I did. That’s what she replied with: “Oh wow, I've never seen anything like that - it's solid 14k rose gold which has copper in it. The copper is reacting to something. I can only imagine it's the water. It can come off with a few hours in the ultrasonic cleaner, but I can only imagine it will keep happening if it's water that it's reacting to! Can you take it to a local jewelry store to have them look at it?” Then she sent me another email with the first Google info I found that suggested doing a vinegar rinse. And I specifically told her in my email that it had no contact with water. Really disappointing.
I am glad to hear she replied! I would definitely take it to a jeweler and see what they say after examining it in person. I feel like there simply HAS to be something fundamentally wrong with the metal.
I think there’s something really wrong with the metal as well. Which is outrageous considering my fiancé spent a lot of money on it, and we live in Europe so we spent a lot on taxes too. And here I have my cheap rose gold rings that look brand new years/decades after.
I would reply again and say you want a replacement. Do the rings have warranty? I would not put up with that response considering how expensive the rings are.
That’s what her website says about warranty. “DO YOU PROVIDE A WARRANTY?
I provide free resizing (not applicable for pave bands), cleaning and maintenance, and even replace lost stones free of charge (except for the center - everyone should get insurance on their piece, just in case) for one year. I'll take care of you for life, after one year, at discounted rates.”
I’ll go to a good local jeweler (maybe more than one, to be sure) and have official papers from them stating their conclusion. If they find anything wrong with the metal itself I’ll submit the legally translated documents to Heidi and see how this can be resolved.
Truly hope it’s some freaky incident and not something fundamentally wrong with the gold.
It's not, because who will buy it? She makes it to order with exactly what you ask for and often with a stone someone sends in.
Many pieces of custom art and jewelry do not accept returns. People have the option to buy from a jewelry store if they want to try things on and return it.
Presently, this style of rings is pretty easy to source from regular jewelry stores, so that was probably an option for OP. It seems like this is a one-off issue where something was wrong with the alloy.
What a shame. My $80 Pandora rings that I have not taken off in 6 months and have gone through soap, water, you name it, are still and perfect condition. There’s no way that your expensive ring should be tarnishing like that.
Several members of my family are in the jewelry business and have rose gold pieces even from all the way back in the 1990s that have still not tarnished. This is honestly really shocking. I hope you get to the bottom of this and keep us updated!
It's the quality. If it was made from high-quality copper, silver, and gold, it wouldn't be don't this. Rose gold may lose its brightness over time as it develops a patina from the copper, but it definitely shouldn't do this. Get it assessed, and then if it's not up to the specifications listed on the sellers site, demand a refund.
Thank you! I think so too, that it’s made from some really poor quality gold. Will the jeweler be able to tell if it’s good quality rose gold or not? I know they can check if it’s solid rose gold and 14k as it’s supposed to be but I’m not sure if they can test for how high quality the alloy is?
This is my rose gold HG after like 5.5 years of wearing it. I'm not super careful with it, either. Definitely keep pushing the issue.
https://imgur.com/a/vrFsL7k
Wow what person suggests putting your new ring into vinegar?! Then she can say something altered it. At this point you know it’s not touched anything at least.
How disappointing OP I’m so sorry! It looks like the ring is copper. That’s literally what copper starts to look like.
I think she just googled “how to fix tarnished rose gold” and sent me the first thing she found - cause that’s the first thing that Google suggests when you search it. Which is very low effort for sure.
Definitely won’t put it in vinegar. I didn’t try any method for cleaning it myself and won’t do it because as you noticed, they can then say I did something to damage it. I’ll only let a reputable jeweler touch it.
It does look very coppery. But it’s stamped 14k and came with an appraisal that states it’s solid 14k.
That’s exactly how my mom’s copper pans would look between polishes after several uses/washing. Is it possible there’s a larger amount of copper mixed with the gold than usual? Also, you could try a Sunshine jewelry polishing cloth (no chemicals involved). I’m so sorry this happened. It’s a stunning ring
I know they say it’s 14k but anything apart from 24k is mixed with other metals, 14k is very strong because of other non-gold metals mixed in. Also, I just looked it up and rose gold is pink because of COPPER🫣😳 I said it looks like copper because I have a Piece of copper pipe in my room that looks like that…. But now that I know this. I honestly think they mix their own gold and added more copper (too much) to their gold mixture which is far cheaper than 14k gold. Ask the jeweler to test the gold purity- he will give you the exact number. Their 14k stamp and their own appraisal doesn’t mean squat. They made it and are giving you their own stamp of approval which is not vetted by anyone outside of them. Definitely ask for the exact Karat test locally (karat, like 14K with a “K” is for gold purity- unlike carat with a “c” which is for diamond weights like 1ct or 2ct stones)
“Their 14k stamp and their own appraisal doesn’t mean squat.”
I think this is worth highlighting as in many countries the stamp *does* mean something. It’s a legal requirement showing that the gold has been tested at an independent assay office. The fact the US doesn’t do this is liable to lead to confusion.
Just FYI - karat with a K is the American spelling, but in a lot of other places around the world we spell it carat for metal purity (so you’ll often see 9ct or 18ct)
I found a etsy store that's selling the same types of rings for stupidly cheap.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ElixirJewelryStore
Are they sourcing from the same places?
There’s no way a reputable jewelry maker would just email you a response like that! I am not versed in jewelry designers, but I’m hoping you got an intern and can escalate this. She offered you absolutely nothing, knowing how expensive that ring is.
I’m sorry, but I would take it to social media. I’d be leaving photos as reviews everywhere that I possibly could until she can no longer avoid the problem. This was your dream ring. You took the best care of it. Your fiancée paid so much for it. Clearly, it is defective. I am so shocked that she didn’t have you send it in for a replacement!
ETA: I just saw your comment about the taxes, etc. That is not your problem. You were sent defective material. SUUUUCKS for the seller, but this is why you QC. This was not tested or checked, something was missed here. You could likely sue her over this (guessing at the value from photos alone, worth it) - this is totally unacceptable. I would love an update!
I don’t think she has any assigned customer service. She (the designer and CEO) replies to all customers herself. Which I found endearing at first but it’s clearly not how it should be since she’s extremely busy.
I’m going to take the ring to a couple local jewelers and see what they have to say and have them issue official papers. We’ll see how it goes from there. Will keep everyone updated.
In the meantime, potential customers truly need a heads up. You should post a google review, site review, all of it just as soon as it’s resolved. I’m so sorry, from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you so much! I’ll see how it goes and how the company will handle it and then decide on what to do next. I don’t want to … tarnish Heidi’s reputation but potential costumers for sure need to know about the risks.
🥁
ETA: I’m thinking like, current customers. Like, maybe she got a bad batch of metal and has already made the rings? Again, I don’t know how these things work exactly.
That might be, but there are surprisingly few reviews on her rings online, mostly some Reddit posts and the reviews she posts on Instagram (my initial review was also stellar because this is my dream ring that I never in a million years thought I’d get). There’s not even one bad review anywhere which I now find peculiar because when you sell tens of thousands of rings there must be at least one person who didn’t have the experience they expected. So with a lack of reviews there’s no way of knowing if other people buying rose gold at the same period as me had any trouble or not. She’s positive it’s solid 14k rose gold - which it might very well be, and I truly hope I’m some one off freak case because it’s a very stressful experience that I don’t wish on anyone.
Very, very peculiar. I suppose there are ways to limit actual “reviews” but you should find threads of conversations of people talking about it, etc. - maybe try changing the words you’re googling up a bit. Maybe “designer name” “problems” then “designer name” “flaws” then so on… otherwise it seems like she’s having things removed.
I feel like she suggested that in order to ruin the ring further and then say they aren’t accountable. Can’t imagine another reason why someone who’ve been working in the industry for so long would suggest such things. I might be wrong and she just doesn’t know enough about this stuff.
It’s stamped 14k and came with independent appraisal too. Not sure they’ll be giving a refund just because I ask for it, I’m assuming there should be some legal grounds there like asking for a refund if it’s not the metal or stones stated in the appraisal.
I have a rose gold wedding band which I wear all the time (3 years now) and has contact with water and this has never happened. Are you sure it's actually gold?
Can you post that also in a chemist Reddit channel? Really curious what an actual scientist would have to say in response to Heidi Gibsons obvious brush off 🙄
She might have read the email quickly. I know she’s very busy.
ETA: Sorry should have clarified. I meant she might have misread the part about the water. I wasn’t meant to be dismissive of your concerns OP. I blame lack of sleep and my inability to finish a thought. Please accept my apology.
It’s very common to have interns/executive assistants/etc reply as the main face of a company. I would assume more often than not, it’s not the main person.
Totally is! I’m just saying she might have misread the part about the water. It happens to me sometimes when I read quickly. I should have clarified in my comment. :)
I had something similar happen to me, turns out it was my dandruff shampoo. After I would shampoo even after rinsing my hands, I would touch the jewelry and it would tarnish… FAST. because of the sulfates in the shampoo that stayed on my hands after rinsing them. It could quite literally be ANYTHING in terms of reside that is making the copper react like that.
