I bought my fiancee a diamond, 14kt White Gold Diamond ring about 3 months ago from Jared and just recently, she noticed on the bottom of the band, where the ring i guess contacts just about everything, that the ring is TURNING. I didn't beleive it till I saw it, but it does look almost like yellow gold coming through the ring... Now this was no cheap ring, but when I called Jared, they acted like it was nothing...and all they said was to bring it in and get it Rhodium plated or coated or something.. anyone have any clue what the fuck this means???

12/13/2006 10:47:04 AM

should have bought platinum

12/13/2006 10:47:58 AM

if it is solid 14 kt white gold, i don't know wht it is rhodium plated.

and you should have gone with 18 kt.

12/13/2006 10:49:38 AM

call another jeweler - like a REAL professional jeweler, not somewhere with a dunch of douches trying to get commission - and ask them about the rhodium plating.

if they tell you its bullshit, raise hell at Jared. if its normal, go get it plated.

12/13/2006 11:07:47 AM

I believe all white gold is rhodium plated. It's what makes it so shiny looking. Regular white gold is I have a few rings where it's coming off, and it looks a lot more dull and a bit yellow. That's because white gold is an alloy with normal yellow gold in it. It is normal to have them re-plated every so often. I asked once and I think it costs about $30 to have it done.

^^ 18K is actually more yellowish than 14K

[Edited on December 13, 2006 at 11:10 AM. Reason : .]

12/13/2006 11:10:07 AM

Those Jared commercials are the worst. I'm ready to punch someone if I ever see a Jared's.

12/13/2006 11:10:44 AM

wow, look what a SIMPLE google search turns up
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-50,GGLG:en&q=white+gold+is+rhodium+plated

12/13/2006 11:12:38 AM

3 months sounds fishy...was it resized and not replated?

i remember learning it is a regular maintenance type thing to get it replated annually or something...was an upsell at some stores to have no cost cleaning and replating whenever...

12/13/2006 11:19:56 AM

http://www.dyjewels.com/je_whitegold.shtml

Quote :

"White gold is almost always rhodium plated. It is a common practice in the jewelry trade to always rhodium plate white gold jewelry. Similarly, platinum can be rhodium plated but sometimes it is left in it's natural state. Rhodium is very white, reflective, extremely hard and virtually tarnish proof. Platinum on the other hand normally appears to be a more grayish white and not as bright which is why it is sometimes plated as well unless it has a good amount of palladium in the alloy. When the plating on platinum begins to wear thin you don't notice it as much, but you do on white gold because the alloy is yellowish. This is why we never recommend you purchase wedding bands made in white gold. We realize it is much more expensive in platinum, but it is worth it in the long run. The plating will probably wear off in 1-5 years of you wearing it, depending on how rough you are on the rings, and how much rhodium plating is on the ring. All white gold jewelry will require maintenance at one time or another to keep it looking brand new. To have a white gold ring rhodium plated, you're probably looking at $20-30 for about 0.25-0.50 microns (a human hair is roughly 100 microns). If it is a two-tone ring, it has to be applied by hand with a brush rather than immersing the whole ring in the electroplating tank. So two tone rings will cost more to maintain their white gold appearance. If you want to make a white gold wedding band very durable, you can get it plated with a layer of platinum of palladium of 1.0-1.5 micron thickness, followed a good 2.5-3.0 micron thickness of rhodium plating. This will set you back around $100, however. "

12/13/2006 11:21:43 AM

this is why you never ever get white gold, even good white gold doesnt stay white without taking it in all the time.

12/13/2006 6:32:15 PM

I think Jared will sell you something where all maintenance including rhodium plating, sizing, etc. is free for life for like 35 bucks if you bought the ring there.

12/13/2006 6:38:56 PM

if the setting isnt anything special i'd just wait until you can afford platnum and get the diamond reset at some point

12/13/2006 6:53:21 PM

He went to Jared!

12/13/2006 6:54:18 PM

If you don't trust them, PM me....

Quote :

"if it is solid 14 kt white gold, i don't know wht it is rhodium plated."

