
Which is what I said
If it does not bear the required hallmarks, and the seller has applied a description indicating that it is holly or partly made of gold then the seller has committed an offence (s.1 (a) Hallmarking Act). Funnily, hallmarking is not particularly well enforced (if at all). If the seller has misdescribed the item, they have committed an offence, and the buyer will have recourse for breach of contract
Very true - it is difficult for TS to Police and the average punter will generally only notice something is amiss when their skin turns green!
I would be very surprised if Goldsmiths were guilty of offences under the Hallmarking Act however.
Any advice given is done so on the assumption that recipients will also take professional advice where appropriate.
If I have been helpful in any way - please feel free to click on the STAR to the left!
Please note that PMs may well not be answered unless they relate to issues which cannot be included in a Forum post, and also because I am only available infrequently at present
Problem with engagement ring purchased from Goldsmiths
from Goldsmiths. It was said to be 18ct gold and cost £1000 plus £100 for guarantee.
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), they didn't have to volunteer the answers which would have allowed you to possibly make a different choice. 
Originally Posted by gyzmo
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