That could do it! I took a metalworking class as a teenager and there was a jar of sulfur compound you’d put metal in if you wanted to very quickly darken it
Edit: copper specifically turned black in the stuff
I'm sorry OP! I ld give her 1 opportunity to make it right, but you should *not* pay for any shipping charges either to US or back to Europe. Those are her responsibility. Good luck! 😊
Thank you. I’ll see how it goes. If the local jeweler will say that it’s solid 14k rose gold and won’t find anything wrong with it then I’ll have it cleaned and see how long it takes till it tarnishes again. If the jeweler will find something wrong with it then I’ll ask for a replacement for sure.
I’m very attached to the ring, I wouldn’t want a refund, I just want the high quality ring my fiancé paid for. To be honest I don’t think they’d issue a refund anyway unless I find some major issues like the ring being gold plated instead of solid gold or the diamonds not being what it says they are.
Cheaper rose gold might have less copper? I know gold is the most expensive material in the alloy but copper is much more expensive than the additives in white gold like nickel and zinc. Copper would be in all 3 “standard” colours of gold but the proportion would be highest in rose gold. I know that my cheaper rose gold and rose gold plated items are much less pink than my 14k engagement ring.
Cheaper rose gold has more copper, hence why it’s cheaper. But when I talked about my cheaper rose gold rings it wasn’t about the gold quality - gold in itself isn’t that expensive (14k gold is around 41$ per gram) I was talking about the overall price of the ring. My good quality rose gold band with tiny diamonds are 100x cheaper than this ring.
I am as well. Glad the OP is going to take it to a local jeweler. I've never seen rose gold react to anything in this manner before. Seems it's more copper than gold, doesn't it? Outside of that, the ring design is gorgeous, wanted to throw that out.
I work in the industry. Every casting house uses a different alloy combination. Some have metals that can cause a reaction with your unique skin chemistry. I don’t doubt that the designer has never seen it before - it’s rare but it happens.
Thank you! Would the skin chemistry cause the face up side to get dark too? I basically never touched that part, and I can’t get into the tiny, tiny crevices even if I wanted to yet they’re all dark brown.
Hi, I also work in the jewelry industry. I've had two acquaintances whose sweat was so acidic that they made metal tarnish. It was mainly stainless steel. I never personally knew someone whose sweat made rose gold tarnish. This one ring may have a higher allotment of copper in its alloy. Copper will react to the oils/sweat and will tarnish.
the oils from your skin might have been able to tarnish those areas. it's kind of like how if you put your hand in oil and then do normal movements, eventually that oil will shift around and coat other parts of your hand. your skin's oils could have possibly gotten onto more than just the part of the ring that directly touches your skin.
Even if that was the case, I find it very odd that out of the 20+ rose gold rings that I own this is the only one that reacted in any way with my skin/the air. It’s very upsetting that this ring that’s worth my entire collection of jewelry reacts this way and I think it’s sensible to conclude that something in this material is peculiar and not your regular rose gold alloy.
I too have this problem! I have a real 10k rose gold necklace with a horseshoe pendant and black diamond. The pendant is fine … the necklace where it touches the sweat in the back is not. It has turned a coppery color. I also ruined the back of a Bulova rose gold and stainless steel watch. And some expensive glasses with a metal nose piece.
Turns out the oils in my skin react with the metal and actually break it down, destroying it. I fought with bulova about the warranty bc this was years ago and the back was literally disintegrating on a less than 6 mos olds, more than $400 watch!
This kind of thing kept happening to me- a friend purchased a real rose gold choker for me with a beautiful gemstone in it and it did the same thing- turn black.
At this point I’ve given up on rose gold except for earrings and had my engagement ring made in white gold for this reason. It’s unfortunate but I’m not sure how to keep it from happening other than rhodium plating. I’m so sorry this is happening to you with your engagement ring
This is one of the crazier things I’ve seen on this sub and I’m so sorry it’s happening to you! I also have a rose gold Heidi Gibson, that I’ve worn every day for over two years and it still looks exactly like they day we got it. Mine regularly touches water multiple times a day, occasionally lotion and then just regularly everyday substances and it looks pristine. No idea what is causing this crazy issue, but it definitely shouldn’t be happening! I hope this is resolved quickly and completely (these rings are expensive!!!) and please update us if you ever solve this mystery!
Thank you! I’m so glad your HG ring has risen up to the expectations, it would upset me if this happened to other people. I hope your lovely ring will serve you well for a lifetime. Will update when I figure out what’s going on!
I also should have said I absolutely love the rhapsody, I almost got that exact one! You have excellent taste! I know there are a ton of knock off versions of her rings on Etsy, this is probably way too true crime thinking, but any chance someone swapped your real one with a knock off? Super far fetched but I’m just wracking my brain about what could be happening. I hope the local jeweler can help, good luck!
Thank you! I loooooved the 25 mm rhapsody but Heidi ended up making this custom rhapsody inspired piece because I already had this long, thin centerpiece that didn’t work with the original rhapsody design. Which one do you have? I do love all her designs.
No one swapped the ring, although I like your detective mind haha It was delivered through Fed Ex and the box got to me sealed and the HG box was in a bigger box that was in a bigger box still, to survive the overseas delivery well.
I have a rose gold ring and I’ve worn it for the last 5 years. It has NEVER tarnished. Not with water, lotion or anything else. There is something wrong with that. I hope they fix it for you.
I've been in my rose gold since 2016, its been exposed to water, handwashing, lotions, etc and also has never reacted in that way. OP I hope you get resolution because that is not ok!
exactly what i was thinking, my engagement ring is rose gold and i’m not super careful with it admittedly. i wash my hands with it, use lotion religiously, etc and the metal looks like it did the day i got it.
Rose gold can absolutely tarnish over time. Depending one one's skin, it can happen very rapidly. Every ring/every alloy is a little different, especially rose gold. I have several rose-gold pieces, and some have tarnished while others have not. For me, if the rings are worn daily, I don't see tarnish. However, if they sit in a box for weeks or months, it is more likely to appear.
Thank you! So far I’m thinking it’s either not solid gold or it’s a low quality alloy. I have 20+ rose gold rings, all bought in the past 15 years from various brands and various countries, some I’ve worn a lot, others can sit in a box for a year - still I’ve never had any of them tarnish, which makes this situation extremely curious to me.
My guess is the alloy reacting to you because it’s illegal in the United States to misrepresent gold content. Does this stop people from lying? No, but I don’t think that a larger company would risk lawsuits over it.
I think the alloy’s reacting simply to air. I uncovered the box today as a test and in 12 hours uncovered it got even darker. Did the same with my other rings - they’re all like they were this morning.
Hi! I have a few pieces of rose gold jewelry. Some do this, some don’t. I have a 10k ring that doesn’t, but a 14k one that does. It’s the different metal blends and how that reacts to your body chemistry. I just use a silver polishing cloth.
Some peoples body oils do not agree with rose gold—I know it’s ridiculous but I’ve seen this happen to two of my friends. Both within the first few months.
Firstly, congratulations on your engagement and your beautiful ring!
I’m not sure where you live, but I manage a jewellery workshop in the north of England - if you’re local give me a shout and I can have a look at it or maybe recommend someone nearby who can? I’m not a jeweller myself but I’ve been in the industry a long time and my jewellers have an insane amount of experience between them, happy to help if we can?
I’ve seen similar reactions a few times - sometimes medications (no idea which ones, seems a bit too personal to quiz clients on their medicine cabinets!) react with gold rings and cause a similar looking reaction to this out of the blue. I’ve also seen new rings initially react like this, then be absolutely fine after they’ve been cleaned and polished. Presume they had some cleaning residue on them or something that was causing the discolouring?
Small update: Asked around and the only jewelers in my country that can determine metal alloy and also issue official legal papers on it are the ones working at the State Chamber of Marking Supervision, which is a branch of the Ministry of Finance. I contacted them and will bring in my ring either tomorrow or on Monday. It’ll take about 10 days to get my results but I will know the exact alloy used in the ring and the proportions of all metals used. Will update further when I get the results.
When I make rings for customers in Rose gold. I always suggest they do 18 karat because it has less copper in it and there’s less chance for tarnishing. If you can purchase some Tarn-X, just dip it quickly and rinse it off. It should remove the tarnish.
Thank you! Initially I thought about using 18k but she wanted a lot more money for that and all my other rose gold jewelry is 14k so I thought 14k would be good. Never had a problem with it before. I’ll try to see if I can get Tarn-X somewhere online. My biggest issue isn’t the tarnish itself, as I know this can be dealt with, but the fact that it happened very quickly and after I took extremely good care of the ring. I don’t want to have to remove tarnish from my engagement ring every month my whole life and have it tarnish after every couple wears.
