White gold discoloration

 

A. I wouldn't know whether the ring you got is the ring you saw; and I wouldn't know if the original ring was fabricated of yellow gold in some parts and white gold in others, or whether it was yellow gold throughout, and selectively plated with rhodium.

White gold is "whitish", but never the brilliant glittery color of rhodium. But if what you are seeing is actually "yellow" my bet would have to be that the band is rhodium-plated yellow gold and the plating is wearing off.

As far as I know, it is shoddiness to rhodium plate yellow gold because the gold color starts showing through quickly. But it does not violate federal standards because the intrinsic gold worth is still there; so I guess you need to talk to the jeweler about his guarantee.

It can certainly be easily replated with rhodium. Good luck.

A. Ellie & Jennifer, yours is a common complaint we hear all the time.

Much of the white gold being sold in America is a nickel based alloy. It is cheap, has good repairability, and is "whiter" in color than your grandmothers ring. However your grandmothers ring probably used a palladium based alloy which is far superior in terms of wearability and long term beauty and cost more gram per gram. Most white gold today has a rhodium plated surface of about .25 -.50 microns (ref. a human hair is 100-125 microns),sometimes even less. While rhodium is very reflective, hard as nails and almost tarnish proof, the plating is way too thin for good long term wear and will discolor over time (porosity in the rhodium layer).

More often than not the buyer is not told at the time of purchase about the plated rhodium and "assumes" that this is the true color of white gold. About 18 months later the truth starts to reveal itself. Exposure to common household chemicals react with the exposed nickel based white gold and turn the ring to a silver-gray color.

No laws were broken by the way. Unfortunately, you don't have many good choices. Your jeweler can replate it in rhodium and you will be faced with this problem again in a year. You could find a different setting for the stone in platinum or palladium. The next best alternative would be to find a plating service to replate your ring with a layer of platinum or palladium 1.0-1.5 microns followed by a layer of rhodium 2.0-3.5 micron in thickness. You probably could get about 5-7 years or more of good wear before replating would be required again. This will cost about $85-$110. It could be worse, if you get sensitized to the nickel in your ring, skin rashes and discoloration of your finger will be your constant companions.

By the way there are numerous jewelry stores in America who do tell their customer about the rhodium plating. Other stores sell only palladium based alloy white gold without rhodium plating.

Hope this helps, good luck!

A. Are you sure it's yellow gold not white gold? If it's white gold, which is should be, it will remain white (at least grayish). If it's yellow gold it should not have been rhodium plated in the first place. Maybe the white plating can be mechanically removed by a jeweler, but it's not real easy.

A. As time goes on I am learning more and more about this issue. It turns out that in fact there is a voluntary industry standard scale for white gold color, Angelique. The article "White Gold Alloys: color Measurement and Grading" at www.goldbulletin.org/downloads/Henderson_2_38.pdf is a bit detailed and heavy, but it clearly explains everything anyone would want to know about white gold color and the ASTM D1925 standard. Your mom's ring was apparently of Class 1 color and yours is not. You should ask the jeweler what color class it is; s/he probably won't know, but it's a start.

I previously posted an entry about my white gold ring turning yellow. I had it flashed (w/ rhodium) to regain the bright white gold color again. And I haven't had any problems since. I think I know what was causing the discoloration, however. I am an avid swimmer and someone suggested to me that the chlorine could be affecting the discoloration of my ring. I stopped wearing my ring to the pool, and sure enough, I have not had any discoloration. Just a suggestion for any of you avid swim fans!

A. Rhoda,
While there may be some small truth in the claim that the body chemistry of some people is harder on rings than other people, jewelers use that fact as a trick to justify poor quality. To emphasize how bogus it is, ask the jeweler to administer a "body chemistry test" on you and have the results notarized by an accredited laboratory to see whether you are the problem or the ring is the problem,. As David Vinson alluded to earlier on, the low quality of much of today's jewelry is the actual problem.

Rachel,
Please tell the jeweler that the ring set is clearly defective in that it's not a set anymore before you are even married. Demand from them what color the rings are claimed to be per www.goldbulletin.org/downloads/Henderson_2_38.pdf. You have every right to raise hell if you don't get satisfaction. Maybe your local TV station has one of those troubleshooter guys who would like to visit the jewelry store with you and broadcast the jeweler's explanation of why an engagement ring doesn't even last the betrothal period. I'd love to watch that newscast and I'm sure that others would too!

