White gold tarnished after 3 months - can we refund?

Sparkpea

After buying an engagement ring in 18c white gold I always knew it would tarnish eventually. My mums started to tarnish after 3 years and others I've heard had similar things but for this to tarnish after 3 months takes a piss I think. They've said they will replate it FOC if its within the first year but imo this shouldn't of happened in the first place. If I'd have known that I'd have spent the extra and got platinum.

Have I any argument against the jewellers to get it replaced/refunded or upgraded to platinum or whatever. Just wondering what my options are. I'm hoping to go up tomorrow to leave it in to get replated so I would appreciate any advice or info.

Many thanks

amdublin

No it just happens.

I've two white gold rings - both 18ct. One was waaaaay cheaper than the other and it tarnished in about three months. The other one lasted about a. Year.

Yeah they need to be replated regularly enough IMO.

If you are not happy why not pay extra and get it made in platinum?

Sparkpea

well yes that is the plan but after forking out £700 3 months ago I can't afford to fork out another £1,200 especially before our wedding in a couple of months. Guess its something I will save for on the long finger. Surprised/disappointed it didn't last longer.

amdublin

Tbh no one else will notice the tarnishing, just yourself.

Plus more important the engagement/marriage doesn't tarnish compared to the ring!

Good luck with your wedding!

Paulw

This happens to white gold. That's the main reason I didn't go for it on our rings - just went with the normal gold.

They're offering to replate it FOC, so that's as good as it gets.

Fey!

This does happen with white gold.

White gold is mixed 18 parts gold to 6 parts of a metal such as palladioum, leaving yellow as the dominant colour. This is then rhodium plated to give it a white sheen. It's the plating which wears off, leaving the yellow tinge showing through again. The fix for this is to get it rhodium plated again.

Normally you'd replate a ring every 2 years, but it is dependent on what wear the ring is getting. If you are using a lot of chemicals or cleaners it can cause the plate to wear faster.

More likely is that the ring needs a heavier plating, which the jeweller should be able to sort out. 3 months is a very short time for plating to last, but it can happen.

What also sometimes happens is that instead of using a white gold mix, a normal yellow gold ring is used and rhodium plated. The yellow will show through much faster on a ring done like this. Unfortunately for the retailer there is no way of knowing if this has been done until the ring is either worn for a while or cut for sizing.

It may also simply be a fault with the ring, which can happen with any product.

The offer of replacement is a good one. Take it, and hopefully that will sort the issue. Make sure, however, that the offer of the replacement stays true for 12 months after the ring has been replaced.

Sparkpea

Thanks for the info Fey! I've no idea how its got so bad so quickly must of just been badly done, she doesn't do any cleaning or dishes (not 100% sure why I'm marrying her.. lol). All I can say is thank god I only got a cheapy 9c white gold band because my work (plumbing & heating) will have my band wrecked in no time. I'll ask them to redo it with a better/stronger mix if thats possible.

Millicent

Sparkpea wrote: »

Thanks for the info Fey! I've no idea how its got so bad so quickly must of just been badly done, she doesn't do any cleaning or dishes (not 100% sure why I'm marrying her.. lol). All I can say is thank god I only got a cheapy 9c white gold band because my work (plumbing & heating) will have my band wrecked in no time. I'll ask them to redo it with a better/stronger mix if thats possible.

Or, seeings as they're being reasonable, why not, if you can afford it, ask them to offset the cost of the ring off a platinum one and you'll pay them the difference? Worth a try.

ETA: Just saw that said "replated" not replaced. Still a good resolution to the problem.

watna

Fey! wrote: »

This does happen with white gold.

White gold is mixed 18 parts gold to 6 parts of a metal such as palladioum, leaving yellow as the dominant colour. This is then rhodium plated to give it a white sheen. It's the plating which wears off, leaving the yellow tinge showing through again. The fix for this is to get it rhodium plated again.

Normally you'd replate a ring every 2 years, but it is dependent on what wear the ring is getting. If you are using a lot of chemicals or cleaners it can cause the plate to wear faster.

More likely is that the ring needs a heavier plating, which the jeweller should be able to sort out. 3 months is a very short time for plating to last, but it can happen.

What also sometimes happens is that instead of using a white gold mix, a normal yellow gold ring is used and rhodium plated. The yellow will show through much faster on a ring done like this. Unfortunately for the retailer there is no way of knowing if this has been done until the ring is either worn for a while or cut for sizing.

It may also simply be a fault with the ring, which can happen with any product.

The offer of replacement is a good one. Take it, and hopefully that will sort the issue. Make sure, however, that the offer of the replacement stays true for 12 months after the ring has been replaced.

Thanks for the info - great post. I am about to get a ring rhodium plated. My fiance has given me his mother's engagement ring which is yellow gold which I never wear. I'm planning on getting it rhodium plated and presuming it'll need to be done every year or so. Do you think that will be the case or will it wear off sooner? The jeweller we're taking it to has an excellent reputation so I know they'll do a good job.

I'm wondering maybe if I should just get over it and wear it as it is? I really never wear gold though.

A ring tarnishing after 3 months does seem a bit extreme.

Fey!

Personally I tend to recommend not rhodium plating over yellow gold. However, the rate at which the plate wears off varies from person to person and ring to ring, and is most noticeable at the back of the ring (where your finger comes in contact with most surfaces).

Rhodium plating will probably cost €20 to €30. It may be worth trying it out; if it fades very quickly and looks bad, you could always get it taken off again.