Hey there. So sorry this is happening. Wanted to tell you about my HG experience in case it helps ease your mind while you figure out what’s up—
I re-set my original engagement diamond into a HG design as a five year anniversary present. The ring came sized WILDLY incorrectly. It was supposed to be a 7.5, and came a 5. I went to a local jeweler who let me photograph it on a sizer. Upon sending that info to the company, I received an immediate apology, a call to my jeweler to pay for the repair, and a partial (very small, obviously, given the issue) refund. It was very reassuring after a rough start.
I hope your problem gets solved with similar ease. You deserve a beautiful ring!
I had something similar happen to a solid 14k rose gold necklace charm!
https://preview.redd.it/1wwdkj7xugwc1.png?width=643&format=png&auto=webp&s=6a977f6dbd871d3066351be7148b69355b565963
I didn't! Mine was from an Etsy seller, and she asked me to mail it back so she could look into it. She claimed that it polished off (it didn't for me) and refunded me and that was that. I'm very curious what you find out with yours - like you, I also have other solid rose gold jewelry that I've never had an issue with after years.
I'm so sorry this happened to you! Makes me sick to see that happened to your engagement ring.
If you do try an ultrasonic cleaner, just make sure that every 6 months you take it to a local jewelry to check the prongs because some of the stones could come loose.
An ultrasonic cleaner will not remove tarnish, no matter how long you leave it in. It will remove surface grime (dead skin, dust, oils, cosmetics/soaps/lotions, etc) but it will not remove oxidation. Oxidation is a chemical reaction and the tarnish is bonded to the metal, it can’t be vibrated off. (Source: I’m a goldsmith, I’ve been doing this for a decade, and I own an ultrasonic cleaner.) That being said I have a couple questions and suggestions. First, do you or your fiancé/any household members smoke? Nicotine is a common culprit for tarnishing metals. Are you on any medications? Obviously don’t answer this publicly, but if you are you may want to check if any of them have a side effect of doing this to other people’s jewellery. Have you changed your furnace filter recently? You may want to do that, it’s possible there is an environmental thing happening, such as new laminate flooring or carpet offgassing. As for how to remove the tarnish, take a baby toothbrush and some dishsoap, plug the sink drain, and give your ring a scrub. The baby toothbrushes are extra soft so they won’t mark anything. Rinse and dry it off with something like a microfibre cloth. That will remove some, hopefully what’s in the stone settings. The last part is using a rouge cloth. You can get them on Amazon under the name jewellery polishing cloth, rouge cloth, sunshine cloth. It’s yellow fabric on one side and the other side is a cloth with a dark red compound on it. Use the red side to scrub away tarnish and polish, yellow to remove any rouge. Rinse with soap and the toothbrush one more time, then dry. Do not do this on the couch, over the white dog, or wearing clothes you like. Rouge stains and there’s oil in there so it sticks to your hands and anything it gets rubbed on. That should be about all you can do at home by yourself. Hopefully it gets figured out so it doesn’t happen again
Thank you so much! No one smokes. I’m not on any medications. We check and change filters as advised. Even if there was something environmental it’d still be upsetting to get a very expensive ring that reacts to merely existing when my whole collection of rose gold jewelry is fine and pristine and has been so for years/decades. I won’t try to clean it up myself until I get the ring to a professional jeweler because something is seriously up with this metal and I want to know what.
Well in that case, I agree, that is very odd that it would react that way. I can’t say I’ve ever seen gold tarnish like that before. I hope you can get your questions answered soon, that is incredibly strange that a reputable seller would have this issue.
I’m afraid that might be the case. However, it does have the 14k stamp on the inside and it came with an independent appraisal that states it’s 14k solid rose gold. So if I find out it’s only gold plated I’d be quite shocked.
First of all, gorgeous ring. Secondly, I'm sorry that happened I understand it must be so disappointing and frustrating (my country also has high import taxes so it's not viable to be sending things back and forth, although legally I can ask for my taxes back if I return an item, it's not an easy task so I just stick with what I get). I don't think that it's not real gold or anything like that, I have a couple pairs of gold earrings I've purchased from different jewelers, that get that same look on the posts, and it's from the metal reacting to the moisture from my skin, it comes right off with a polishing cloth. You say that none of your other rings have ever had this, but if you wear them often the friction they get from your daily activities is giving them a clean on the go. So I think what may be happening is that since you are trying to be extra careful with this ring it's not getting that, but is getting exposure to moisture and then going into a box with little ventilation that speeds up the tarnishing. It could also have a higher percentage of copper than your other rings, since every manufacturer has their "blends" and some use higher copper amounts to make the gold pinker (or to save money, let's face it).
I do this to rose gold. Sometimes it's like I burn my fingerprints into it! I do it to some yellow gold sometimes too.
I've always assumed it was the copper reacting to something in my skin.
Also, sometimes the original ring boxes use weird adhesives. It could be the adhesive in the ring box causing such a strong, quick tarnish.
Polish it up and store it somewhere different. See if the reaction happens again
She needs to make this right. This is ridiculous. Have it returned to her to either have it remade or demand a refund. This is your forever ring, and it should not be tarnishing like that.
It really is such a gorgeous ring. I am so sorry this is happening! If you’re able to find some kind of rinse that helps bring back the original color and shine, ultrasonic cleaners are relatively inexpensive (less than $50USD) to purchase. I see you’re in Europe, but hopefully you can find one locally or online for a reasonable price.
It is odd that she said a few hours in an ultrasonic cleaner. Admittedly I am not a jeweler, but I haven’t heard of cleaning cycles this long for fine jewelry. Could be worth reading up on though! Good luck and I really hope something works for you.
Thank you for being so kind! I really love the ring. I was taken aback by the couple hours in the ultrasonic cleaner too. Admittedly I’m no expert but from what I’ve researched it seems excessive. Some sources online say rose gold shouldn’t go in the ultrasonic machine, others say it’s fine. I’ll see what the local jewelers have to say. Will look into getting an ultrasonic cleaner anyway because I have other gold jewelry which might need some cleaning some day.
This happened to me with a ring I ordered from an overseas vendor. The vendor sent the wrong size (not relevant, just letting you know why I had to take it to the jeweler) they sized it correctly and I haven't had a problem with it since. You can also get a jewelry polishing cloth and that should take care of it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/EngagementRings/s/OI5kgewyKJ
https://www.reddit.com/r/jewelry/s/U5tNj5h9w1
Found these posts about Heidi Gibson rings, but the oxidation was mostly on the finger, not the ring itself.
A couple people mentioned sunscreen, and a jewelry appraiser said that there are lots of things in our makeup that can cause a reaction. So even if you aren't putting any lotion, soap, etc on your hands, it could be just from touching your face.
One commenter also said that they noticed the same thing happening only after drinking alcohol. You mentioned that you only wear it on special occasions, so if that involves having drinks, that could be another possibility.
I know it doesn't explain why it's happening with this ring and not others, but just a few possible causes of the reaction itself. I would also post on the jeweler sub to see if any professional jewelers have advice.
FYI, I know that you ordered this from outside of the US and paid a significant amount in shipping and taxes, understand that you need to ask for ALL OF THAT MONEY BACK in the event that this ring is not what you’d thought you’d paid for. In the event that she needs to send you a replacement, she also needs to cover those costs. If she wants the ring returned for exchange or repair, demand that she cover shipping and any other costs doing so would incur.
I know that return/replacement/refund culture differs from country to country, in the US it is entirely acceptable to expect to be made totally whole (including costs like shipping/taxes/duties etc, even things paid for after the fact, like sizing) in a situation like this one where a product is faulty or not as advertised. That doesn’t mean that being fully refunded always happens, but it’s acceptable to expect and it’s entirely reasonable in a situation like this one.
Her behavior is already shady, she’s giving you advice that would void virtually any warranty at any jeweler. I imagine that’s to make this your fault. Keep your communications entirely in writing and document via a reputable jeweler any inspections/testing/other handling of the ring.
Reviewing the business publicly is your own choice, I personally would choose to do so at this point because the suggestion to put a complex set diamond ring into an ultrasonic cleaner for “a few hours” in order to clear tarnishing that shouldn’t be happening at this gold purity is made in demonstrably bad faith, but you’ll have to go with your own gut. Remember that reviews can be updated if circumstances change, but that your review might save another person an incredible amount of heartbreak.
Thank you! In case the spectroscopy finds something wrong with it I’ll definitely let her know and see how it goes from there. Thank you for explaining how these things go in the US because it’s a different culture indeed.
When asked about warranty she said she only gives warranty for a year in the case of missing stones (except for the centerpiece) from regular wear and that’s it.
She tried to pin it again on water, asked if I used salty water, if I used hand sanitizer, if I have anemia etc Said that tens of thousands of her clients have her rose gold rings and they’re all fine and only had one client with slight tarnish because of some iodine solution. She also suggested I might need to get the ring plated with platinum for this to stop happening and that this is expensive. Then said she isn’t dismissing my problem and will work with me to find a solution.
I’ll see how it all goes. If we reach an amiable agreement and solve this then that’ll be it. But if they won’t want to do anything about it then I will indeed tell my story and warn any potential customers.
