James Allen ring needs recoating after 8 months

[AmandaLeigh]

AmandaLeigh do you expect JA to eat the entire cost of your setting? Would you consider that fair? Should they -- two years after you bought the ring originally -- let you exchange the set for platinum without any additional cost to you the consumer?

I NEVER said that, nobody could stay in business if they did that. Please don't put words in my mouth.

 

[Laila619]

Matt and Amanda,

I'm sorry for the trouble you've been experiencing. I think you should look into Palladium. It's naturally white and never needs rhodium plating. And it's cheaper than Platinum which is nice.

For everyone telling Amanda to just keep getting them re-rhodium plated every two or three months, well I think that's just not practical frankly. Who would want to do that, especially when the rings look bad so quickly?!

 

[arcticcatmatt]

I just called around on rhodium plating locally.. the prices you guys are saying is WAY off. It is almost 3x the price here. 120 a pair.

If you bought a new car and the guy said "don't worry, the paint usually lasts 10 years before you have to maintain it" and after 1-2 years you see the paint is shot and it needs redone.. you would be ticked off too. Same deal here.. but hey, that dealer has a car that costs 50% more that he will sell you that does what he promised you the first time.. but if you would have bought that car in the beginning you would have saved yourself a bunch of money.. but you were not aware there was a better longer lasting paint job available.

Yes.. customer awareness issue is correct. Customer was not made aware of the truth and bought junk. Anything that needs maintenance every 3 months is JUNK. Especially when its the size of a quarter and cost thousands of dollars.

 

[kelpie]

I definitely agree her ring shouldn't look like that. This is an example of an unplated 18k WG ring that is heavily scratched on the underside. Though some of the scratches are deep, (from banging against concrete) there is no color but silver. It is not just a consumer awareness issue, but an industry awareness issue. I didn't specifically request unplated or a specific alloy but I was fortunate that the ring's maker was thinking ahead about generations of wear.

 

[hoofbeats95]

Then what do you want? What is your "perfect" solution to this?

BTW - when you had just the ering alone, before you were married, didn't you have this problem then as well?

 

[tammy77]

I think that the buyer and his wife aren't going to get anywhere above what's already been offered, and the nastiness is just a huge turn off. You can't expect them to just fork over a platinum setting at what would now be their cost AND give you a full refund on your original purchase. You are expecting too much.

It's white gold. White gold needs to be replated regardless of the vendor. How often it needs to be replated varies for a number of reasons. People's sensitivity varies. People's body chemistry varies. Some people take their rings off at night even (I do not). You work in an office. So do I. My rings aren't from JA (in fact I've never purchased from them so honestly have no horse in this race, I just think you're being unreasonable). I have a quality setting and yet I take them for replating every 3-4 months. I bought my setting locally because I researched white gold and knew it would need to be serviced regularly. This isn't JA's fault, but they've gone above and beyond to offer you a full value exchange, which is virtually unheard of in today's world. Either take them up on their offer, or don't. You just said yourself that it's $120 to replate the pair, which they do for FREE (excluding measly shipping) right?

The consumer is responsible for taking these things into consideration. Did you research diamonds before buying? I bet you did. Did you research white gold? I bet you didn't. At this point you're just making yourself look bad imo.

ETA: If your rings aren't soldered, you're greatly adding to the wear and tear. My rings were badly scratched on the sides and showing yellow after three WEEKS before I got them soldered together. If they are already together, please disregard.

 

[maplefemme]

Well here we are again. This time they looked like this after just 6 months. My wife is not happy and I look like a fool. I regret purchasing these rings. She has other rhodium plated gold rings and they do not do this. It is only the James Allen rings that do this. Wedding band and ering going back today. These are at 9 months and I would say 80% of all the plating is GONE. At 6 months they looked just like this and I asked her to wait a few months.
I regret this purchase. These rings look like crap after just 6 months. She don't wear them in the shower or around ANY household chemicals. These rings are like kids to her and she pampers them.. they never see any chemicals what so ever and all she does is run a computer at work. She wears her other rhodium plated rings with NO problems.. its just these JA rings ugh.
I asked them how much to switch to platinum since I have lost faith in how they are coating in Rhodium and they told me over a couple thousand.. they said I have to pay for the small diamonds again since they don't reuse them. I look like a fool to my wife.

