Re-coating white gold - How often?

pledgeX

Firt off, sorry if this is the wrong section. I figured most folk in here are probably married so I might get the best response!

I'll be buying an engagement ring for the missus soon, one of the many choices I need to make is white gold vs platinum.

Now ideally I'd buy platinum, but for the ring I'm looking at (just the ring, no diamond) it's £260 vs £430 which is a pretty hefty chunk and means the diamond will have to be smaller/poorer quality.

I think the thing that may decide it would be how often I need to get the white gold replated. The local jewllers charge £30 a go and recommend doing it 1-2 times a year. Do you really need to do it that often? The skeptic in me says they only say 1-2 times a year to make more money!

Any opinions?

Mrs.W_2

Have you considered palladium? Harder wearing than gold, easier to polish than platinum. Said to be very good for intricate settings.

EDA: No need for replating or great expense!

WolfSong2000

Unfortunately there's no hard and fast rule when it comes to how often white gold need to be re-plated...depends on a number of factors, including what checmicals, etc, the ring will come into contact with whilst being worn, and also the reaction to the individual wearing it.

I used to work for a jewellers and some people could get away for absolutely ages without getting the white gold re-plated, but some people's skin seems to cause a "reaction" which erodes the plating (I was a sales person, not a scientist, so not sure why this was the case!).

For that reason alone I was, and still am, hesitant to recommend white gold...that and it scratches fairly easily which can "dull" the appearance (same thing will happen naturally as well, hence the necessity for re-plating).

If it were me, personally, I'd be going for platinum - or palladium as Mrs.W suggested. Yes, you may have to compromise on the diamond, but tbh, the size of the diamond is one of the smaller factors when it comes to quality/cost. Plus, if you do your research there's some good deals to be had. I'd be tempted to avoid regular highstreet jewellers and go independent, or use a reputable online store....or, if you're due a holiday, choose destination wisely and buy abroad and potentially save shedloads!

VfM4meplse

Forget anything that requires maintenance - I would go ahead and bust the budget. A £170 price difference is a small price to pay in comparison to other wedding costs, and it's a ring for life after all.

Make sure you're sitting down when you see quotes for cakes, flowers and other fripperies, as I think you may be in for one heck of a shock .

AbbieCadabra

i've got a few white gold rings that i've had for about 7 years, 9ct & 18ct. only 1 of them has a slightly yellow tinge on the back of the band & my skin is pretty bad for making metal tarnish.

LondonDreamer

My engagement ring is 18ct white gold, 8 years old and still very white as is my wedding ring. My husband's wedding band (7 years old) has yellowed a bit, but it's still white enough that we haven't felt the need to get it replated.

But the best person to ask is your missus! I wasn't that bothered about the metal (setting style was more important, and the only one I liked happened to be white gold) but both of my sisters-in-law insisted on platinum and would have been upset to get anything "less" than that.

bylromarha

My engagement ring is white gold, 15 years old. Never had it re-plated once. Nor my 13 year old white gold wedding ring.

Didn't know you could - they don't need it though. They probably don't look the way they did when purchased I guess, but the symbolism of them has been the priority over the shine.

evie33

Didn't know you were supposed to get them re-plated. My engagement ring is 20 years old and wedding ring 18 years. Both still look good.

claire16c

Id get the white gold. Jewellers will exaggerate how often they need to be redipped, to try to persuade you to buy the more expensive platinum. There is no way after 6 months it should need doing!

Ive had my engagement ring for 2 years now and its still silver looking, I expect it will be around 5 years until I get it redipped so it will take a long time before it would get close to the platinum price. My mums is about 35 years old and does look like yellow gold now as she hasnt bothered.

Also bear in mind if you buy a platinum engagement ring, then that will mean youll be getting a platinum wedding ring, adding even more money to the cost.

dizziblonde

My engagement ring's only just starting to need it doing - and we got engaged about 4 years ago. Because of the design of it - the only exposed part of the band is at the back of the ring so I'm just going to leave it until it causes me any reaction or bother and then I'll think about getting it done.

You have indirectly answered my query about roughly how much it'll cost me though - so thanks for that (we were actually discussing it this afternoon funnily enough).

I am VERY unkind to rings though!

silly_moo

My engagement ring is 4 years old and my wedding ring is 3 years old - both are white gold and have never been re-plated. They did lose a bit of the shine but as someone already mentioned sentimental value is more important. And seriously, after a few years your missus will not be bothered about the shine any more. It's only the first few months that you keep admiring your ring and are extra careful about not bashing it!