Gold is not white..... Gold is yellow.
They add alloys to make it white, then finish it off with rhodium or palladium to make it look white.

Outside example: If you go to starbucks and buy a cup of coffee, you can add as much cream as you like but it will never be purely white.

Copper makes rose gold pink
Rhodium/ Palladium make white gold white
Higher end products use higher percentages of these alloys, and more palladium

Platinum, unfortunately, is talked about poorly by jewelers who a> don't carry it b> don't really know what they're talking about, or have an education on the subject - or- c> don't have a bench jeweler competent enough to work on it well.

Ask questions, and I'll be happy to answer.....

[Edited on December 13, 2006 at 7:52 PM. Reason : ]

12/13/2006 7:44:10 PM

maybe it's covered with polonium....

12/13/2006 7:46:43 PM

cheap ass.

12/13/2006 9:19:10 PM

Rhodium is normal

12/13/2006 9:24:45 PM

Older white gold rings dont turn as fast because they used to use something different, i cant remember what it is though.

When they switched to rhodium because of the environmental hippies, the white doesnt last nearly as long.

Go platinum.

We found this out the hard way after spending alot of money on my wifes engagement ring. We ended up making them take the ring back and buying a platinum ring for almost double the cost.

The only issue with platinum is that it is softer and deforms easier

12/13/2006 9:47:15 PM

^platinum softer than gold? never heard that one before

12/13/2006 10:28:10 PM

platinum is slightly more malleable than gold.

a nice link for the differences in gold and platinum http://www.ringdesigner.com/platinum_versus_white_gold/platinum_versus_white_gold.htm

12/13/2006 10:47:46 PM

Let me get a little more technical for you:

Quote :

"Platinum, which is slightly more malleable, but more dense than Gold, will take on a frosted appearance. Platinum does not micro-scratch the same as Gold, but actually “furrows” instead. The furrowing effect pushes metal to the sides instead of removing material. Visualize the Red Sea parting or a farmer furrowing his field! On the other hand, when Gold is micro-scratched, the Gold metal is actually removed. Sometimes these micro scratches can leave white gold looking a bit yellowish. "

Every year or so, we send her ring back in so the "trenches" can be formed back in on themselves.

12/13/2006 10:49:27 PM

.

[Edited on December 13, 2006 at 11:00 PM. Reason : . doofus button]

12/13/2006 11:00:00 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodium

just like the 'value' and 'qualities' of diamonds.... white gold is a waste....

go platinum with a bigass flawed rock, no one will know the difference and it will look incredible

[Edited on December 14, 2006 at 8:43 AM. Reason : d]

12/14/2006 8:36:37 AM

Quote :

"The only issue with platinum is that it is softer and deforms easier"

One cool things about platium that not many people know is that it is a work-hardend metal....
If you take a sting of gold the size of a spagetti noodle and bend it back and forth, it will snap in the middle where it is weakened....
If you do the same to a 'noodle' of platinum, it will become so hard that you can no longer bend it
Thus, on your engagement ring, if you knock a prong crooked, and the jeweler straightens it, it is now the strongest prong on the ring.
Pretty cool, ehh?

Platinum being softer than gold (or less brittle, rather) is what makes it more durable over time. You lose little metal to everyday wear, while white gold stays "shiny" because you're losing metal every time you hit your hand on something and it is exposing new metal.

The patina (the dull look platinum gets when you have everyday wear on the bottom of the shank) can be polished and refinished in about 3 minutes by any jewelers who have the proper equipment on site. Most any high-end jeweler does.

[Edited on December 14, 2006 at 8:57 AM. Reason : ]

12/14/2006 8:49:29 AM

if you have any questions i'd talk to QTPie - she helped me out with any questions/problems i had when searching for an engagement ring and wedding bands - she's been in the business for 9-10 years i believe

12/14/2006 10:09:20 AM

wow, not that i'm in any remote chance of getting married, but that's good to know QTpie- much thanks

12/14/2006 10:49:17 AM

created diamonds ftw!

12/14/2006 2:02:12 PM