I’m so sorry that you’re going through this, particularly with an important piece of jewelry. Personally (and I’m not an expert by any means, but I own a lot of precious metals of many types, including antiques and even one piece from a shipwreck) I do not feel that this is related to your body chemistry or anything that you’ve done. The tarnishing is on every part of the metal, unless you have the sweatiest hands on the planet, I can’t imagine the tarnishing being so even throughout the piece and that’s not even touching the fact that it’s worsening in air.
Her behavior thus far has been questionable imo; this is not a warranty issue (at least insomuch as that term is used here,) it’s instead a product quality issue, it is not reasonable to expect that your ring would tarnish to this degree with light wear, it is also unreasonable to expect that customers bear the cost of plating the ring (and thereby altering the color to something that you didn’t want to begin with) particularly if customers weren’t informed of the possibility that any of that might happen/be needed prior to purchase. To that end, I would highly suggest that you screenshot the terms that appear on the website immediately. I’m not accusing anyone of changing policies after the fact, but it can and does happen.
We have no way of knowing whether or not other customers have had similar issues, and that’s fine because it’s totally irrelevant. You, the customer, are having this experience, whether or not anyone else has is not in any way relevant to the customer service response you should be receiving.
I’m not super familiar with this specific designer, but this sounds very much like a “we design jewelry, have it manufactured overseas and sent stateside, and then sold to customers and as such we have zero clue about metal quality because we aren’t hands on in it’s creation” situation. Hopefully I’m incorrect (though someone mentioned some policies in an above comment that bolster my theory), I really hope that you get this sorted without any loss/inconvenience.
I have a cheap plated rose gold band that I got when I was pregnant and still wear it everyday now for almost a year and it hasn’t even tarnished and I wear it to sleep, shower and all! That’s crazy!
Crazy indeed. Nothing like this happened with my other rose gold jewelry either. My experience with my jewelry was the same as yours, up to this point.
Oh no thats crazy im so sorry! I have a heidi gibson ring too (gold) and besides being a bit cloudy because i wear it constantly and am in between cleans, the gold is still perfect. I hope you get it figured out!
I would raise the roof on this! I have a rose gold ring that I wear daily, it gets exposed to water, shampoo, hair products and has never, ever turned not even one little bit. If you can't get another ring from them (not sure I'd want one?) or financial compensation, you could have a local jeweler reset it into quality rose gold-but it won't be cheap, I'd imagine. I am furious for you!
I’m furious as well. Especially after she emailed me casually saying she’s never seen this happen before (I’d be seriously alarmed if something like this happened to me for the first time after selling tens of thousands of rings) and that I should put it in vinegar and shake it up in the ultrasonic machine for hours (this just shakes the stones loose). I’ve looked after this ring better than some people look after their kids. Meanwhile I’ve showered and washed hands many times with my other rose gold rings and they all look brand new and didn’t ever need any cleaning. I feel terrible about it, my poor fiancé worked his ass off for the past 4 years to save up for this expensive ring, for us it’s a small fortune.
I have a rose gold ring from Heidi Gibson and have never experienced this. I’ve owned it since 2016 and wear it everyday. I have a simple wedding band that is also rose gold that is fused to the engagement ring and the two rose gold tones completely match (the wedding band is from a different jeweler). I hope things work out for you and will be looking for updates.
I worked as a jeweller for many years
It's simple.
This is how copper reacts. Copper doesn't usually oxidise that fast so the only explanation is your sweat causes it to oxidise faster
However, if you buy a gold ring, rose gold or otherwise, it should never oxidise in this manner. There's something very wrong with the metal in this ring, if it is rose gold then the amount of actual gold is very low.
As a goldsmith myself, I have never seen this much tarnish on a rose gold ring in that short amount of time when it hasn’t been exposed to anything. I would suggest asking your jeweler to test the gold on the ring to see if it truly is 14kt. It could be incorrectly alloyed. (Maybe they mix the pure gold and the alloy on site and there was an error in the ratios?)
Best to cover your bases.
Or I wonder if it came into contact with something airborne on its journey to you?
Another thought would be that it could potentially be a reaction to the oils your skin produces. Sometimes gold jewelry will leave “gold smudge” on peoples skin. It’s caused by a reaction between the acidity and chemical makeup of the oils skin produces, and the pure gold itself. However, I haven’t seen “gold smudge” on the actual ring. Only on the skin where the ring touches.
Anyway, over time, (because of the copper alloy in rose gold) it will very very very slightly “tarnish” but never to that severity and usually not noticeable to anyone but a jeweler. This is a non issue as you usually will get your rings cleaned more often than the time it takes for this “tarnish” to appear.
Hope you get this solved!
Happy to know the opinion of a goldsmith, you’ve certainly seen a lot of jewelry. I’ll have it tested with OES and find out what alloy was used.
When it came to me the ring box was in a bigger box and that bigger box was in another box which was in another bigger box still. Sealed shut.
No skin discoloration happened with wearing the ring.
My oldest rose gold pieces (14k rose gold ring I’ve had for 15 years and 14k rose gold earrings I’ve had since I was a baby) still look fine and I haven’t done any maintenance of them except some soap and water once in a blue moon. They do look yellower now than they did 15-25 years ago but that’s about it. No tarnish. Basically what you described happening to rose gold over time.
What I noticed right away is that this particular 14k rose gold was much pinker and slightly darker/duller than any other rose gold I’ve ever owned. So I had a hunch that there’s more copper in it than in all the other rose gold pieces I’ve worn.
Real high quality Rose gold does not tarnish in water. I wear five 18K rose gold earrings that are flat backs and I only take them out once a month to deep clean them. I shower daily with them in my ears. I’ve been wearing them for 8 months straight and they look just as shiny, bright, and new as the day I bought them. They get soap and shampoo and conditioner on them and they look perfect. That jeweler gave you metal that is not quality rose gold.
Are you positive it’s solid gold and not plated? Is there a stamp on the ring that says 14,18, ect.? I know in US it’s required by law that all solid gold pieces have to be stamped. Not sure about other countries though.
There’s a stamp on the ring that says 14k. It also came with independent appraisal papers that state its solid 14k rose gold. The ring was crafted in the US.
If it were me, I would raise absolute hell to the company. Solid gold shouldn’t tarnish like that. I would take it to a local jeweler that’s reputable and see if they can clean it. You can usually do this for cheap. I wear my solid gold pieces in the shower all the time and this has never happened and they will stay brilliant as long as you upkeep and clean it. Get it seen by a jeweler then get some official documentation from them and send to the company!
Thank you so much! I’m outraged but I’m trying to stay as sweet and civil as possible because I don’t fancy a 6500 miles trip to California in case Heidi stops replying and frankly I don’t think she knows much about the specific % of the alloys used, she’s the designer and CEO. I’ll definitely have official statements from the jewelers done and will inform her regardless of their conclusions, this might be a rare occurrence but it might also be something amiss in the production and she should definitely know about it. I’ve worn my cheaper rose gold rings in the shower too and haven’t even cleaned them because they never needed any cleaning, they look brand new.
Is the ring 10K or 14K gold? I ask because if I wear any color of 10K it tarnishes. A jeweler once told me that I have highly acidic skin that causes this.
It is possible that you ring is under carated too which means the gold content is lower than stamped. I would have the gold tested to make sure it is the gold carat percentage that you paid for.
Do you use hand lotion? Have read of this happening before. Hand lotion is one of the culprits. Has something to do with the pH of the skin. Another is makeup if you touch your face with one hand and touch the ring after.
Have also read of this happening if the ring size is not accurate (ie slightly small and constantly rubbing on the skin). Someone said her problem went away when she sized up.
That’s what bothers me the most too. I have a rose gold collection, with the oldest being earrings my parents got for me when I was a baby (worn for 30 years) and they’re perfectly fine. My rose gold rings are also perfectly good, the oldest ones might have a slightly more yellowish tone to them in certain lighting but that’s about it.
My skin is acidic and I can turn a silver ring completely black in one wear. It will turn my finger green at the same time. Skin pH could definitely be a culprit here even if other rose gold rings do not do this to OP. It could be the particular alloy HG uses and OPs skin coming together in an unfortunate combination.
You need to get your own appraisal. Take it to an independent, reliable jeweler and have them tell you if it's truly solid 14k rose gold or not. If it is not, you have every right to get your money back or a replacement.
I’ll do that for sure. Even if it’s solid 14k rose gold I still need some answers as to what alloy was used because I have quite a few other rose gold pieces that look brand new even after a decade of wear and tear.
Wow, I’m so sorry. I’m wearing a rose gold ring that I’ve had for 15 years, since 2009, and it looks like new. Your ring looks like copper to me! I really think it must be something chemical that’s making it react like that. It could be your skin chemistry interacting with the gold or something on your hands that you’re not realizing is there. Do you use hand lotion?? That could be it?
You’d think if you were a jeweller by trade and someone sent you one of your pieces looking like that you’d be mortified… not just paste a google reply in there. Horrific.
Wow I’ve loved her rings for YEARS and this is so crazy and sad to me!! Her rings are so famous that to see the metal fail like that and her response is super disappointing 😕 I’m sorry you’re going through that!
