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Color of platinum: vintage, patina, alloys?

Dreamer_D

Dreamer_D

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Dec 16, 2007
Messages
27,205
I just bought a platinum band, vintage, with engraving. It is well worn and has a nice patina. My vintage engagement ring is also platinum and not at all patinad yet, even the engraving looks shiney and fresh. I don't think my e-ring was worn all that much in its history.

My questions is based on the fact that I notice a clear color difference between the rings. The band looks dull and very very grey, with darker areas in the depths of the engraving, whereas my engagement ring looks whiter and more uniform in its coloration.

Is this simply a result of patina,wear and age?

Could the rings be different alloy mixes and that leads to different colors of platinum (I know about white gold and this issue of color, but am not familair if it can be similar for platinum)...

I'll try to take photos tomorrow :)) I like my new band a lot but the color difference bugs me a little. If its just an issue of wearing my e-ring until it gets that aged look, great. But if not then I would like to keep looking for a better mate.

I also wonder if you can polish engraved bands so they are shiny without ruining the engraving? That would perhaps make the band look like my e-ring.
 
Have you cleaned the new band very well yet? I find that my platinum looks duller, greyer, and darker in recessed areas when it hasn't been thoroughly cleaned (like, ammonia solution soak + good scrub with soft toothbrush). I think some of the greyness is actually miniscule particles of dirt in the tiny scratches that make up the patina.

Depending on the wear of the engraving, you can have it polished. I personally would just lightly take a polishing cloth to it until I was satisfied with the look, but you could also take it to your jeweler.
 
KIna obvious, but, did you really give it a go in the US cleaner? I'm also thinking it's some imbedded dirt/grease.
 
ha! No I have not cleaned it! I might pop by my jeweler and talk to them about it. But you are probably right its just greasy/dirty!
 
I do think it needs to be polished, but I am not sure whether they do it or not. I have thought about that in relation to getting one of Victor's engraved bands. You were sooo fortunate to get the e-ring setting that was in great condition. Hopefully it will stay that way since I know you take care of your rings.
 
I had a similar situation, but the band I bought is the one in my avatar, plain with milgrain - JBEG had polished the setting of the ering and it was shiny and white when I received it (has stayed that way because I'm really careful with it) - my ring has a wheat pattern engraved on it so I'm thinking it's possible for engraved rings to be professionally polished? :read: The band was dull in comparison to the ering so I cleaned and polished it with a jewelry cloth and although still not quite as shiny as the ering, it definitely matches a little better. Have been meaning to get the band professionally polished but haven't gotten around to it. Anyway, let us know what the jeweler says!

Curious as to what a jeweler does to polish platinum.
 
Jeweler can make it beautiful again. A few of my ebay yucky purchases has been totally transformed.
 
my e-ring was looking dull and gray with dark in the recessed areas recently. A polish made it look amazing, like a diff ring! I'd forgotten how Nice it could look. I'd try the polishing cloth and if that isn't enough, your local jeweler.
 
I have been told by someone in the know that you can indeed polish engraved rings. I am pretty sure my own jeweler polished my e-ring when it was resized and refurbished. So I will take my band in and see what they can do! And Mara and Charmy both have done it. So good news!

The two bands look so different I was even questioning if my e-ring is platinum, but my jeweler said it is plat and I believe them.

I think it won't be my "forever" wedding band. It is just the teensiest bit taller than my e-ring and that is one thing that bugs me. I would like to find something with diamonds too, and engraving. But this is a great option for a very good price that will do until I can find the elusive perfect match! I'll post some pics in my e-ring thread in SMTB. I love having two rings to wear at last, it really makes my set feel complete and I think it makes my diamond look bigger!
 
Dreamer, it could be the alloy? I didn't see the dif in your pics until you pointed it out, but on a couple of the pics (handshots), it's more obvious. It doesn't look to me that your diamond ring will patina the same color as the other one.

My wedding set is Plat/Ruthenium, as is my Amelia ring. My 23rd street set is Plat/Irid, and it looks whiter than my wedding set, which looks more gray to me.

