QuestionQUESTION: I recently got engaged and instead of picking out the ring himself, my fiance had me go with him to pick out a ring . I picked a very pretty ring that has an antique feel to the design. It is 14k white gold. However, I have only had it for about a week and it already has a few scratches on the band part of the ring. Is it normal for there to be scratches on it so soon? Your help will be greatly appreciated.
ANSWER: Dear Dawn,
Any silver, gold or platinum jewelry rings will scratch or show some dullness from contact with sufaces in everyday use. How much dulling happens is entirely up to where the ring goes every day and what it commonly contacts. With scratches or marks on the bottom of the band, there is likely something done in everyday work or driving or actions which repeatedly contact that part of the ring.
I have seen some rings brought in for polishing after only a couple of weeks wear and the rings look beat up. Other folks wear their rings that long and get only a few marks or scratches. A few ladies go that long and have almost no dings at all. It all has to with what the ring contacts to make the scratch. Most metal items and certainly mineral items, glass, etc. are harder than gold and can leave a mark if the ring is rubbed or repeatedly tapped onto the material.
Dawn, it is not how long you have worn it but what it contacts when being worn. Sure, the longer the ring is worn the more dull it may become but initially is it what it touches that causes the scratches. A jeweler can generally buff out light marks easily. I do not recommend that too often because buffing will remove a slight bit of metal each time it is buffed.
Yes, some marking is normal.
God Bless and Peace. Thomas.
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QUESTION: here is a photo of ring
ANSWER: Dawn, your ring is lovely. I see there are side stones, too. My suggestion to help avoid scratches is to take note of how you use your hands during the normal day. Remove the ring for dish washing and work like that. Watch as you drive and note if you move the hand much on the steering wheel or it at work you hand is on a desk or other surface which could scratch the ring. If so, once you are aware of these situations you and possibly ease up a little on the things you discover which could be doing the major amount of scratching.
For gentle at home polishing, get a good chemical treated polishing cloth. Better crafts stores and some jewelers will have these cloths. Do not get a regular two sided silver polish cloth sine these old fashioned things are messy and take way too much work to be at all effective. If the stores do not have a modern polishing cloth, perhaps they can get it for you. The cloth is used only for gentle shine restoration and will not remove deeper scratches. For that, a jeweler must buff the ring, effective but not to be done very often.
With any jewelry ring of silver, gold, palladium or platinum, the shine will definitely be affected by everyday wear. Silver and gold tend to scratch and the other metals tend to get dull quickly. That is the nature of jewelry metal and there is not much to do about it but be aware of how and when we wear the jewelry.
Thanks for the picture. Oh, ever so often take the ring to a jeweler for a cleaning. Most will do that for no cost. At the same time, they should check the side stones for security.
God Bless and Peace. Thomas.
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QUESTION: here is one more image of ring.
AnswerDawn, there is not really anymore I can add to the answer. Unfortunately, I cannot clearly see the scratches in the photo. Jewelry is one of the most difficult items to photograph. I have done a lot of it and yes, getting a good photo is tough.
If your camera has a manual focus, that is the way to do it. The camera has focused automatically on the background and even if only 1/4 inch or so away, it leaves an out of focus ring when doing close shots.
Thanks for the photo even if I cannot add any to the answer. There is no need to rate this answer. You have been quite kind to me already.
God Bless and Peace. Have a wonderful day. Thomas.