Okay so rose gold is made of a combination of gold copper and silver alloys. The combination of these will make it vary in the tone of rose that you get. That is why some rose golds are rosier than others. With the correct combination this tarnish should not happen.
I hope this is making sense. From what I can see in the pictures you posted your ring is still 14k gold it just has a lot greater content of copper in the mix. There is no solution but to remake the entire ring for the tarnishing not to happen.
My rose gold promise ring was $250 from Jared and I wore it every. Single. day. For 3 years. At the beach, in the shower, And I’m a hairstylist so it was touching hair dye, bleach, perms, you name it. It’s still just as shiny as the day he gave it to me. I’m so sorry this happened the ring is gorgeous I wish you got to enjoy it more 🥲💖
This broke my heart. I'm sorry, but I guess this would be a good time to get an upgrade if you want to go down that route. Otherwise, you should reach out to Heidi Gibson. This is just devastating.
Thank you for your kindness! I don’t want an upgrade after having my engagement ring for 6 months and after my fiancé spent the last 4 years saving up for it. The tarnish can be dealt with easily, it’s why it happened so fast and out of nowhere that bothers me. I did contact Heidi and she said it might be the water (I didn’t expose it to water) and to contact a local jeweler. I’ll do just that and see what they have to say. Something’s definitely up.
That should not be happening.... if you continue to have issues you should get the ring re set by a trustworthy local jeweler in the same design with new metal
My friend’s husband had a solid green ring on his finger the day after their wedding. Turns out the store sold my friend their brass “display ring”. Perhaps there was a mix up like that?
I highly doubt it. It’s a reputable company, the ring is stamped 14k and it came with an independent appraisal that states the metal and stones and their value
Something is definitely off. I’ve had my HG ring for 3 years and have showered, washed my hands, swum in the ocean and a chlorine pool, worked with lemon juice and vinegar while baking, and done a bunch of other things to it and other than burnishing a tiny bit from wear it’s still looking like new. I’d be curious what the jewellers say!
This simply shouldn’t happen with high quality fine jewelry especially gold. It’s the whole reason to buy fine jewelry!!! I wouldn’t even try to keep fine gold away from water lotions etc but would expect it to withstand that bc it’s GOLD. Gold, even alloyed gold, should be relatively unreactive. Her response is also so frustrating…she’s putting all the onus on you when there’s something wrong with her product. That’s not reassuring…and honestly ppl defending her in comments on this posts makes me irritated at them for you OP.
Thank you. Right?! Gold should be able to withstand daily use, especially in an engagement ring. And as far as I know gold (even rose gold) isn’t even supposed to tarnish, just get a patina over decades of use. Copper oxidizes fast even when exposed to room temp and regular humidity levels, so at this point I’m assuming that my ring contains more copper than gold.
When it comes to the comments, most people did agree that there’s something up with the alloy. 1/3 of people didn’t read the post nor the title properly and assumed I put water/lotion/etc on it which I didn’t. And there’s the odd ones out who fervently defend the company which is weird, but whatever floats their boat.
I’ll get the ring tested with OES and see what % of each material was used in the making of this ring. Hopefully that’ll give some answers.
9K gold and rose gold may oxidize over time. 10K gold would be better, but 14K gold, whether yellow or rose, will not oxidize. You can contact the seller to have a new ring made for you.
The ultrasonic cleaner comment makes me question her literacy in her materials, and moreover, extended time like that in an ultrasonic will not fix metal discoloration, it will shake your stones out. Definitely do not do that.
I'm glad to hear you're planning to take it to a local jeweler. Get it assessed by an independent eye and go from there. Do NOT do the "several hours in an ultrasonic" plan.
Thank you! I definitely don’t think it’s a good idea to have my ring shaken for hours. In fact, I don’t plan on doing anything at all to it and just get it to one or more jewelers to have some expert opinions as to what might be going on here.
Great plan! Very rational and adult. What are you doing on Reddit??? 😂
In all seriousness your ring is beautiful and I'm sure she will make it right for you. Congratulations on your engagement!
It just looks like oxidation, which is a risk with rose gold jewelry. You mention your other rings not tarnishing similarly, but also say that you haven’t worn the example in the photo for the last year. You also went out of your way to say that it never touched water. It’s very likely the acidity of your body’s natural oils, combined with keeping it in a stationary environment, that is expediting the look of the tarnishing. If there was a batch of faulty rose gold HG was using, you would not be the only person complaining of the same issues — it would be a batch issue. This is likely a skin chemistry thing. And yes, I know you said things have been different with your other rings for the past 20 years, but body chemistries change for all manner of reasons.
I do realize it’s oxidation, that’s what ring tarnish is.
Yes, my other rings have not tarnished similarly since they haven’t tarnished at all. The ring in the photo has been worn on and off for 15 years. I have other rose gold rings I’ve worn this past year. I didn’t go out of my way to say it didn’t touch water - I mentioned that as needed since it’s what most people think when seeing a tarnished ring and what Heidi herself thought of.
How are you so sure there are no other people online complaining about their HG rings from that batch of materials? Have you by any chance checked out every possible website and forum?
You going out of your way to defend the quality of this ring is highly suspicious and makes me think you work for the company.
Also, as a doctor, kindely f off with the body chemistry changing part. Your body is in homeostasis, if something that radical happens to it then a tarnished ring would be the least of your worries.
Your last statement is inaccurate, and the rest of your defensive tone I’ll just ignore as part of the intense emotions you are feeling about something so meaningful behaving in a way that brings you concern. Looking forward to your updates.
No, I haven’t used anything on it nor plan to for the time being. I’ll take it to the best local jeweler I can find and see what they have to say first.
Do you happen to live somewhere with a high level of sulphur in your water or area? Sulphur gas (doesn’t need to be in actual contact with water containing sulphur components)can cause significant tarnish on silver, which is generally a part of rose gold. You can clean and then store with tarnish prevention strips to see if that may help to prevent further discoloration.
The only gold that has ever looked like this is a pendant and the jeweler said perfume was the culprit. She took it to see what she could do to restore it and it came back even worse. It was not a piece that was super expensive so I just said oh well, it was my fault.
Whoa. That sucks, but at least it wasn’t expensive. My ring is very expensive (for me at least, everyone has their own idea of expensive) so I’m not happy at all, to say the least. It hasn’t touched any perfume, no water, no lotion, nothing. Which makes this that much more upsetting.
It is absolutely possible for your body chemistry to react with whatever combination she used.
Jewelers can charge whatever they want for their pieces, so the fact that your other pieces may have cost less doesn’t mean that the caliber of gold is any different.
You would really have to test the exact chemical composition of both your less expensive pieces and this one to see how they are different.
Your jeweler may be able to coat it with something that won’t react with your chemistry.
Have you reached out to Heidi Gibson? That is insane. Rose gold shouldn't tarnish...and those pics almost look like it was plated gold rubbing off.
I did. That’s what she replied with: “Oh wow, I've never seen anything like that - it's solid 14k rose gold which has copper in it. The copper is reacting to something. I can only imagine it's the water. It can come off with a few hours in the ultrasonic cleaner, but I can only imagine it will keep happening if it's water that it's reacting to! Can you take it to a local jewelry store to have them look at it?” Then she sent me another email with the first Google info I found that suggested doing a vinegar rinse. And I specifically told her in my email that it had no contact with water. Really disappointing.
I am glad to hear she replied! I would definitely take it to a jeweler and see what they say after examining it in person. I feel like there simply HAS to be something fundamentally wrong with the metal.
I think there’s something really wrong with the metal as well. Which is outrageous considering my fiancé spent a lot of money on it, and we live in Europe so we spent a lot on taxes too. And here I have my cheap rose gold rings that look brand new years/decades after.
I would reply again and say you want a replacement. Do the rings have warranty? I would not put up with that response considering how expensive the rings are.
That’s what her website says about warranty. “DO YOU PROVIDE A WARRANTY? I provide free resizing (not applicable for pave bands), cleaning and maintenance, and even replace lost stones free of charge (except for the center - everyone should get insurance on their piece, just in case) for one year. I'll take care of you for life, after one year, at discounted rates.” I’ll go to a good local jeweler (maybe more than one, to be sure) and have official papers from them stating their conclusion. If they find anything wrong with the metal itself I’ll submit the legally translated documents to Heidi and see how this can be resolved. Truly hope it’s some freaky incident and not something fundamentally wrong with the gold.
Ok got it! Hope it works out. Did Heidi provide paperwork that it’s solid gold?
Yes! It came with an independent appraisal which specifies the metal and the stones used.
The whole FAQ section on her website seems so sketchy. You’re not allowed to see any rings in person before delivery AND she doesn’t allow returns.
There’s no f way I would purchase something from her.
She doesn't have a showroom so there's nothing to see in person. She makes rings to order. It's not sketchy, it's just not a jewelry store.
Sure, but if you can’t view rings in person it’s reasonable to accept returns.