This looks like rubbing, abrasion from wearing the engagement ring with a wedding band. Yes, they are a set that is to be worn together, but you have to be realistic, they ARE going to rub if you wear them together and wear away the rhodium and also the gold.
If you don't want rubbing, soldering them or not wearing them together is the only option.
I know this is clearly very frustrating, you're understandably upset, but let's get down to it; what exactly is it you want JA to give you?
They have made a very generous offer, one that most vendors wouldn't, but it's clearly not enough for you. Do you feel they should replace the entire set in platinum for free?
What if you don't like how the platinum wears...then what?

 

[Dreamer_D]

AmandaLeigh do you expect JA to eat the entire cost of your setting? Would you consider that fair? Should they -- two years after you bought the ring originally -- let you exchange the set for platinum without any additional cost to you the consumer?

I NEVER said that, nobody could stay in business if they did that. Please don't put words in my mouth.

I'm not. I am asking genuine questions. I would like to know what you would consider a fair resolution by the vendor.

 

[Laila619]

I think that the buyer and his wife aren't going to get anywhere above what's already been offered, and the nastiness is just a huge turn off. You can't expect them to just fork over a platinum setting at what would now be their cost AND give you a full refund on your original purchase. You are expecting too much.

It's white gold. White gold needs to be replated regardless of the vendor. How often it needs to be replated varies for a number of reasons. People's sensitivity varies. People's body chemistry varies. Some people take their rings off at night even (I do not). You work in an office. So do I. My rings aren't from JA (in fact I've never purchased from them so honestly have no horse in this race, I just think you're being unreasonable). I have a quality setting and yet I take them for replating every 3-4 months. I bought my setting locally because I researched white gold and knew it would need to be serviced regularly. This isn't JA's fault, but they've gone above and beyond to offer you a full value exchange, which is virtually unheard of in today's world. Either take them up on their offer, or don't. You just said yourself that it's $120 to replate the pair, which they do for FREE (excluding measly shipping) right?

Well, the problem is that JA told the customer that it woudn't need to be replated for a long time. It seems like perhaps their 18k wg is very yellow, more so than other companies' alloys?

 

[maplefemme]

Ok the pictures didn't attach in regards to my post above, but it's the profile shots the OP posted I'm making reference to.

 

[tammy77]

Perhaps. I know many people on the board have JA 18k white gold settings. Maybe one of them can chime on on this.

 

[Lula]

I just called around on rhodium plating locally.. the prices you guys are saying is WAY off. It is almost 3x the price here. 120 a pair.

If you bought a new car and the guy said "don't worry, the paint usually lasts 10 years before you have to maintain it" and after 1-2 years you see the paint is shot and it needs redone.. you would be ticked off too. Same deal here.. but hey, that dealer has a car that costs 50% more that he will sell you that does what he promised you the first time.. but if you would have bought that car in the beginning you would have saved yourself a bunch of money.. but you were not aware there was a better longer lasting paint job available.

Yes.. customer awareness issue is correct. Customer was not made aware of the truth and bought junk. Anything that needs maintenance every 3 months is JUNK. Especially when its the size of a quarter and cost thousands of dollars.

Wow. That is expensive, and so rhodium-plating every three to six months is not a cost-effective option. The last time I had something plated was a year ago; it was one ring, and it was $35 at Jared's. I imagine the price of rhodium has gone up exponentially in the last year, just like other metals.

So, if frequent rhodium plating is not an option, and the offer by JA to remake the setting in platinum for $1400 does not seem reasonable to you, what would be a workable solution, in your view, Matt and Amanda?

BTW, I don't think the JA offer is as generous as some here are suggesting, based on how the durability of the rhodium finish was represented to you by JA. I know that others disagree with that, but it's not Matt's fault that the price of metals increased so much since he purchased the rings, and it also sounds like he purchased the rings on the basis of JA's statement that the rings would need replating every few years. That's not been his or Amanda's experience. And I think it goes beyond general wear and tear or "maintenance" when the replating is needed every three to six months. If it cost 30 to 50 bucks, I might chalk it up to experience and just get the rings replated as needed. But at $120, that eats up the cost difference between white gold and platinum pretty quickly.

