QuestionHello,
Please can you answer a couple of questions for me?
1) If I wear a 9ct gold ring next to an 18ct gold ring, would the 9ct gold ring damage and wear against the 18ct gold ring? I would like to, but do not wish to damage my jewellery! I have read somewhere from other jewellers that the hardness between the two is not a massive difference. What do you think?
2) I have had a 9ct gold dress ring re-sized two/three times (due to weight going up and down), therefore, I think the shank has got thinner. If I had the ring made smaller again (as I lose weight), would the shank get thicker? Also is it possible for a jeweller to make the shank thicker or do they have to replace the entire shank?
Hoping you can help!
Kind regards,
Alison
AnswerAlison,
(1) if you wear any gold rings next to one another, they will inevitably wear on each other. The 18K ring could be softer and wear more quickly (if it is yellow gold). If it is white gold, that is not necessarily true because of the nickel blended into the alloy, which makes it harder. If you plan to always wear the rings together, I would recommend getting them soldered together. It is always something that you could have unsoldered later, however, when you solder them, you are avoiding any wear that they may cause to each other by rubbing. They will also stay in the position that you want versus turning caty-wompus on your hand.
(2) every time a ring is sized it will lose a little metal in the shank. The jeweler has to cut the shank and either remove or add a tiny piece of metal to size down or up accordingly. Then he has to sand it down and polish it shiny again. The sanding and polishing aspect of the repair will always remove some gold. There is simply no getting around that. The only way to make the shank thicker again is to re-shank it (replace the bottom half of the ring) with a new, thicker shank. I usually tell my clients not to worry about it getting thin. The first thing it will do is at some point it will crack at some point on the shank. Until that happens, why worry about it. When it cracks, then I'd recommend the re-shank.
Hope that helps you to decide what you'd like to do. Just remember, jewelry is meant to be worn and enjoyed. Do whatever you think will allow you to enjoy it most and will fit within your budget.