In regards to Mr. Ted Mooney's response to Rachel where he told her to bring a news anchor to some jeweler's store. Mr. Mooney, I worked at a jewelry store for two years, and I sold what I was told to sell. We were not given much information, we didn't know much about what we were selling. We are there because we can sell anything to anyone who will sit and listen. We care about our customer's satisfaction but cannot control the merchandizers and individuals who make the decisions that truly control what it is we sell. So before you bring the pitchforks and news cameras I urge all those reading to pay heed to what Mr. Mooney is saying on matters concerning the science behind rhodium plating and white gold, but I urge you to ignore his ramblings concerning jewelry store associates. I believe Mr. Mooney to be a bit bitter and that he should keep opinions like this which reflect poorly on him to himself and stick to the scientific facts which he seems to know a great deal of.
My regards to all those reading,
L.L.

Ludwig L [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Seattle, Washington
April 8, 2010

---

Hi, Ludwig. I've never had a personal problem with jewelry so I hold no "bitterness". I have no stake in Rachel's situation -- just simple empathy for a heartbroken young couple explaining their suffering and looking for a solution to a problem that the jewelry industry has known about for many years and outright refuses to fix.

Rachel's fiance sold his nice truck to buy her an engagement set she could show to friends and families to share the excitement of one of the most pleasurable phases of life, and the quality of the ring is so low that before they are even married the set doesn't match. She, and the hundreds of other terribly disappointed young women who have posted here, deserve satisfaction. They're not getting it from the jewelry industry, and they're not getting it from the politicians owned by lobbyists, so we can only hope that if the store doesn't make it right that they'll get it from the media.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
April , 2010

A. Let me try to clear things up a little bit. Having read all the tags I find it quite funny that everyone is shocked that their "White Gold" is turning yellow. First off let me say that there is no such thing as "White Gold" in nature. White gold is purely a human creation! The only naturally occurring gold in nature and at all is "yellow". But how do we get white gold you ask? There are two methods. The first method: the ring, chain, etc. could be made out of a gold alloy, which is just yellow gold mixed with another white metal(that occurs naturally in nature) such as platinum, silver, or palladium. Now as you mix the gold with certain metals you will get different outcomes. For instance if you have a gold-silver alloy, there is a chance that the silver in the ring will tarnish, dulling the entire look of the ring. The best choice is a Gold-Platinum alloy, although more expensive you will have it for generations to come and without the fear of the top layer "rubbing off" exposing the yellow gold underneath. For a little cost effectiveness use a gold alloy made of a metal in the platinum family, such as palladium. This will give you the same benefit of the Gold-Platinum alloy but allow you to keep a little more money in your wallet/purse.

The second method: is for the entire piece of jewelry to be made out of yellow gold and then have it plated with a naturally occurring white metal, such as platinum, palladium, or Rhodium. This method usually costs less, but then you have the problem of the top layer wearing off exposing the gold underneath, causing you the additional maintenance this kind of jewelry needs(having it replated every few months or years).

The first method of the gold alloy works the best, but is not 100% fool proof! You should be aware that the higher the karat the more the piece of jewelry will have a "yellowish" tint to it. For 14k jewelry this works great because you have about 55% yellow gold and 45% of the other metal, such as platinum, this balance gives you a nice white metal color. If you get an 18K ring or other piece of jewelry it will have about 75% yellow gold and 25% other white metal, again I'll use platinum. Since there is such a high content of yellow gold in 18K jewelry, the jewelry will have a yellow tint since only 25% of the jewelry is a white metal. That is why most 18K white gold is made out of yellow gold that is just plated, so it will have a nice white color to it, but with the chance of the plating rubbing off.

Its such a shame how jewelers try to trick their consumers by not disclosing everything to them. To be honest if you like "white" colored jewelry just get it made out of platinum, yes its more expensive, but you will never have a problem in your life with it! Now that you are all educated consumers, don't let anyone else fool you when buying jewelry!

A. Hi, Sarah. The first thing to decide is whether you hate the plating or just the frequency of it. You can get the ring properly rhodium plated and the plating will last much longer, a long time -- I don't know exactly how long, but probably a few years.

As mentioned in the FAQ, the reason some people like rhodium plating is that there is nothing that is anywhere near as bright and shiny. So you could switch to platinum, but it will look quite dull compared to rhodium plating. Even the most understanding and sympathetic jeweler could not do a trade though, as platinum costs about 3x as much as 14 karat gold.

Regards,

A. Hi Jing. I think you should visit a different jeweler. It's very hard to figure out what is going on, and I could be wrong, but it sounds like you are dealing with a jeweler who is not familiar with rhodium plating or doesn't want to do it for some reason.

The two weeks of humidity doesn't make sense to me, but I doubt that he would switch a diamond.

Regards,