Is My Artcarved Class Ring Real Gold?
Q: I purchased an artcarved college class ring (10k traditional) in 1987,
originally I got a 25pt CZ and in 1995 my grandma had a 25pt diamond
put in it
and now it is a nice looking, durable ring that I have worn everyday
for 13 years but I gained about 10 pounds over the last 10 years and
its causing my finger discomfort and it needs to be resized.
I got some weird responses from jewlers when I inquired about getting
it sized, they all seemed reluctant to work or tell me why they did
not want the job. After talking with several jewlers and getting the
same strange behaviour from each, but I had to drag out of them the
reason! Finally, one jewler told me that they use cheap gold and in
the middle of working on them that they sometimes just melt away! I
am not jewelry expert, but I guess if it is stamped 10k gold, then a
jewler uses a certain amount of heat to do his work and the normal
recomended heat causes alot of class rings to melt since they have so
many impurities and are basically not the quality of gold that is
stamped on them.
Is this true?
A:Ten karat gold does not mean gold with a whole bunch of impurities. It means an
alloy of which 10/24ths is gold. In order to make the metal work well, the
remainder of the alloy is usually quite highly engineered, not just junk. It's
a mix of copper and silver and zinc (usually), along with a number of additional
trace elements. The intrinsic value of the alloy is more in the gold content
than in the other metals, and the gold is what tends to make the alloy more
tarnish resistant than it otherwise would be. Higher karat gold alloys will be
brighter yellow, last a bit longer, easier to work with for a jeweler, and will
cost more. But this does not mean the gold in your ring is junk.
The answer the jeweler gave you is unfortunate. I'd guess you talked to a
salesperson rather than an actual goldsmith. Often, especially in the chain
stores, the sales staff may have incorrect ideas as to just what is going on
with class rings, no matter how many times, or how carefully, we goldsmiths
explain things... (sigh).
The bottom line, though, is that you probably should not attempt to have your
ring sized by a jeweler, even though some few may be willing to try it. The
best method is to send the ring back to ArtCarved. Your original sales
paperwork will have the details on how to do this, and usually there is only a
nominal charge. What Artcarved, and other class ring manufacturers do is not to
size the ring, but to pull the mold off the shelf again, and make you a new
ring, in the correct size. it's cheaper for them to do this than to maintain a
repair department, plus there are a number of aspects to the way class rings are
made that makes the type of sizing operation common with other types of rings,
sometimes quite difficult and risky with class rings. Here's what they are:
1. The detailing on class rings is exceptional, and if damaged, usually quite
difficult if not impossible to fully restore. This means that a goldsmith
working on your ring cannot afford to get tool marks on design areas of the
ring. While this isn't insurmountable, it increases the chances of problems for
the jeweler.
2. The casting methods used with class rings are slightly unusual, in that they
usually incorporate a heat treating operation called age hardening. This
results in a gold alloy that is exceptionally hard and springy. This means the
ring will last a lot longer, but it also means that if a goldsmith cuts the
shank of the ring and attempts to bend it out in order to add a piece, he/she'll
find the metal very very hard to bend open and keep open in order to add the
piece. While it's not impossible, it is sometimes devilishly difficult to do
this gracefully, keeping the ring round, and keeping the shank the full
thickness, all without causing tool mark damage as noted above, to the design
portions of the ring.
3. The stone set portions in class rings often are filled in behind the stones
with resins. This may not be the case in your ring, if you've had a diamond put
in, but in some class rings, the synthetic stones are set over a sealed back
area. That keeps the stones clean and bright looking, but the resins used
cannot withstand any heating. neither can the plastic gaskets sometimes used
under the edges of the stones. This feature is usually exclusive to class ring
manufacturers, and allows the stones to be set by machine, as well as giving a
water tight seal under the stone, again to keep the stones clean. But again, it
won't withstand heating, and since these gaskets are impossible to detect before
you work on the ring, they represent an easy way for a jeweler to make an
absolute mess of your ring.
All in all, virtually any ring CAN, somehow, be sized if there is no other
choice, and you've found a good enough jeweler. These days, a shop equipped
with a laser welder, and staff skilled in their use, might well be able to do a
good job sizing your ring. Older methods with a torch are riskier, but again,
possible if the jeweler is skilled. But the potentials for damage to the ring,
and resulting liabilities to the jeweler, are often much greater for these types
of rings than for other types of rings, and many jewelers, not wishing the
liability or the inevitible hassles of working on these rings, simply refuse to
work on them so they don't end up getting in trouble with them.
Since the manufacturers almost all offer lifetime service guarantees, which
includes sizing, there is little point in having these rings sized, rather than
returning them to the manufacturer to be remade in the correct size. Class ring
manufacture is a highly specialized subset of the jewelry industry. The
products are somewhat unique, and the processes to make them are also somewhat
unique.