Another option would be to put a new shank on the ring. If the head (top) of the ring is white gold or platinum already, then the jeweller just takes off the yellow gold shank and puts on a white gold one, then rhodium plates the whole lot.

As for platinum v 18kt white gold, the platinum costs are roughly twice that of the white gold, and is a harder metal for jewellers to work on. It is also a harder wearing metal than white gold. That said, it is possible to bend or break a platinum claw (the bar which usually keeps the stone in the ring) as easily as a gold one.

Where white gold will show a yellowish tinge after a while, platinum can go a dull grey, which is the colour of the metal itself. It isn't as noticeable as the yellow tinge in the gold, and can be polished or rhodium plated if necessary.

watna

Fey! wrote: »

Personally I tend to recommend not rhodium plating over yellow gold. However, the rate at which the plate wears off varies from person to person and ring to ring, and is most noticeable at the back of the ring (where your finger comes in contact with most surfaces).

Rhodium plating will probably cost €20 to €30. It may be worth trying it out; if it fades very quickly and looks bad, you could always get it taken off again.

Another option would be to put a new shank on the ring. If the head (top) of the ring is white gold or platinum already, then the jeweller just takes off the yellow gold shank and puts on a white gold one, then rhodium plates the whole lot.

As for platinum v 18kt white gold, the platinum costs are roughly twice that of the white gold, and is a harder metal for jewellers to work on. It is also a harder wearing metal than white gold. That said, it is possible to bend or break a platinum claw (the bar which usually keeps the stone in the ring) as easily as a gold one.

Where white gold will show a yellowish tinge after a while, platinum can go a dull grey, which is the colour of the metal itself. It isn't as noticeable as the yellow tinge in the gold, and can be polished or rhodium plated if necessary.

Hmm, interesting. I think I'll give it a go and see how quickly it wears off. I haven't seen the ring yet and I've no idea what it looks like but I'm not sure how well altering the ring beyond Rhodium Plating will go down with my fiance's father. I'm just conscious of sensitivies around using his dead wife's ring. The good thing about Rhodium plating is that it's not permanent.

Also - I was quoted $80 - $100 NZD to get the ring Rhodium Plated. Which is €40 - €50. Stupid NZ prices!

Thanks for the advice - sorry for hijacking the thread as well OP

Xiney

Sorry that this does not help the OP - but 3 months is really shocking!

My husband and I have been married for 5 years, his wedding ring is two tone (so that a watch could be purchased at a later date in either colour) and his bit of white gold is still in relatively good shape!

watna

Xiney wrote: »

Sorry that this does not help the OP - but 3 months is really shocking!

My husband and I have been married for 5 years, his wedding ring is two tone (so that a watch could be purchased at a later date in either colour) and his bit of white gold is still in relatively good shape!

I think 3 months is shocking too. I'm expecting to have to do it every year or so, 3 months is far too soon.

OP - did you get it replated? Did you have to pay? They really should have replated for free as a goodwill gesture.

smelltheglove

My engagement ring was dipped about 2yrs after getting it just to freshen it for the wedding, my wedding ring looked off colour beside it then as it had been sitting in the box for a year. I wonder do they start to fade without wear? As in, in the box you know.

Anyway it only costs around 30 to get them dipped and if you want it nice and fresh looking prob every 3 yrs or so, my engagement ring was done over 3 yrs ago and still looks great though.

Sparkpea

No it hasn't been done yet. I went up on Sunday to speak to them. As far as we where concerned if it was within a year or being bought/dipped then it would be done FOC but this has now changed to doing it once FOC so we've been advised to wait and get it done a few weeks before our wedding in May and apart from that they were not very helpful. I asked could a stronger mix or something be put on it but was told no theres nothing you can do really about it etc.

watna

Maybe it would be worth taking it to another jeweller? See if they agree that there is nothing that can be done. You could use that to go back to the original jeweller then if you wanted.

maryomeara

Instead of Platnum I have heard that pelladdium (wrong spelling) is similar to platnum, hard wearing and looks the exact same except a fraction of the cost.

Might be worth a try or a look into.

Does every jewelers do dipping? or could anyone recommend one in particular?

smelltheglove

I used the jewlers opposite the fountain in Blanch shopping centre. 3 yrs later the ring still looks good, iirc it only cost around 30 euroish

leeomurchu

I think it depends on the qulaity of ring you buy, I've an 18c white gold band. I'm an electrician so it gets fairly abused on site. Looking at it now after 4 years wear it's not in bad shape although it may be a lil oval usual scratches from wear and tear might get it dipped for brother in laws wedding in June. Actually any good jewellers recomended I wouldn't touch fields or applebys (friend bought lovely burned diamond there :mad: )

Oryx

I think dipping is a misnomer. Its electroplating afaik. We never did it on site, Id say a lot of jewellers will send it to a specialist plating outfit. And as for a stronger mix, what you need is a deeper layer of plating.

I refer to Fey! on this as well though. Im out of the scene a long time.

leeomurchu

I think the reference to dipping is a case of common expression obviously dipping a ring in molten metal of any description wouldn't provide even coverage and risk distorting or tarnishing the ring.

Fey!

Oryx wrote: »

I think dipping is a misnomer. Its electroplating afaik. We never did it on site, Id say a lot of jewellers will send it to a specialist plating outfit. And as for a stronger mix, what you need is a deeper layer of plating.

I refer to Fey! on this as well though. Im out of the scene a long time.

This is right; it is electroplating. Most people refer to it as dipping, possibly as it's easier to understand without explanation.

Most jewellers with a workshop will do plating in-house.