Gold rings turned black

Jeff Churchvara

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Jan 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM1/30/98

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Hi,

This may be a simple question for somebody who has experienced this. My
wife put her gold wedding rings into what she thought was an empty glass
on the windowsill. Both rings turned black and the thinnest of the two
cracked. She doesn't recall having any type of cleaner in the glass or
using the glass for something else, but she admits to not paying very
close attention. I checked the cabinet and all we have is X-14, which is
part bleach.

I checked the faq for this group and poked around the net a little, but
haven't found much information on what may have been in the glass that
could have reacted with the gold.

We're going to have them repaired but I figured I might get some insight
asking here since we won't get to the jeweler for a few days.

Thanks

Jeff Churchvara

Seaside941

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Jan 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM1/31/98

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Jeff, I think that the presence of chemicals like X-14 or bleach may be
responsible for the rings turning black, especially if they are low karat. I
seriously doubt that this caused the one ring to break. Possibly it was broken
or cracked already and she just noticed it when it turned color. Your jeweler
should be able to polish the black off easily as it is just an oxidation of the
alloys used in the jewelry. Does your wife work in the dental industry or
somewhere else where she might come in contact with mercury? Mercury will cause
gold to become very brittle. If it happens to be mercury, contact me and I will
tell you how to remove it safely.

John W. Dickson SeaSide Designs
seasi...@aol.com http://www.seadesigns.com
Dolphins, Mermaids, Sealife, Angels, Cherubs and other neat jewelry

LeeCo11

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Feb 1, 1998, 3:00:00 AM2/1/98

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> My
>wife put her gold wedding rings into what she thought was an empty glass
>on the windowsill. Both rings turned black and the thinnest of the two
>cracked. S

>I checked the cabinet and all we have is X-14, which is
>part bleach.

Hi Jeff,
Gold and Bleach do not mix. Never put gold in bleach. But I doubt the glass
was full or you would have noticed and known what was in it. Seems strange
that a few remaining fumes would do all that damage.
What happens is the chloride reacts with the silver and copper alloys in the
gold. Do you remember making silver chloride in hs chem. It is what makes the
metal turn dark brown. The break might have been a solder joint that was done
with low karat solder.

Lee

je...@wanda.vf.pond.com

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Feb 1, 1998, 3:00:00 AM2/1/98

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Hi again,

I want to let everyone know the outcome of this situation. Thanks to
everyone who responded privately.

This afternoon, I finally did get to the jeweler who made the rings. The
one ring that cracked did so at a solder joint from when the ring was
sized. The jeweler briefly cleaned them and they came back up. He thinks
they can be repaired, but we won't know for sure until next week.

I also got some more info on what happened. My wife was "cleaning" with
bleach when the trigger came off the bottle and soaked her hand. She
rinsed her hands into the glass and left the rings while she finished her
task.

So I think we can say that it "was" bleach in the glass and that's what
caused the gold to turn black.

I appreciate all the responses.

Jeff Churchvara

PKDickman

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Feb 2, 1998, 3:00:00 AM2/2/98

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In article <34d49b45...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>, seasi...@aol.com
(Seaside941) writes:

>eff, I think that the presence of chemicals like X-14 or bleach may
>be
responsible for the rings turning black, especially if they are low karat.
>I
seriously doubt that this caused the one ring to break. Possibly it was
>broken
or cracked already and she just noticed it when it turned color. Your
>jeweler
should be able to polish the black off easily as it is just an
>oxidation of the
alloys used in the jewelry. Does your wife work in the
>dental industry or
somewhere else where she might come in contact with
>mercury? Mercury will cause
gold to become very brittle. If it happens to be
>mercury, contact me and I will
tell you how to remove it safely.

A few of months ago my brother brought me a ring he needed sized. 14k
yellow with onyx he had ordered it from Ptak and needed sized down small enough
for his pinky.
I sized it. The metal was sound, no more porosity than I would expect from
any casting. It was however a pretty light weight ring.
A month later, he had his hands in a strong household bleach solution and
felt something pop.
A centimeter long piece broke out of his ring, well away from any solder
joints.

Keep your gold away from chlorine

Paul K. Dickman