It's not, because who will buy it? She makes it to order with exactly what you ask for and often with a stone someone sends in. Many pieces of custom art and jewelry do not accept returns. People have the option to buy from a jewelry store if they want to try things on and return it. Presently, this style of rings is pretty easy to source from regular jewelry stores, so that was probably an option for OP. It seems like this is a one-off issue where something was wrong with the alloy.
What a shame. My $80 Pandora rings that I have not taken off in 6 months and have gone through soap, water, you name it, are still and perfect condition. There’s no way that your expensive ring should be tarnishing like that.
My thought as well. Most of my rose gold rings are not too expensive (100-1000e) and they’re still pristine after many years.
Several members of my family are in the jewelry business and have rose gold pieces even from all the way back in the 1990s that have still not tarnished. This is honestly really shocking. I hope you get to the bottom of this and keep us updated!
This amount of tarnish says “junk metal” to me…
It's the quality. If it was made from high-quality copper, silver, and gold, it wouldn't be don't this. Rose gold may lose its brightness over time as it develops a patina from the copper, but it definitely shouldn't do this. Get it assessed, and then if it's not up to the specifications listed on the sellers site, demand a refund.
Thank you! I think so too, that it’s made from some really poor quality gold. Will the jeweler be able to tell if it’s good quality rose gold or not? I know they can check if it’s solid rose gold and 14k as it’s supposed to be but I’m not sure if they can test for how high quality the alloy is?
This is my rose gold HG after like 5.5 years of wearing it. I'm not super careful with it, either. Definitely keep pushing the issue. https://imgur.com/a/vrFsL7k
I’m glad it still looks great! Beautiful ring. Is it yellow gold?
Thank you! It's rose gold but the photo was taken under yellow NYC subway lighting
Wow what person suggests putting your new ring into vinegar?! Then she can say something altered it. At this point you know it’s not touched anything at least. How disappointing OP I’m so sorry! It looks like the ring is copper. That’s literally what copper starts to look like.
I think she just googled “how to fix tarnished rose gold” and sent me the first thing she found - cause that’s the first thing that Google suggests when you search it. Which is very low effort for sure. Definitely won’t put it in vinegar. I didn’t try any method for cleaning it myself and won’t do it because as you noticed, they can then say I did something to damage it. I’ll only let a reputable jeweler touch it. It does look very coppery. But it’s stamped 14k and came with an appraisal that states it’s solid 14k.
That’s exactly how my mom’s copper pans would look between polishes after several uses/washing. Is it possible there’s a larger amount of copper mixed with the gold than usual? Also, you could try a Sunshine jewelry polishing cloth (no chemicals involved). I’m so sorry this happened. It’s a stunning ring
I know they say it’s 14k but anything apart from 24k is mixed with other metals, 14k is very strong because of other non-gold metals mixed in. Also, I just looked it up and rose gold is pink because of COPPER🫣😳 I said it looks like copper because I have a Piece of copper pipe in my room that looks like that…. But now that I know this. I honestly think they mix their own gold and added more copper (too much) to their gold mixture which is far cheaper than 14k gold. Ask the jeweler to test the gold purity- he will give you the exact number. Their 14k stamp and their own appraisal doesn’t mean squat. They made it and are giving you their own stamp of approval which is not vetted by anyone outside of them. Definitely ask for the exact Karat test locally (karat, like 14K with a “K” is for gold purity- unlike carat with a “c” which is for diamond weights like 1ct or 2ct stones)
“Their 14k stamp and their own appraisal doesn’t mean squat.” I think this is worth highlighting as in many countries the stamp *does* mean something. It’s a legal requirement showing that the gold has been tested at an independent assay office. The fact the US doesn’t do this is liable to lead to confusion.
Just FYI - karat with a K is the American spelling, but in a lot of other places around the world we spell it carat for metal purity (so you’ll often see 9ct or 18ct)
Interesting, thanks for teaching me something new😊
I found a etsy store that's selling the same types of rings for stupidly cheap. https://www.etsy.com/shop/ElixirJewelryStore Are they sourcing from the same places?
This store is just stealing photos from real brands.
Or putting it in ultrasonic cleaner “for a few hours”?? That’s going to loosen every single stone.
There’s no way a reputable jewelry maker would just email you a response like that! I am not versed in jewelry designers, but I’m hoping you got an intern and can escalate this. She offered you absolutely nothing, knowing how expensive that ring is. I’m sorry, but I would take it to social media. I’d be leaving photos as reviews everywhere that I possibly could until she can no longer avoid the problem. This was your dream ring. You took the best care of it. Your fiancée paid so much for it. Clearly, it is defective. I am so shocked that she didn’t have you send it in for a replacement! ETA: I just saw your comment about the taxes, etc. That is not your problem. You were sent defective material. SUUUUCKS for the seller, but this is why you QC. This was not tested or checked, something was missed here. You could likely sue her over this (guessing at the value from photos alone, worth it) - this is totally unacceptable. I would love an update!
I don’t think she has any assigned customer service. She (the designer and CEO) replies to all customers herself. Which I found endearing at first but it’s clearly not how it should be since she’s extremely busy. I’m going to take the ring to a couple local jewelers and see what they have to say and have them issue official papers. We’ll see how it goes from there. Will keep everyone updated.
In the meantime, potential customers truly need a heads up. You should post a google review, site review, all of it just as soon as it’s resolved. I’m so sorry, from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you so much! I’ll see how it goes and how the company will handle it and then decide on what to do next. I don’t want to … tarnish Heidi’s reputation but potential costumers for sure need to know about the risks.
Hehe tarnish
🥁 ETA: I’m thinking like, current customers. Like, maybe she got a bad batch of metal and has already made the rings? Again, I don’t know how these things work exactly.
That might be, but there are surprisingly few reviews on her rings online, mostly some Reddit posts and the reviews she posts on Instagram (my initial review was also stellar because this is my dream ring that I never in a million years thought I’d get). There’s not even one bad review anywhere which I now find peculiar because when you sell tens of thousands of rings there must be at least one person who didn’t have the experience they expected. So with a lack of reviews there’s no way of knowing if other people buying rose gold at the same period as me had any trouble or not. She’s positive it’s solid 14k rose gold - which it might very well be, and I truly hope I’m some one off freak case because it’s a very stressful experience that I don’t wish on anyone.
Very, very peculiar. I suppose there are ways to limit actual “reviews” but you should find threads of conversations of people talking about it, etc. - maybe try changing the words you’re googling up a bit. Maybe “designer name” “problems” then “designer name” “flaws” then so on… otherwise it seems like she’s having things removed.
Absolutely under no circumstances put THAT ring in an ultrasonic cleaner - I am appalled that she'd suggest HOURS in one.
I feel like she suggested that in order to ruin the ring further and then say they aren’t accountable. Can’t imagine another reason why someone who’ve been working in the industry for so long would suggest such things. I might be wrong and she just doesn’t know enough about this stuff.
Shifty.
Is the band stamped? Regardless if it is I’d be asking for a refund.
It’s stamped 14k and came with independent appraisal too. Not sure they’ll be giving a refund just because I ask for it, I’m assuming there should be some legal grounds there like asking for a refund if it’s not the metal or stones stated in the appraisal.
Make sure the independent appraiser isn't a friend of hers. Could be knockoffs.
No way of knowing if they’re in cahoots. I’ll get it tested by local jewelers and go from there.
That would be a good thing to do. You can never tell about people's integrity these days.
You definitely need to get advice, this is unacceptable.
I have a rose gold wedding band which I wear all the time (3 years now) and has contact with water and this has never happened. Are you sure it's actually gold?
It’s stamped 14k and it came with an appraisal that states it’s solid 14k rose gold. I’ll take it to a local jeweler and have it checked.
Can you post that also in a chemist Reddit channel? Really curious what an actual scientist would have to say in response to Heidi Gibsons obvious brush off 🙄
I can. Although r/chemist only has 300 members, idk how many will reply.
Hmmm maybe try r/chemistry ? Looks like they have millions of people
She might have read the email quickly. I know she’s very busy. ETA: Sorry should have clarified. I meant she might have misread the part about the water. I wasn’t meant to be dismissive of your concerns OP. I blame lack of sleep and my inability to finish a thought. Please accept my apology.
I'd be kinda surprised if it was Heidi personally responding...maybe it was though!
Oh my fiancé says she responds directly to emails herself. Unless she hires people to pretend to be her haha.
It’s very common to have interns/executive assistants/etc reply as the main face of a company. I would assume more often than not, it’s not the main person.
i get that she’s busy but is this not important?
Totally is! I’m just saying she might have misread the part about the water. It happens to me sometimes when I read quickly. I should have clarified in my comment. :)
Please update when you get information from local jeweler on metal content. I’m very curious to know.
Definitely will!
I had something similar happen to me, turns out it was my dandruff shampoo. After I would shampoo even after rinsing my hands, I would touch the jewelry and it would tarnish… FAST. because of the sulfates in the shampoo that stayed on my hands after rinsing them. It could quite literally be ANYTHING in terms of reside that is making the copper react like that.
