Broken jewellery

cheyni

I wonder if anyone can help me. Im new to these forums after only joining today so forgive me for my ramblings but any help would be much appreciated.

I got engaged on August 31st and my Fiance bought me a white gold Engagement ring. I noticed after about a month that the colour was fading on the ring so checked with a jewellers about after care for white gold jewellery and was told depending on the person , (ie, if they use cleaning fluids regularly etc etc), white gold should be dipped every 6-12 months. As i only had mine a month at this stage i thought it seemed odd but didnt do anything about it. Halloween night i went to take off my ring as i was dressing up for a costume party and didnt want to wear it under satin gloves, and i found that the ring was a bit tight so i pulled at it and it broke. The ring snapped completely at the side. It wasnt even THAT tight so i cant understand why it snapped.

My fiance brought the ring back to the jewellers only to be told its wear and tear on the ring. Now it wasnt thousands of euro's worth of a ring, but it did cost almost €800 so i thought this answer was ridiculous. They offered to fix and dip the ring for a small cost so my fiance agreed. Today he got a call telling them that the ring cant be fixed as its to weak to be repaired! And that they cant give him a refund for it either!

Does anybody know if this is right? Can they do this? I understand i have to take some responsibility for the ring snapping as i did pull a little harder than i should of but it wasn't to the extent that it should have snapped like that and certainly not after the price he paid for it. Also the colour shouldn't have faded that fast. The ring is only less than 3 months old.

Buceph

Take it to another jewellers, ask them to write a report on it. Shove it in the faces of the place you bought it, then go back to the report writing nice jewellers to get a better ring.

Yeah. They're wrong.

dudara

From this website

When white gold rings are new they are coated with another white metal called Rhodium. Rhodium is a metal very similar to platinum and Rhodium shares many of the properties of platinum including its white color.

The rhodium plating is used to make the white gold look more white. The natural color of white gold is actually a light grey color. The Rhodium is very white and very hard, but it does wear away eventually. To keep a white gold ring looking its best it should be re-rhodium plated approximately each 12 to 18 months. Most local jewelers are able to rhodium plate jewelry for a cost effective price.

I remember reading about this before. White gold can lose it lustre easily enough through wear and tear - the jeweler should have advised your fiance on this while selling him the ring.

However, that's not the main issue. An engagement ring should be strong enough to last a lifetime and that would be my argument. You are, I'd imagine, entitled to a replacement/repair.

cheyni

dudara wrote: »

From this website



I remember reading about this before. White gold can lose it lustre easily enough through wear and tear - the jeweler should have advised your fiance on this while selling him the ring.

However, that's not the main issue. An engagement ring should be strong enough to last a lifetime and that would be my argument. You are, I'd imagine, entitled to a replacement/repair.

This was what i said... an engagement ring SHOULD last a lifetime!!

I understood about the colour fading once i was told although didnt think after a month it would lose its colour as much as it did. Thank you for that imformation and yes, your right, he should have been informed about white gold when he bought it.

Im just so mad at the thought that after less than 3 months the ring is broke and the jewellers will do no more. He is away working at the moment in uk, but when he is back he is going to the manager to try and get a replacement or a refund. He's not gonna let it lie. I just wanted some advice first before he comes home. I wasnt sure if the jewellers were in the right to do this

decies

"I understand i have to take some responsibility for the ring snapping as i did pull a little harder "

You have just admitted liability for breaking the ring but then again i have some experience of this from the retail side,maybe the jeweler can help you out some way.White gold rings can lose their colour,but they usually can be rhodium plated to bring back the lustre.I appreciate your upset about it by all means get your boyfriend to talk to the manager in a civil manner and hopefully someting can be worked out for you.
And no a engagement ring wont last a lifetime dont forget the softest part is the band and claws (which get loosened by drying hands with a towel).
I tell you a true story what a rep in the jewellery business told me how a shop manager dealt with a customer.She kept coming in every couple of weeks with a broken chain,repaired then broke repaired then broke.
She came in again complaining for the umteenth time he took the chain off her put on the counter and said nothing.After about 20 seconds the woman said what you doing!!!
Just want to see will it break again.......she left the shop.
Pm me if you want further advice.

Igglepiggle

Hi Guys

I have similar issues.....i have brought the ring back 4 times each time i have been told its my fault the ring looks like crap. I have since been to very upmarket store off grafton st and they have said the gold is middle eastern gold - so porous looks like a cunchy on the inside. I went back to my jeweller and stated this - he told me to get out of the shop.

So do i have a case here do you think?

Ring is just over 1 yr old - its been ongoing saga since feb 2007.

please can anyone advise?

thefinalstage

Igglepiggle wrote: »

Hi Guys

I have similar issues.....i have brought the ring back 4 times each time i have been told its my fault the ring looks like crap. I have since been to very upmarket store off grafton st and they have said the gold is middle eastern gold - so porous looks like a cunchy on the inside. I went back to my jeweller and stated this - he told me to get out of the shop.

So do i have a case here do you think?

Ring is just over 1 yr old - its been ongoing saga since feb 2007.

please can anyone advise?

Thats rough....call the consumer advice line and perhaps the guards. This doesn't sound like a nice guy.

Igglepiggle

Hi - yes he is a nasty cantankerous old git - of course i tried to remain as polite as i can......haha but im at teh point now where i am pysically sobbing over this. I dont know what to do. is there an ombudsman for jewellery? is there anyone to turn to?

Igglepiggle

Also - just wondering if anyone out there has had issues with said jeweller before (he is on johnsons court off grafton street) but im not naming names on here...but if you have you could mail me privately

Gibbins123

you may be ably to go to the small claims court.

a shop was forced by the court to give a friend of mine a full refund after the heel broke off a pair of shoes after about a week.

They were faulty and simply should last longer.

name and shame the jewlers!!

Igglepiggle

lol name and shame!?

name and disgrace and warn the decent people of ireland never to purchase anything!!!

i better not - im too afraid it will show up if i bring him to court !!

good to hear she got somewhere with it.....maybe theres hope for me

Igglepiggle

do i need to have written docs to prove?

Igglepiggle

i have just found out that the gold was made in asia - only about 35% gold in the ring - whereas normal white gold should be an alloy of 75% yellow gold and the rest a mix of palladium and platinum

there are holes all under the plating - which can mean the ring will snap spontaneously at any given time "porousity" its called so this in itself invalidates the 18 ct hallmark stamp

i think that may also be your issue cheyni.

ive just lodged a claim.

here goes nothin! :rolleyes:

keyes

Igglepiggle wrote: »

there are holes all under the plating - which can mean the ring will snap spontaneously at any given time "porousity" its called so this in itself invalidates the 18 ct hallmark stamp

hmm, no, it doesn't invalidate the hallmark, but that's a red herring in any case; the karat of the gold is not the problem. if a house is badly built with good bricks, the quality of the bricks doesn't make it a good house. (not the best analogy, but you get what i'm saying!!!)

i know it's a little while ago, but any joy? if you need some advice, PM me. i work in the industry, might be able to shed some light on things...