Metal finishing Q&As since 1989

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Can rhodium plated rings be reset?

My fiancé bought me an engagement ring from a jeweler (I'll call him S&S) in July. It's 14 ct white gold w/ 7 diamonds.

The ring was flawed when I received it. The center stone was set to one side & slightly back; one of the side diamonds is inset so far into the ring that at one point I thought I'd lost it; 2 of the diamonds on the other side are sticking out farther than the others & look like they're in danger of falling out. We also never got appraisal papers from S&S my fiancé said that they would be arriving in the mail, but so far they haven't (& it's December!).

Finally I got annoyed enough to have the ring appraised elsewhere, since we have no papers for it, & I want to insure it. I went to another jeweler (I'll call her P) & asked her to appraise the ring & try to fix the problems with it or "suggest improvements".

She returned the ring a few days later & told me that the ring could not be fixed. It's been rhodium plated & is so badly set that resetting it would make the ring "brittle", & she didn't want to put the P name on the ring by resetting it because of this. She also wouldn't appraise the ring as it was, since I might try to fix it; she instead suggested I outright return it to S&S.; She told me "it was flawed from the beginning & never should have been set."

Of course, S&S insisted that of COURSE the ring could be fixed. The jeweler also insisted that it was NOT rhodium plated, that it was a handmade 14 ct gold ring, & it could definitely be fixed. (However, later in the conversation he admitted that it was a cast ring that his shop had set.) I sent the ring in to him to fix the diamond settings, since he was so confident that he could fix it. He also told me that his store only provides appraisal papers on request, since "most of his customers don't want appraisal papers for their jewelry", which I find really hard to believe!

My question is, can rhodium plated rings be reset? If a ring is seriously flawed & rhodium plated, as mine was/is, would resetting it make it brittle? Which jeweler is correct? Right about now I don't trust anyone, & the whole situation makes me want to cry. What should I do? Return the ring? Sue the guy? Live with the ring as is? I'm totally lost!

Caroline M
ring owner; student - North Vancouver, BC, Canada
December 6, 2005

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Hi Caroline,
I would take the ring back to place of purchase and tell them you want the ring replaced. It should not be your responsibility to seek out a jeweler for repair and have to go through all this. The ring manufacturer made the mistake, so the retailer has to make it right. Diamond rings are set, then the settings or "prongs" are rhodium plated to enhance the brilliance of the diamond and to strengthen the prongs. If the prongs or settings were just gold they would not hold up very long. If you look at the prongs you will see a white/bright finish. Because of the hardness of rhodium the plated metal itself would become too brittle for re-setting. The prongs have to be bent back to remove the stone(s), and bent back again after the re-setting is complete. You would see stress cracks in the prongs. It sounds like the setting height is way off anyway. The whole ring should be re-crafted. Good Luck!

Mark Baker
process engineer - Malone, New York
2006

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2006

I would like to respond after seeing the photo, the first time I did, the photo was not available. From this photo I can't tell if the center stone prongs are rhodium plated or not. If they are, the replacement stone should not be set into that same ring. The smaller stones on the side are hard to see exactly how they were set, so I wouldn't be able to give more detailed advice on those. I still think the ring should be returned to the place of purchase for a refund or exchanged for a ring you are satisfied with.

Mark Baker
process engineer - Malone, New York
2006