 

[minmin001]

I'm really sorry to hear this is happening to you. But should probably not blame it all on JA without figure out what is the really cause of the problem. My JA e-ring is almost 3 months old and it looks perfect still just like when it's new.(without wedding band) So I'm really not sure if it's your body or the JA ring's problem, also since it's on the side could it be the rubbing between your e-ring and your wedding band? maybe put a spacer between the two can help (once again, I don't know much about your ring so this is just an newbie's idea)

 

[Laila619]

Yes, I agree with you, Lula.

 

[arcticcatmatt]

I think that the buyer and his wife aren't going to get anywhere above what's already been offered, and the nastiness is just a huge turn off. You can't expect them to just fork over a platinum setting at what would now be their cost AND give you a full refund on your original purchase. You are expecting too much.
.

Where in this thread did you see me say what I was expecting?
You spend a year of overtime on something that someone says will lasts and it doesn't and see how well you take it.

I really don't have an attitude either.. but a few of you seem to have one towards me. Thus life when speaking thru text I suppose. If Rhodium plating doesn't stick to 18k it shouldn't be used.. and customers should not be told it usually lasts a few years before replating.

Also.. I just called an hr away and found two places that will recoat w rings for 50-60 bucks total.. but still.. every 3 months is a pain in the

 

[Lula]

I definitely agree her ring shouldn't look like that. This is an example of an unplated 18k WG ring that is heavily scratched on the underside. Though some of the scratches are deep, (from banging against concrete) there is no color but silver. It is not just a consumer awareness issue, but an industry awareness issue. I didn't specifically request unplated or a specific alloy but I was fortunate that the ring's maker was thinking ahead about generations of wear.

Kelpie, I have many white gold pieces that look the same as the ring in your photo. No yellow, but not rhodium white either, just a warm grey metal color. That's why I'm wondering if it's an alloy issue. And, you're right, this should be addressed by the industry as a whole, especially since "white gold" has now become synonymous with "rhodium-plating."

 

[iheartscience]

AmandaLeigh do you expect JA to eat the entire cost of your setting? Would you consider that fair? Should they -- two years after you bought the ring originally -- let you exchange the set for platinum without any additional cost to you the consumer?

I NEVER said that, nobody could stay in business if they did that. Please don't put words in my mouth.

I'm not. I am asking genuine questions. I would like to know what you would consider a fair resolution by the vendor.

I'm also curious what the OP and his wife would consider a fair solution. The majority of the educated consumers on PS consider this a generous offer by JA, and so do I. Metal and diamond prices have risen a ton in the last few years, and it's completely reasonable that JA's offer means that the OP would pay for the platinum setting at the current market price. If I wanted to upgrade the diamond I bought from Whiteflash in 2007, I would have to pay 2011 prices for whatever new diamond I picked out.

I have white gold rings and have had to get them rhodium plated every 2 years so far. My body chemistry doesn't case the rhodium plating to wear off quickly, so the majority of the wear to the plating is on the bottom of the ring where I hit it on things. (I have 3 sided pave on my e-ring so don't have issues with the plating on the sides of my e-ring and wedding band wearing off.)

I don't mind paying for the rhodium plating because I prefer the look of rhodium plated white gold to the greyer look of platinum once it patinas. That said, if I had to get the rings rhodium plated every 3 months I would suck it up and pay the cost difference to upgrade to platinum.

 

[kittybean]

Matt and Amanda, what do you think a fair resolution would be? Or are you just looking to air some grievances?

My personal experience with white gold has been that the rhodium plating on my rings wears away very quickly. My wedding set is platinum for this reason. I have white gold earrings and a white gold ring from the same vendor, made at approximately the same time, using the same alloy, and I have never had to replate the earrings; the ring, however, has been replated several times, and the plating usually wears away within a couple months of wearing it once or twice a week. I don't mind the unplated color, so I've just decided I'm not going to replate it very often in the future. I've also decided that in the future, I will get platinum or palladium if I really want my ring to stay white.