I can take pics of it later if you want, and I think there are plenty of threads about the platinum alloys around here as well.
 
tGal, thanks!

I am going to go and talk to my jeweler. There are two possibilities. One is, as you suggest, the allow difference. If you can easily take shots that you think show the color difference I would love to see them. I have no idea about the allow mix of either of my ring. The stamp in my e-ring is long gone from resizing and my band only says "platinum".

The other possibility is that my e-ring was rhodium dipped when it was sized and worked on. Apparently this is done fairly often, especially whena a ring has a fair amount of solder on it because solder is a different color. I have no idea if my jeweler did this or not. I don't particularly care if they did because I like the way my ring looks and rhodium is in the platinum family, but I would like to know if it was done!
 
Well, I tried. And I failed. I took side by sides of the bottom of the rings, but you just couldn't tell in the pics the difference. The pic below may be the only one where you can discern it a bit. Still not as different as the photos of your set, but if your ring was rhodium dipped, that might explain it.

ring_comparison.jpg
 
My photos exaggerate he difference because my e-ring shank is engraved and cathedraled so its angled and looks darker in head on shots compared to my band. In reality it is a very subtle difference. But thanks for trying! I'll see what my jeweler says.
 
I finally made it to see my jeweler and his master metalsmith about this question.

My engagement ring was most assuredly NOT rhodium plated. Apparently this is sometimes done when a jeweler is using low heat solder to resize or work on a platinum ring, usually because the ring has set diamonds or gems that cannot be heated above a certain temperature, and that low heat solder is a different color than the platinum. In my case, the diamond was removed so my jeweler could do the work properly at high heat. I cannot detect *any* joins where the ring was reshanked to replace the white gold resizing done previously :nono: or where the bezel was redone and the prongs replaced.

My jeweler says my engagement ring is most likely Irridium-Platinum in the main body and gallery. The resizing and the work on the prongs was done with Ruthenium-Platinum, which is the alloy my jeweler uses. Incidentally they smelt/mix their own alloys in house because they don't like the commercially available ones. Wow. I cannot see a color difference between the two metals.

The wedding band is platinum but it is lighter than they expect of IR or RU plat -- he determined this my putting it in his palm and feelings its weight! It is also a "greyer" metal, somehow darker and cooler in tone than my e-ring. They think it is Cobalt-PLatinum. The lightes and cheapest alloy. So, there is the answer. Its the alloy mix.

I also DID have the engraved wedding ring polished and so now its texture better matches my engagement ring and all the blackened gunk in the recesses is gone. This really reduced the difference in appearance between the wedding band and the engagement ring a lot and I am much happier with the pairing now. The height difference still bugs me a little, but the rings look much better suited in color and texture now. So a good visit!
 
Ah, so it was the alloy indeed! Good to know, and thanks for the update. Would love to see the polished rings if you have time posted on your other thread!
 
cobalt platinum is magnetic - you can verify your alloy with a magnet.
 
Very interesting! Glad the band had a little rehab and looks better!
 
Sounds like you've already figured it out, but I just wanted to chime in that there is absolutely a noticeable color difference between platinum alloys! My e-ring is 90% Platinum/10% Iridium, and the color is noticeably whiter than 95% Platinum/5% Ruthenium. I tried Plat/Ruth bands with my e-ring and they definitely looked greyer. The difference would bother me.
 
I tried the magnet test and thought it was very very subtle, I think the magnet was drawing towards the wedding band whereas the e-ring mount did not pull at all.

This is a slightly annoying think because, like you Little River, the color difference does bother me :blackeye: My jeweler informed me that they can make me a band to perfectly match my e-ring. I am sure it will be pricey so that will be a last resort. I'd like a band with some diamonds so that might make it easier to match since less metal is apparent, but otherwise it might just be a trial and error.

This band I bought was so inexpensive and I won it at auction with no returns, that is why I opted to keep it even thought the color was off.

And yes, I am aware that this is OCD ;))
 
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