Where the
world gathers for metal finishing
Q&As since 1989


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Cleaning Gold Jewelry

I purchased a diamond anniversary ring a month ago. This morning I placed it into a cup of warm water with a teaspoon plus of chlorine bleach. I forgot it there for a couple of hours. The ring disintegrated. A piece of about a half inch was gone out of the top of the ring. I went back to where I purchased the ring, Penney's Dept. Store, I was told that the bleach caused the difficulty, could this be true? It was only 10 K instead of 14 or 18 K. gold.

Eva Nyman
- Belfair, Washington
2003

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Eva,

You could have left any object made of "standard" gold karat gold (10kt-24kt) in bleach for a very long time (weeks at the very least) and never see something like you have described. Gold is alloyed with various metals, primarily copper, silver and nickel. 12kt gold is 50% pure gold and 50% alloy materials, with each additional karat adding 4.2% of pure gold; until you reach 24kt which is 100% gold . . . Had you said your ring pitted or darkened I would have thought the alloying to be poor and the copper had migrated to the surface, but that too shouldn't have happened without a prolonged (week+) exposure; and only if it were very low karat gold . . . Almost sounds like your ring were sized with something other then gold, as the section you described sounds exactly like a piece standardly inserted in sizing. In the "trade" we often see cracks or even pieces that have broken out of the shank where sizing was done when improper solder or grossly dissimilar karat gold's were used was used to do sizing. No way in the world could this have been your fault, sounds like you need to have a true jeweler look at the piece, as there is something VERY WRONG with this ring from the get-go! DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO BULLY YOU, CONTACT THEIR HEAD OFFICE!

Victor W Russell, GG, CFAC, CFAA GIA Graduate Gemologist, Certified Fine Art Conservator and Appraiser

Victor W Russell
- San Jose, California, USA
2003

Good morning,

I have a 3 carat tennis bracelet that I have a habit of leaving in Connoisseurs Jewellery Cleaner [affil links] over night. I have never had a problem until this morning. The gold surrounding each group of baguetts was purple and blue. The diamonds are fine, it's just the gold. I have had this piece for nearly 2 years and nothing like this has ever happened before. What do I do?

Thank you,

Carla Byers
- Holyoke, Massachusetts
2003

In an average USA swimming pool will chlorine substantially damage gold jewelry? My wife always removes her gold jewelry (rings).

WILLILAM F. KENNEDY
THE LADIES AT THE SWIM POOL - MEADVILLE, Pennsylvania, USA
2004