 

[Frenchcut]

I only have one white gold ring and the rhodium plating started wearing off quite fast even though I wouldn't wear that ring vey often (it holds a Tanzanite and it is a bit fragile). I cannot say I'm disappointed because I never intended to wear it on a daily basis but I can understand that you are upset about your fiance e-ring needed recoating after a few months...

If you/she really cannot stand the yellowish look of the white gold showing up everytime the rhodium plating starts wearing off you will have to change the setting for a platinum one. Of course it will be expensive, and again I understand your frustration, but maybe it would be better to start anew with a setting that won't recall you any bad memories?

 

[stone-cold11]

I wonder if James Allen can come back and tell us what type of allow they use on that ring or on all their rings? Before we assume anything like this bolded?

I agree, this is a consumer awareness issue.

JA probably bought it from a stock setting manufacturer and JA do not have much choice in what alloy is used other than what the manufacturer use.

 

[kenny]

OP I apologize; I don't mean to be rude.

BTW did you read James Allen's FAQ disclosure about white gold turning yellow? (See screen capture or link below)
FWIW I could not even find this much discloser on Whiteflash's or Good Old Gold's website.

Lots of women here wear and love their JA wedding and erings.
How will they feel about their rings after you calling them junk?

Considering JA's website's discloser and your approach in this thread, I think JA's offer is very generous and beyond reasonable.

http://www.jamesallen.com/faq/

 

[stone-cold11]

I definitely agree her ring shouldn't look like that. This is an example of an unplated 18k WG ring that is heavily scratched on the underside. Though some of the scratches are deep, (from banging against concrete) there is no color but silver. It is not just a consumer awareness issue, but an industry awareness issue. I didn't specifically request unplated or a specific alloy but I was fortunate that the ring's maker was thinking ahead about generations of wear.

Kelpie, I have many white gold pieces that look the same as the ring in your photo. No yellow, but not rhodium white either, just a warm grey metal color. That's why I'm wondering if it's an alloy issue. And, you're right, this should be addressed by the industry as a whole, especially since "white gold" has now become synonymous with "rhodium-plating."

Do not judge metal color of the setting based on images. There may be color balance issue, etc.

 

[that_someone_special]

Thanks for the replies including the one from JA. I am not trying to call anyone out with this thread or point fingers just trying to figure it out. I have my wife telling me to do enough things and these rings looking bad gets brought up daily and that adds to my honey do list
I see todays prices for the platinum rings are much higher than when I bought these a year or so ago..about 50%. The offer I got via email was for me to pay $1,417 (todays price). So offer is to give these rings back at the old much lower price and buy new rings at today's much higher price.

That was a very generous offer that JA did NOT have to give you.

Don't be greedy.
Be thankful and gracious and stop whining!

Hey Kenny, did you not read the agreement when you signed up for PriceScope? I just did when I signed up it basically said don't be a jerk to others and show respect and well you are being very rude. Guess what the offer was generous but still not a great deal considering we would still have to pay today's prices (which is almost double what they were 2 years ago and we WOULD have purchased had we been told that this would happen EVERY 3 months). He's not whining, I AM. They are my WEDDING rings and they should look great and I should be able to show them off, not be embarrassed because the plating wears off less than every 3 months and they look like crap.

Wow!
You ARE WHINING. This whole thread is whining. Perhaps no rings would be better? I sense that even if you had platinum rings you would start complaining about the scratching, and the dents, and omg it's not shiny anymore.

I'm sorry, but nothing stays perfect.

I guess I don't really understand what you really want. It's like you want the rings to magically just stay white now. Well, it's not going to happen, so you need to just deal with what you have and appreciate it.

 

[that_someone_special]

I dont' believe the "its her chemistry" thing either because the insides of these rings are PERFECT and shiny.. the side that sits on her skin all day. JA's site calls this ring "White Gold" when in fact it isn't.. its Rhodium plated yellow gold

In the pictures you posted I can clearly see a TON of scratches and dents. I'm sorry, but I've had my rings longer and they don't look anything like that. She must wear it a lot? Cleaning with it? scrubbing it clean? I'm not sure, but I just don't believe this is a JA problem.