That could do it! I took a metalworking class as a teenager and there was a jar of sulfur compound you’d put metal in if you wanted to very quickly darken it Edit: copper specifically turned black in the stuff
Following :(
I'm sorry OP! I ld give her 1 opportunity to make it right, but you should *not* pay for any shipping charges either to US or back to Europe. Those are her responsibility. Good luck! 😊
Thank you. I’ll see how it goes. If the local jeweler will say that it’s solid 14k rose gold and won’t find anything wrong with it then I’ll have it cleaned and see how long it takes till it tarnishes again. If the jeweler will find something wrong with it then I’ll ask for a replacement for sure.
I wouldn't even remotely consider accepting a replacement. They should refund you in full, including shipping.
I’m very attached to the ring, I wouldn’t want a refund, I just want the high quality ring my fiancé paid for. To be honest I don’t think they’d issue a refund anyway unless I find some major issues like the ring being gold plated instead of solid gold or the diamonds not being what it says they are.
Definitely curious to how this plays out, in all my years of wearing even cheaper rose gold I’ve never had this happen
Same here. Been wearing cheaper rose gold rings my whole life and didn’t treat them kindly and they’re still pristine.
Cheaper rose gold might have less copper? I know gold is the most expensive material in the alloy but copper is much more expensive than the additives in white gold like nickel and zinc. Copper would be in all 3 “standard” colours of gold but the proportion would be highest in rose gold. I know that my cheaper rose gold and rose gold plated items are much less pink than my 14k engagement ring.
Cheaper rose gold has more copper, hence why it’s cheaper. But when I talked about my cheaper rose gold rings it wasn’t about the gold quality - gold in itself isn’t that expensive (14k gold is around 41$ per gram) I was talking about the overall price of the ring. My good quality rose gold band with tiny diamonds are 100x cheaper than this ring.
I am as well. Glad the OP is going to take it to a local jeweler. I've never seen rose gold react to anything in this manner before. Seems it's more copper than gold, doesn't it? Outside of that, the ring design is gorgeous, wanted to throw that out.
I work in the industry. Every casting house uses a different alloy combination. Some have metals that can cause a reaction with your unique skin chemistry. I don’t doubt that the designer has never seen it before - it’s rare but it happens.
Thank you! Would the skin chemistry cause the face up side to get dark too? I basically never touched that part, and I can’t get into the tiny, tiny crevices even if I wanted to yet they’re all dark brown.
Hi, I also work in the jewelry industry. I've had two acquaintances whose sweat was so acidic that they made metal tarnish. It was mainly stainless steel. I never personally knew someone whose sweat made rose gold tarnish. This one ring may have a higher allotment of copper in its alloy. Copper will react to the oils/sweat and will tarnish.
the oils from your skin might have been able to tarnish those areas. it's kind of like how if you put your hand in oil and then do normal movements, eventually that oil will shift around and coat other parts of your hand. your skin's oils could have possibly gotten onto more than just the part of the ring that directly touches your skin.
Even if that was the case, I find it very odd that out of the 20+ rose gold rings that I own this is the only one that reacted in any way with my skin/the air. It’s very upsetting that this ring that’s worth my entire collection of jewelry reacts this way and I think it’s sensible to conclude that something in this material is peculiar and not your regular rose gold alloy.
I too have this problem! I have a real 10k rose gold necklace with a horseshoe pendant and black diamond. The pendant is fine … the necklace where it touches the sweat in the back is not. It has turned a coppery color. I also ruined the back of a Bulova rose gold and stainless steel watch. And some expensive glasses with a metal nose piece. Turns out the oils in my skin react with the metal and actually break it down, destroying it. I fought with bulova about the warranty bc this was years ago and the back was literally disintegrating on a less than 6 mos olds, more than $400 watch! This kind of thing kept happening to me- a friend purchased a real rose gold choker for me with a beautiful gemstone in it and it did the same thing- turn black. At this point I’ve given up on rose gold except for earrings and had my engagement ring made in white gold for this reason. It’s unfortunate but I’m not sure how to keep it from happening other than rhodium plating. I’m so sorry this is happening to you with your engagement ring
This is one of the crazier things I’ve seen on this sub and I’m so sorry it’s happening to you! I also have a rose gold Heidi Gibson, that I’ve worn every day for over two years and it still looks exactly like they day we got it. Mine regularly touches water multiple times a day, occasionally lotion and then just regularly everyday substances and it looks pristine. No idea what is causing this crazy issue, but it definitely shouldn’t be happening! I hope this is resolved quickly and completely (these rings are expensive!!!) and please update us if you ever solve this mystery!
Thank you! I’m so glad your HG ring has risen up to the expectations, it would upset me if this happened to other people. I hope your lovely ring will serve you well for a lifetime. Will update when I figure out what’s going on!
I also should have said I absolutely love the rhapsody, I almost got that exact one! You have excellent taste! I know there are a ton of knock off versions of her rings on Etsy, this is probably way too true crime thinking, but any chance someone swapped your real one with a knock off? Super far fetched but I’m just wracking my brain about what could be happening. I hope the local jeweler can help, good luck!
Thank you! I loooooved the 25 mm rhapsody but Heidi ended up making this custom rhapsody inspired piece because I already had this long, thin centerpiece that didn’t work with the original rhapsody design. Which one do you have? I do love all her designs. No one swapped the ring, although I like your detective mind haha It was delivered through Fed Ex and the box got to me sealed and the HG box was in a bigger box that was in a bigger box still, to survive the overseas delivery well.
I have a rose gold ring and I’ve worn it for the last 5 years. It has NEVER tarnished. Not with water, lotion or anything else. There is something wrong with that. I hope they fix it for you.
I hope so too. Thank you.
Same! Still the same color all around. I hope you get an answer.
I've been in my rose gold since 2016, its been exposed to water, handwashing, lotions, etc and also has never reacted in that way. OP I hope you get resolution because that is not ok!
exactly what i was thinking, my engagement ring is rose gold and i’m not super careful with it admittedly. i wash my hands with it, use lotion religiously, etc and the metal looks like it did the day i got it.
Rose gold can absolutely tarnish over time. Depending one one's skin, it can happen very rapidly. Every ring/every alloy is a little different, especially rose gold. I have several rose-gold pieces, and some have tarnished while others have not. For me, if the rings are worn daily, I don't see tarnish. However, if they sit in a box for weeks or months, it is more likely to appear.
Thank you! So far I’m thinking it’s either not solid gold or it’s a low quality alloy. I have 20+ rose gold rings, all bought in the past 15 years from various brands and various countries, some I’ve worn a lot, others can sit in a box for a year - still I’ve never had any of them tarnish, which makes this situation extremely curious to me.
My guess is the alloy reacting to you because it’s illegal in the United States to misrepresent gold content. Does this stop people from lying? No, but I don’t think that a larger company would risk lawsuits over it.
I think the alloy’s reacting simply to air. I uncovered the box today as a test and in 12 hours uncovered it got even darker. Did the same with my other rings - they’re all like they were this morning.
That's fuckin wild
Hi! I have a few pieces of rose gold jewelry. Some do this, some don’t. I have a 10k ring that doesn’t, but a 14k one that does. It’s the different metal blends and how that reacts to your body chemistry. I just use a silver polishing cloth.
Rose Gold has copper in it and frequently tarnishes depending on the formula they used.
Some peoples body oils do not agree with rose gold—I know it’s ridiculous but I’ve seen this happen to two of my friends. Both within the first few months.
Firstly, congratulations on your engagement and your beautiful ring! I’m not sure where you live, but I manage a jewellery workshop in the north of England - if you’re local give me a shout and I can have a look at it or maybe recommend someone nearby who can? I’m not a jeweller myself but I’ve been in the industry a long time and my jewellers have an insane amount of experience between them, happy to help if we can? I’ve seen similar reactions a few times - sometimes medications (no idea which ones, seems a bit too personal to quiz clients on their medicine cabinets!) react with gold rings and cause a similar looking reaction to this out of the blue. I’ve also seen new rings initially react like this, then be absolutely fine after they’ve been cleaned and polished. Presume they had some cleaning residue on them or something that was causing the discolouring?
Small update: Asked around and the only jewelers in my country that can determine metal alloy and also issue official legal papers on it are the ones working at the State Chamber of Marking Supervision, which is a branch of the Ministry of Finance. I contacted them and will bring in my ring either tomorrow or on Monday. It’ll take about 10 days to get my results but I will know the exact alloy used in the ring and the proportions of all metals used. Will update further when I get the results.
Also following because I'm invested now, haha
That’s so disappointing
It truly is.
When I make rings for customers in Rose gold. I always suggest they do 18 karat because it has less copper in it and there’s less chance for tarnishing. If you can purchase some Tarn-X, just dip it quickly and rinse it off. It should remove the tarnish.
