QuestionWe have the opportunity to purchase a used diamond ring. The receipt that comes with the ring, states that the ring is 14K white gold, but there is no karat marking on the ring. Is this unusual?
AnswerDiane, the lack of a karat mark is not unusual in a used ring if the ring has been resized previously and the marks(karat mark and makers mark) were sanded and buffed away during the sizing process.
I would prefer the karat mark be there along with the maker's mark, the standard of law in the US.
My suggestion is this: Since there is not a real way to know the ring is what it is represented to be, check the receipt carefully to find any descriptive information. If a sales receipt, likely little will be there to actually identify the ring as the same one represented by the receipt. And, if the sales receipt shows a "regular price" and "sale price", put more stock in the sale price as being the actual value of the ring when purchased. Then, what you would pay should be substantially less than that price.
If you can, take the ring to a jewelers where there is a in-house bench jeweler, the one who actually works on jewelry and is not a salesperson. This jeweler is the one who can tell you the most about the actual karat and condition of the ring. A simple acid test will tell if the ring is 14k. A quick cleaning and examination will tell you if the stone setting (or stone settings) need work. You can run into a lot of expense if settings are worn and need work to prevent future diamond loss. Settings might need to be built up with more gold to provide a decent security in the future for the stones.
The jeweler can heat the ring band at the bottom and see if the ring has has a piece added or taken out as is done in resizing the finger size. This might give a clue why the karat mark is not there, if the ring tests to be 14k. If you would need the ring resized, judging from the previous work the jewelry store can tell you what that might cost. For instance, if you need the ring a bit larger and there is a small piece added where sized up before, that small piece will be removed (to provide a new and secure resizing) and it may cost you a bit more to have the ring resized. (The heating causes the ring to "tarnish" at the heated area and sizing lines will show up. This is a gentle heating and simple buffing makes it all just like before.)
I do hope this little bit of info will help. If you need more, please do not hesitate to get back to me with the "follow-up" option.
God Bless and Peace. Thomas October 31,2007 7:24pm
