I have a wedding set that is 14K white gold with rhodium plating. It is a heavy ring with thicker shanks than today's thin shanks with pave or just solid 2 mm shanks. I also had the rings soldered together after the spinning of both rings made me wild. I've got pretty acidic skin and wore my rings when I shouldn't, smack them around all the time. I've never had any of the known issues with WG and have gotten them replated once in 6 yrs. The jeweler did it just because it was already having the head replaced (from 4 prongs to 6 for my oval diamond, had soooo many problems with that 4 prong), and the ring didn't really Neeed it, but was almost to that point. I think many of the issues with white gold/rhodium can also vary according to the style of ring you're going to use the metal with, along with the lifestyle of the wearer.

OTOH, I now own a JbEG Gabbie with platinum and it does have a high polish. I assume it won't take long for the patina to arrive, but for now its very similar to my rhodiumed WG but with a grayer undertone. I really enjoy the shiny aspect of WG, so the jury is still out on how I'll feel about my platinum once it starts to patina.

Actually we DO work with palladium, especially custom. We just won't do repairs on a palladium piece we didn't make.

can you clean patina off yourself? i really dont trust ANY jeweler in new york.

Also can this type of machine be used to help keep your white gold or palladium clean without harming it ?

Jewelery cleaning device

those should be called Vibromatics. they're NOT sonic, they're sure not ultrasonic. all those do is vibrate the water - basically make a lot of noise but not really doing anything helpful.

there *ARE* sonic jewelry cleaners, but they're in the $80+ range.

Now that is some helpful information Dana thank you. I will spare no expense to get a REAL sonic jewelry cleaner but alas I'm like a blind man walking in a maze...not sure how to tell real from fake or get rich quick items from true to their word ones. I'll do some digging around see what I find. Thanks again for that big tip.

In one of the links Sparklee provided me I found this tidbit in the forum thread there...

"Most jewelers I talk to, including the manufacturers, say to AVOID the palladium! It gets brittle over time, has been known to discolor or pit, and we've had a designer manufacturer ring literally fall apart twice. It is definitely not a metal I would recommend unless you've got allergies to nickel."

Does it REALLY brittle ? That's a HUGE thing to me. I'm not one of those girls that wants another engagement ring I want just 1 ring that will last a lifetime and I get rather attached to sentimental pieces..it would crush me if it got brittle and broke.

Yes, it can become brittle over time, a very long time, but still. And all metals have their quirks,so I wouldn't put this one too high on the list.

Personally, I hate Palladium. I work in it when requested, but most jewelers don't do repairs properly, for example they use gold solder rather than palladium solder with sizing, they don't understand the heat issues, etc etc etc.. I wrote a giant blog post about it a very long time ago, I'm just not a fan.

I know that there are a lot of fans of the metal, but I'm not one.

Melrose, is platinum not an option for you? I htink you would be happier with it.

If you use a polishing cloth reglarily you can maintain your rings quite well, but eventually the patina will still be there. It is not ugly though...and some people like it and never poish it off. If you want it to stay new looking though, you should count on polishing it yourself and having it done once a year. But you ned to have your prongs checked anyway, so either way, you need to find a jeweler.

I was hoping I could just send the ring in to BDT for a yearly check up (if they do that) I really don't trust any jewelers in New York.

I considered Platinum for 20 seconds honestly. I don't like the idea of a heavy/heavier metal. I'm a light and airy type girl.

I dont think they do that... New York has some of the best benches in the world, lol, there has got to be someone there. I know there will be sketchy places too, but I am certain there are some good benches there.