QuestionQUESTION: Hello. I have a question about 14k gold rings that were bleached. I am not a person AT ALL savvy on jewelry. My wedding band, my engagement ring, and my anniversary band are the only 3 rings I own ( I have bee married 15 years). I have only taken them off maybe twice to clean with soap. This am, I was handling super glue and somehow the tube leaked into my wedding finger and glued the rings all together. It took olive oil to get the rings off. My idiot self thought my mom said a month ago that she put her rings in bleach to clean them. I placed them in a little bowl with some bleach (I now know this is absolutely terrible, but did do it before and no damaged occurred to the rings, so I thought it was a safe practice). The rings tarnished (a brown speckled look to the bands). I began to cry and called my mother asap. We don't know if she said the wrong thing or if I misheard her, but I immediately took the rings and soaked them in Dawn and warm water and cleaned with a toothbrush. I don't know if my rings are permanently damaged or not. My mom said the jeweler may be able to clean them or buff them up? I also am afraid to leave my rings anywhere. They are not huge diamonds but I am a sentimental person and have seen documentaries where the diamonds are removed and fake ones are put in place. Again, I'm not savvy on jewelery so I would appreciate any comments or suggestions. Thank you for your time!!!!!!
ANSWER: Laurie, bleach is a major culprit in damaging jewelry and is especially bad for white gold.
What to do? Find a jewelry store with a good reputation and with a bench jeweler working there. The bench jeweler is the one actually doing the work. Go there and have your rings checked for any obvious damage and have the rings buffed and polished to remove discolorations.
Were the rings damaged by the bleach? If white gold, the odds are much greater than for other colors of gold. Damage is often hidden and is like tiny unseen cracks where metal has separated in the gold mix used to make the jewelry. The damage can show as broken prongs, cracks where a ring was cut and soldered to size the ring and in areas of stress in the metal. Unless dramatic like a broken off prong end, the damage is likely not going to be seen. You may or may not have further problems. Damage is proportional to the time the jewelry is exposed to bleach, longer is more damaging. Damage is limited to areas of stress in the metal such as prong tips and any places the metal may have been work hardened. This may not make much sense but is what happens.
Go to the jeweler and do as I suggest. A quick exam will show any dramatic damage if present and the rings should buff up to a nice, clean and polished surface once again.
Honestly, I do understand sentiment but the worse way to treat rings is to wear and not remove
the rings regularly. Rings should be removed regularly to be cleaned and inspected for security of stones. A proper cleaning simply cannot be accomplished while on the fingers and stones cannot be properly inspected. The easiest way to loose a stone is not at a reputable jewelers but while wearing a ring you do not take off! Dirt can get between the stone and the setting and over time will abrade the metal and loosen the stone. Also, prong settings can wear down and if not noticed and repaired a stone may be lost.
We clean and check jewelry for our customers every day. Some ladies come in every 6 months and some more often to have their rings cleaned and checked. We offer this as a free service.
As for you concern of a jeweler switching a stone, if you choose an established business with a nice store front and a good reputation I believe there will be no problem at all. I imagine stone switching has happened in some places but to do so makes totally no sense for a business which is established and intends to stay in town and in business. To be caught doing that would shut the doors almost overnight. Honesty has to be an integral part of the business and a customer develops a trust with the jeweler as the jeweler learns about the customer. I cannot work out that issue for you.
BYW, to remove superglue, acetone is the solvent to use. Some fingernail polish removers have acetone as a main ingredient. It is best to get the rings off the fingers then used an acetone soak, wipe and quick wash with dish detergent. Acetone is safe for most stones. Avoid porous stones like turquoise and possibly dyed stones like emeralds.
Best Wishes and God Bless. Thomas.
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QUESTION: Thank you very much for your response. I will seek out a reputable jeweler here from neighbors. I am military and have only been in my area for a year, so I will need a referral. I d not care paying a fee for anything to be done to repair the rings. I am glad to hear that the rings can be buffed rather than dipped like I was told. I didn't favor this option but would do it if it was the only way to repair them because I have read that this then needs to be done yearly after the first dip. My mother is checking with her jeweler in FL as well, so I would get good advice prior to going into the jeweler here since my knowledge is lacking. Again, my rings get cleaned everyday via my bath or shower with soap and water and cleaned while I do dishes so with Dawn and they always do look clean and sparkly, but a check-up on the prongs is a smart and valuable idea since my engagement ring is 16 years old. My anniversary band is 5 years old. I did have my engagement ring re-sized after getting it because it was too big, but I think the jeweler then made the part of the band on my palm side too thin because the sides of the band are thicker, but it has survived all these years.
ANSWER: Laurie, what is called commonly as "dipping" refers to electroplate of the ring. Generally, that is a rhodium plate to help add to the whiteness of white gold jewelry. Nothing is actually dipped into hot metal since that would be totally destructive. The solution is watery and contains rhodium in solution. The rhodium is moved by electrical conductance to the surface of the jewelry where it leaves a thin layer of rhodium.
The plate has nothing to do with removing the discoloration from your ring. Why? The discoloration must be removed completely before any electroplate is done, otherwise the plate will not be properly colored, be spotty or not adhere well. Buffing is an automatic process by any competent jeweler prior to any rhodium or other electroplate work and would be done regardless.
The rhodium is an option AFTER the rings are buffed and restored, not a process to restore the color without buffing. If you have been happy with the look of your rings for those many years I really do not see a need to have rhodium plated added. As I said, that is a personal choice and has nothing to do with removing the tarnish caused by the bleach.
Thanks for getting back with me. God Bless and Peace. Thomas.
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QUESTION: Great! I'm learning so much and I do love my rings. I don't want to change them, just repair the tarnish I caused and get the glue off! All 3 of my rings are 14K yellow gold and the prongs on my anniversary are worn down flat, so they will need repaired. IS that something that takes days to do or can it be done while I'm waiting??????
AnswerLaurie, I had forgotten you said the rings were yellow. Certainly that eliminates any rhodium plate and greatly diminishes the chances of damage to the rings from the bleach. Still, if there are white gold prongs, those should be examined.
You might be surprised at how many ladies are having their yellow rings rhodium plated just to keep up with the current trend of white gold. I would not do it but lots of ladies are, knowing the plate will need to be repeated not very long down the road. I do see some gain in yellow gold becoming more popular again and I like that. These trends come and go for color and a good marriage outlives several trends in jewelry. Unfortunately, after some years of marriage you will discover wear on your wedding rings. Apparently the anniversary band now has noticeable wear on the stone settings and needs work.
Yes, I can say with some certainty the ring cannot..should not... be done while you wait. Now, answer this: Do you really want the work done while you wait? This is a time consuming job and to be done correctly so the work does not show and is secure on the stones will take time and concentration.
Generally, a while you wait job such as this will be rushed and will not be the best job. Sure, we can sometimes fit in a quick job like soldering a charm on a bracelet while the customer waits but that is a quick job. Rebuilding the prong settings on an anniversary band is not a quick job. While you wait might very well mean this is a repair shop based on quickie work and not so much on quality work. he jeweler might simply melt a little gold solder to make the prongs thicker and that is it, messy if viewed closely and providing much less wear down the road than if done properly with gold soldered on the prongs, not just gold solder.
Some quick repair shops do fine work. Unfortunately I have seen very few reaching that level.
I would not want to wait on my truck to be repainted. Sure, that will take longer than doing the ring but you see the point. Proper preparation and application with care are needed. While you wait is unfortunately often not consistent with quality work.
Well, I will go now. Again, wishing you the best. God Bless. Thomas.