Have her wear her other rings just as much as these, and scrub them like she would her w-set... and let's see if the rhodium comes off.

I bet it does..

 

[tyty333]

Did you ask JA if you could upgrade to palladium? The cost difference wouldnt be as much as plat and hopefully it would solve
your problem. Or...I wonder if JA would just give you back your money for the setting and you could start over somewhere else?
Dont know if that would be an option though. I think JA made a nice offer but $1400 is still a lot of money.

Hopefully JA will work with you and find a solution that you can both live with.

 

[LGK]

I think James Allen's offer is extremely generous.

Not all alloys seem to be created equal. My anecdotal evidence of this is I have a 18k 75 year old orange blossom band that is bright white and never plated to my knowledge. I have a 18k ring my jeweler made that was never plated that is bright white and I wear and clean it often. I have a pair of earring nuts that were downright yellow after one cleaning in the ultrasonic with some windex. It's a wonder why jewelers wouldn't choose the whitest alloy.

Antique white gold had really high nickel- looks great even without rhodium, naturally bright white. Sadly it's extremely allergenic, so that's why in the '70s they started using less nickel and rhodium plating instead.

AL & matt, I understand how irritating that would be especially if you remember being told you would only need to replate every three years.

You might, if you don't want to go to the trouble and expense of swapping settings, try going to some local jewelers and asking how much their rhodium plating is. Typically it's not that expensive- I've even had some jewelers do it free, actually. Not an ideal solution, but I hear you on the pain of how much prices have risen, and it might be worth at least asking around before you shell out $$$. Finding a good local jeweler can be a good thing anyway- it's a pain to have to ship things far away for minor issues like polishing and rhodium plating and thus go without your jewelry for long periods of time.

ETA: Ok, guess I was being redundant, haha! It does sound like local plating is kind of expensive. What I would do is try to get past the emotional issue- hard, since it's your wedding set I realize!- and realistically try to decide what would be a workable solution for you. Then, go to JA and try to get it. I feel that since you recall them telling you that the plating would only be required every 3 years, you have reason to feel frustrated. (Though, make sure- are you postive that's what the rep said or is it a conversation you only sort of recall after all this time? Just be *sure*, that's all I'm saying.)

The very best approach to trying to get what you want out of a customer service rep is this: first approach them very politely, but be firm and unemotional about what you want. Calling your rings "junk" to them right off the bat is not a good idea, or getting angry immediately no matter how frustrated you are. As someone who is in customer service, let me tell you- gettign the person you are working with on *your* side is crucial. You're more likely to get what you want, they're more likely to want to make you happy. You can always bring out the b!tch later if you need to, just don't do it too soon, y'know? Also, if you don't get an answer you like from someone low down on the totem pole, escalate til you get to JA, and hopefully he'll be there to make a good resolution with you. But knowing what you want first, is a great plan of attack IMO.

 

[kenny]

I'm starting to view rhodium plated white gold as I do those fashionable too-thin diamond-encursted rings.
A bad idea.
Unfortunately, fashion and demand pushes sellers to compete and offer these products.

As I google around it's clear that rhodium plating often leads to angry customers.

If I was a vendor I would not sell either - and I'd probably go broke because people want what they want, and often do not do their own homework.
People want and expect what's too good to be true.
They think, "Well if they sell it then it must be trouble free." and who knows what JA actually told the OP.
It's one word against the other.
All over the Internet there are warnings of the need for re dipping and nooooooooobody says 3 years.

 

[LGK]

I'm starting to view rhodium plated white gold as I do those fashionable too-thin diamond-encursted rings.
A bad idea.
Unfortunately, fashion and demand pushes sellers to compete and offer these products.

As I google around it's clear that rhodium plating often leads to angry customers.

If I was a vendor I would not sell either - and I'd probably go broke because people want what they want, and often do not do their own homework.
People want and expect what's too good to be true.
They think, "Well if they sell it then it must be trouble free." and who knows what JA actually told the OP.
It's one word against the other.
All over the Internet there are warnings of the need for re dipping and nooooooooobody says 3 years.

