ring upkeep questions

2 weeks is long but when mine is re dipped (Zales) it still takes them a week. They don't have the stuff to do it in store so it's outsourced, but maybe try a bigger store for yours next time and see what happens. I get mine re done every 6 months when they check it for my warranty

It's not that white gold rings are regular gold with rhodium but that white gold is mixed with other white metals (the % depending on the k gold you have) and even with being mixed with other white metals, white gold will still naturally be a little yellow. But yet, the rhodium coating is what gives the white gold its bright white finish.

Also 2 weeks does seem excessive for rhodium coating, however that is unfortunately what happens when a store sends all of the work out of house. I have had my e-ring re-coated once so far. Our jeweler does all of his work on site and the re-coating only took a minute. So most of that 2 weeks is the shipping there and back of your ring and it waiting in the queue for its turn. If you can find a store you can go to that does work on site, that would be ideal.

From the know-it-all girl who worked in fine jewelry for years, haha!: White gold is yellow gold alloyed with another white metal (often nickel or palladium), which will turn the gold whiter. Not always bright white, which is where the rhodium-plating comes in. Rhodium is a very bright white metal, related to the platinum family. You should always get your ring plated at LEAST once a year. Not only will it keep your ring bright, it also gives them a chance to check for any damage or issues your ring might have. Two weeks is a long turnaround time. I don't know of any jewelry stores who actually do repair work on-site (at least in this area), or that your warranty would cover the work done at a different store. If they're affiliated, they might, and the larger chain might be able to get it back faster since they have more customers in and out of the door. Our customers never had to wait more than a week, more often it was just a few days.

My ring is from a canadian chain and I just take my ring in for an inspection every 6 months, they send it through their ring polisher thing with Rhodium and I get it back within 5 minutes

Well if it makes you feel better, i took mine to zales to be re-dipped and the quoted me two weeks as well. they shipped it out to a jeweler. she told me a lot of the time, it depends on amount of work in the store. for instance, stay away from xmas and valentines day because it would take even longer during those times. i took mine last week and am sooo anxious to get it back. my hand just feels weird without my ring now. (crazy right?)

We purchased my wedding band from Jared. They have in-store repairs and the rhodium plate/resizing took literally a few hours, I didn't even have to leave it overnight. Not sure if that's all Jared stores, or just this particular one, but they were great.

I would be careful of your original shop's warranty. Some warranties state that if you go anywhere else for maintenance or repairs it voids the warranty.

Also, my Jared warranty actually states that I HAVE to bring the ring in approximately every 6 months for a "check up" of sorts. If I go for 3 years without bringing it in, and show up with it all scratched and trashed, they can void the warranty if they feel it's been neglected. (I'm paraphrasing a lot there but you know what I mean!)

Kris, you're totally right on that. I worked for a popular, but still family owned chain jewelry store on the West Coast. We usually honored warranties, even if it was pretty obvious they hadn't been in in years. But it was a personal thing we were allowed to 'get away with'. Some jewelers are big jerks (or maybe just looking out for their bottom line). :-) But either way, make SURE you know what your warranty covers AS WELL as what VOIDS it. You never wanna be surprised with something as valuable and sentimental as your wedding set. :-) One word of advice, as a former jerkface jeweler....you attract more flies with honey. Don't act like a diva. Everyone who purchased from us thinks THEIR ring is the most important. We could not have cared less. That sounds so mean, but it was the truth. Of course, we wanted everyone to be happy, but some brides came through with SUCH a sense of entitlement. Your ring isn't any MORE special because it was $15,000. Oh man...cont

No wonder I quit! Haha!! That place made me miserable, and left a bad taste in my mouth about marriage in general. Husbands and wives weren't allowed to surprise each other with engravings if THEY didn't purchase the ring for them. Our hands were so tied on so many things, and such beautiful things lost their value to us because we saw and handled them every day. We once got ripped off for $20,000 worth of engagement rings, and corporate barely batted an eyelash!! Such a sick, twisted industry...

Ugh. Sorry. Made that about me for a minute. Maybe 10. Thank goodness we're going back to church on Sunday. I apparently need a humility-check... :-)

I was told helzberg and rogers are sister stores and kays and jared are sister stores...so I don't know why it'd take one longer than the other. Mine is from a local jewelry store and when mine gets mega cleaned and replated it's gone for about a week. I completely forgot to send it out in time for the wedding (just thought of it yesterday) so instead of risking it I'm hoping a normal cleaning will do.

The reason it takes longer depending on location is because even sister stores usually don't use the same jeweler. In our case, we used a local jeweler who did all the repairs for a couple of the mall chains. He came in and picked up/dropped off 3-4 times per week. Other stores that were part of our same chain used a jeweler who only made a trip for pickups/deliveries once a week. So, you could buy a ring at location A, and although it's essentially the exact same store as location B, your ring could take 2 days to repair, or 2 weeks. Ask your seller to let you know how often their jeweler picks up the repairs. And what the shortest turnaround time is. They're usually happy to let you know the best day to drop it off to get it back the soonest.