White Gold ring tarnished after 3 weeks

TheUnderfaker

I bought a wedding ring at H Samuel in October last year. Only got married at the end of January so have been wearing the ring for around a month now. It's a white gold ring with a satin matte finish band in the middle.

After 3 weeks Mrs Underfaker asks me if the band around the middle of the ring was always gold. It wasn't, so I contacted H Samuel via email who advised me to go to a store where I should speak to an advisor. Fair enough.

I went in today to request an exchange and said I'd pay the difference if I wanted a more expensive ring. They wouldn't hear any of it. The repeated that it's just wear and tear, it happens to all white gold and I probably don't know that. I argued that I was aware that white gold tarnishes and needs to be dipped/replated to maintain the white gold appearance, but it shouldn't have deteriorated so quickly. This is normal wear and tear, it's just a poor product.

I got nowhere anyway and still have the ring. Attached some images of what it looked like new vs what it looks like now.

Any comeback here for me? I've complained to H Samuel again via email but I don't think I'll get anywhere

TheUnderfaker

More images

TheUnderfaker

Image of new ring. Apologies I couldn't get all the images to attach to the same post.

BeardySi

That raised band around the middle will wear the plating off very quickly. Everything your wife handles will wear directly on it. That said 3 weeks seems very fast indeed unless she was working with abrasive materials or something like that!

For reference, the rhodium plate on my wedding ring was on an inset band across about 80% of the width of the ring (yellow gold) and it took about 4 years to wear off.

silver2020

TheUnderfaker wrote: »

I bought a wedding ring at H Samuel

I've identified the problem for you there

H Samuel sell nothing but over priced utter sh1te - the jewellery version of the likes of DFS that sell over priced sofas with their 50% off "after event price" con offers.

silver2020

silver2020 wrote: »

I've identified the problem for you there

H Samuel sell nothing but over priced utter sh1te - the jewellery version of the likes of DFS that sell over priced sofas with their 50% off "after event price" con offers.

Interesting summation. I doubt HS claim to be at the top end of the jewellery market, but they obviously cater for a certain percentage of buyers.

TheUnderfaker

silver2020 wrote: »

I've identified the problem for you there

Realizing that now. I'll know better for my next marriage

antodeco

Has she been using more hand sanitizer the last few weeks? That will strip the ring very quickly

antix80

You probably shouldn't have gone with white gold.
Best you'll do before needing a dip is 6mth to a year.
But if she wears it daily, sweats, uses soap, moisturisers or hand cream, alcohol hand sanitizer, or it's exposed to detergents.. She might get a few months max. I think you probably should have done more research before going with white gold.

looksee

Sadly the comment about H Samuel is pretty relevant. If they are not prepared to do anything about it maybe you could consider having the gold melted down and incorporated into a better quality ring by an independent jeweller. Maybe to celebrate your first anniversary?

Three weeks is ridiculous though, you could get a professional opinion (again, independent jeweller) and go through small claims or have a look here: https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/how-to-complain/complaint-letter-templates/

Like most people my age I have a simple, plain gold wedding ring that does not look significantly different after wearing it for just over 50 years.

silver2020

Dav010 wrote: »

Interesting summation. I doubt HS claim to be at the top end of the jewellery market, but they obviously cater for a certain percentage of buyers.

When the CEO of the group (Ratners) that used to own H Samuels says that one of the sets of earrings was "cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn't last as long." It tells you everything.

Frankly I don't think they've changed much.

antix80

looksee wrote: »

Sadly the comment about H Samuel is pretty relevant. If they are not prepared to do anything about it maybe you could consider having the gold melted down and incorporated into a better quality ring by an independent jeweller.

Assuming you're being facetious.

I'd be more inclined to get it dipped and flog it saying it's on sale for X but you're selling it refurbished for Y

Pkiernan

Make a demand for a refund in writing, not just email.

If no response file a Small Claims. Let a judge decide.

Gooser14

antix80 wrote: »

Assuming you're being facetious.

I'd be more inclined to get it dipped and flog it saying it's on sale for X but you're selling it refurbished for Y

Just Google Gerald Ratner.

mirrorwall14

For comparison this hasn’t been dipped since before the wedding in 2011. I have had it off for maybe six months twice due to hugely swollen hands in pregnancy. Yes they need dipping now but 3 weeks is honestly mental!

TheUnderfaker

Thanks everyone for your input. I submitted a written complaint with their head office, who contacted the store to resolve the issue.

Got a call from the store manager who told me to bring the ring in and they'd sort it for me. I've exchanged the ring and put the full price towards a better one. They gave me a 15% discount on the new ring as a good will gesture.

Happy out now. It pays to shout a bit sometimes