Seriously. I'm a convert too, after having had my larger OEC set in 18K originally when I bought it (came with that setting). It was well made but... I really didn't feel like the metal looked worthy of a nice stone, y'know? Especially when the plating started wearing (for me, it was just barely coming off the bottom of the shank at about a year's daily hard wear). I much prefer the look of PT over rhodium plating.

Yellow and rose gold may make a comeback- I hope they do, it's the way gold was intended to look! FWIW, I have an unplated 14K white gold setting and love the soft off-white color. I'd definitely go that route over rhodium plating any day, if PT was too hard on the pocket book.

(Sorry, mini threadjack!)

To the OPs- have you had the rhodium plating totally stripped and then had the setting polished? Unplated white gold, when the rhodium is all off, is hardly ugly. Don't know if it's your cup of tea or not, but it's another option. Or getting a palladium setting- cheaper than platinum, stays white- or one of those specialized alloys of white gold that doesn't need plating. There's a handful out there- I own one, it's 14K white gold mixed with palladium, and it's bright bright white. You may or may not be able to get it from JA but it might be worth looking into.

 

[CaprineSun]

I do think some have been somewhat rude to the posters. (But I have been seeing this a lot on PS in the past months .-- or maybe I'm just noticing it more?)

I would be very upset too if I was not expecting it to wear off so fast. Also, yes one can do a "little" research and see that the plating can come off 3months to 2 yrs; however, the OP went directly to the vendor to ask about their *specific* white gold and its distinctive wear time. It's akin to asking a vendor about the likeihood of their pave falling out. Yes, it tends to happen as it's the inherent nature of pave. However, a company like Ritani can confidently say the frequency of their pave falling out is minimal vs. a cheap cast stock setting which would be way more often. Even Leon Mege & other fine quality pave vendors can claim almost the same. Thus, when buying Ritani, you can expect the future fall-out rate to be less. These things are all why we choose one vendor over another.

Therefore, how can the OP be faulted because he trusted the actual vendor he was buying from?! (a few yrs vs a few months) I mean come on. And to name-call with the "whining"? Really? Also, of note, yes, the JA website gave disclosure of the plating wearing off (which, I'm sure, the OP already knew). It does NOT mention the time-frame in which this would happen (i.e. 3months to 2 yrs). OP was "aware" enough of the issue to ask (compared to most customers) & was told a few yrs for plating.

Many customers trust their jewelers about their merchandise & even greater trust in placed in PS vendors. I am in no way saying JA was blatantly dishonest in this. But the finger-pointing by some of the OPs should stop

I do agree that the offer by JA is generous, but I can also totally understand the OP's POV as none of this was expected-- not within 2-3months anyway & not for $1400 more vs what would have been $600.

My advice to the OP would be to take JA's offer for either 1. lower kt WG with nickel alloy; 2. Palladium alloy for WG (although palladium has it's own pitfalls), or 3. platinum. Options 1 & 2 would be cheaper than option 3.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Part of the benefit of PS is offering consumer accounts of their experiences with vendors. Matt and AL have done that in this thread wrt their experience with JA.

An equally important benefit of PS is helping consumers resolve their issues with vendors. If the OPs will tell us what they think is a fair conclusion to their issues, then perhaps it could be accomplished. Beyond the idea of rhodium plating regularly, there have been a number of other solutions suggested in this thread. I would like to know what the OPs would like to see happen.

I admit, it rubs me the wrong way when I read theads where consumers complain before they have tried to find a resolution with the vendor directly. Or who don't seem to have a clear idea of what they would like accomplished to solve their dilemma satisfactorily. Or when consumers wait months or even years to voice a complaint about a vendor, a time period that makes fair resolution very complicated (e.g., changed metal prices). This thread fits all of those categories.

I want the OPs to receive a fair resolution to their complaints. So what will that be? Matt and AL, its time to open a dialogue and stop reiterating your complains in each post. Contact Jim Shultz directly, or else start talking to us here so we can help you. This does not have to be an issue that mars your view of your rings. There is always a resolution.