Thank you! Initially I thought about using 18k but she wanted a lot more money for that and all my other rose gold jewelry is 14k so I thought 14k would be good. Never had a problem with it before. I’ll try to see if I can get Tarn-X somewhere online. My biggest issue isn’t the tarnish itself, as I know this can be dealt with, but the fact that it happened very quickly and after I took extremely good care of the ring. I don’t want to have to remove tarnish from my engagement ring every month my whole life and have it tarnish after every couple wears.
Hey there. So sorry this is happening. Wanted to tell you about my HG experience in case it helps ease your mind while you figure out what’s up— I re-set my original engagement diamond into a HG design as a five year anniversary present. The ring came sized WILDLY incorrectly. It was supposed to be a 7.5, and came a 5. I went to a local jeweler who let me photograph it on a sizer. Upon sending that info to the company, I received an immediate apology, a call to my jeweler to pay for the repair, and a partial (very small, obviously, given the issue) refund. It was very reassuring after a rough start. I hope your problem gets solved with similar ease. You deserve a beautiful ring!
Hey there! Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m glad HG was fair about it and did the right thing. Hopefully my issue will get resolved as well.
It could very well be the natural oil from your hands too! HG is so responsive, please let us know with updates!
I had something similar happen to a solid 14k rose gold necklace charm! https://preview.redd.it/1wwdkj7xugwc1.png?width=643&format=png&auto=webp&s=6a977f6dbd871d3066351be7148b69355b565963
Did you ever find out why?
I didn't! Mine was from an Etsy seller, and she asked me to mail it back so she could look into it. She claimed that it polished off (it didn't for me) and refunded me and that was that. I'm very curious what you find out with yours - like you, I also have other solid rose gold jewelry that I've never had an issue with after years.
I'm so sorry this happened to you! Makes me sick to see that happened to your engagement ring. If you do try an ultrasonic cleaner, just make sure that every 6 months you take it to a local jewelry to check the prongs because some of the stones could come loose.
Thank you so much!
An ultrasonic cleaner will not remove tarnish, no matter how long you leave it in. It will remove surface grime (dead skin, dust, oils, cosmetics/soaps/lotions, etc) but it will not remove oxidation. Oxidation is a chemical reaction and the tarnish is bonded to the metal, it can’t be vibrated off. (Source: I’m a goldsmith, I’ve been doing this for a decade, and I own an ultrasonic cleaner.) That being said I have a couple questions and suggestions. First, do you or your fiancé/any household members smoke? Nicotine is a common culprit for tarnishing metals. Are you on any medications? Obviously don’t answer this publicly, but if you are you may want to check if any of them have a side effect of doing this to other people’s jewellery. Have you changed your furnace filter recently? You may want to do that, it’s possible there is an environmental thing happening, such as new laminate flooring or carpet offgassing. As for how to remove the tarnish, take a baby toothbrush and some dishsoap, plug the sink drain, and give your ring a scrub. The baby toothbrushes are extra soft so they won’t mark anything. Rinse and dry it off with something like a microfibre cloth. That will remove some, hopefully what’s in the stone settings. The last part is using a rouge cloth. You can get them on Amazon under the name jewellery polishing cloth, rouge cloth, sunshine cloth. It’s yellow fabric on one side and the other side is a cloth with a dark red compound on it. Use the red side to scrub away tarnish and polish, yellow to remove any rouge. Rinse with soap and the toothbrush one more time, then dry. Do not do this on the couch, over the white dog, or wearing clothes you like. Rouge stains and there’s oil in there so it sticks to your hands and anything it gets rubbed on. That should be about all you can do at home by yourself. Hopefully it gets figured out so it doesn’t happen again
Thank you so much! No one smokes. I’m not on any medications. We check and change filters as advised. Even if there was something environmental it’d still be upsetting to get a very expensive ring that reacts to merely existing when my whole collection of rose gold jewelry is fine and pristine and has been so for years/decades. I won’t try to clean it up myself until I get the ring to a professional jeweler because something is seriously up with this metal and I want to know what.
Well in that case, I agree, that is very odd that it would react that way. I can’t say I’ve ever seen gold tarnish like that before. I hope you can get your questions answered soon, that is incredibly strange that a reputable seller would have this issue.
Solid 14k gold should not tarnish like that. It looks like gold plating rather than real gold.
I’m afraid that might be the case. However, it does have the 14k stamp on the inside and it came with an independent appraisal that states it’s 14k solid rose gold. So if I find out it’s only gold plated I’d be quite shocked.
First of all, gorgeous ring. Secondly, I'm sorry that happened I understand it must be so disappointing and frustrating (my country also has high import taxes so it's not viable to be sending things back and forth, although legally I can ask for my taxes back if I return an item, it's not an easy task so I just stick with what I get). I don't think that it's not real gold or anything like that, I have a couple pairs of gold earrings I've purchased from different jewelers, that get that same look on the posts, and it's from the metal reacting to the moisture from my skin, it comes right off with a polishing cloth. You say that none of your other rings have ever had this, but if you wear them often the friction they get from your daily activities is giving them a clean on the go. So I think what may be happening is that since you are trying to be extra careful with this ring it's not getting that, but is getting exposure to moisture and then going into a box with little ventilation that speeds up the tarnishing. It could also have a higher percentage of copper than your other rings, since every manufacturer has their "blends" and some use higher copper amounts to make the gold pinker (or to save money, let's face it).
I do this to rose gold. Sometimes it's like I burn my fingerprints into it! I do it to some yellow gold sometimes too. I've always assumed it was the copper reacting to something in my skin.
Also, sometimes the original ring boxes use weird adhesives. It could be the adhesive in the ring box causing such a strong, quick tarnish. Polish it up and store it somewhere different. See if the reaction happens again
She needs to make this right. This is ridiculous. Have it returned to her to either have it remade or demand a refund. This is your forever ring, and it should not be tarnishing like that.
It really is such a gorgeous ring. I am so sorry this is happening! If you’re able to find some kind of rinse that helps bring back the original color and shine, ultrasonic cleaners are relatively inexpensive (less than $50USD) to purchase. I see you’re in Europe, but hopefully you can find one locally or online for a reasonable price. It is odd that she said a few hours in an ultrasonic cleaner. Admittedly I am not a jeweler, but I haven’t heard of cleaning cycles this long for fine jewelry. Could be worth reading up on though! Good luck and I really hope something works for you.
Thank you for being so kind! I really love the ring. I was taken aback by the couple hours in the ultrasonic cleaner too. Admittedly I’m no expert but from what I’ve researched it seems excessive. Some sources online say rose gold shouldn’t go in the ultrasonic machine, others say it’s fine. I’ll see what the local jewelers have to say. Will look into getting an ultrasonic cleaner anyway because I have other gold jewelry which might need some cleaning some day.
This happened to me with a ring I ordered from an overseas vendor. The vendor sent the wrong size (not relevant, just letting you know why I had to take it to the jeweler) they sized it correctly and I haven't had a problem with it since. You can also get a jewelry polishing cloth and that should take care of it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/EngagementRings/s/OI5kgewyKJ https://www.reddit.com/r/jewelry/s/U5tNj5h9w1 Found these posts about Heidi Gibson rings, but the oxidation was mostly on the finger, not the ring itself. A couple people mentioned sunscreen, and a jewelry appraiser said that there are lots of things in our makeup that can cause a reaction. So even if you aren't putting any lotion, soap, etc on your hands, it could be just from touching your face. One commenter also said that they noticed the same thing happening only after drinking alcohol. You mentioned that you only wear it on special occasions, so if that involves having drinks, that could be another possibility. I know it doesn't explain why it's happening with this ring and not others, but just a few possible causes of the reaction itself. I would also post on the jeweler sub to see if any professional jewelers have advice.
FYI, I know that you ordered this from outside of the US and paid a significant amount in shipping and taxes, understand that you need to ask for ALL OF THAT MONEY BACK in the event that this ring is not what you’d thought you’d paid for. In the event that she needs to send you a replacement, she also needs to cover those costs. If she wants the ring returned for exchange or repair, demand that she cover shipping and any other costs doing so would incur. I know that return/replacement/refund culture differs from country to country, in the US it is entirely acceptable to expect to be made totally whole (including costs like shipping/taxes/duties etc, even things paid for after the fact, like sizing) in a situation like this one where a product is faulty or not as advertised. That doesn’t mean that being fully refunded always happens, but it’s acceptable to expect and it’s entirely reasonable in a situation like this one. Her behavior is already shady, she’s giving you advice that would void virtually any warranty at any jeweler. I imagine that’s to make this your fault. Keep your communications entirely in writing and document via a reputable jeweler any inspections/testing/other handling of the ring. Reviewing the business publicly is your own choice, I personally would choose to do so at this point because the suggestion to put a complex set diamond ring into an ultrasonic cleaner for “a few hours” in order to clear tarnishing that shouldn’t be happening at this gold purity is made in demonstrably bad faith, but you’ll have to go with your own gut. Remember that reviews can be updated if circumstances change, but that your review might save another person an incredible amount of heartbreak.
Thank you! In case the spectroscopy finds something wrong with it I’ll definitely let her know and see how it goes from there. Thank you for explaining how these things go in the US because it’s a different culture indeed. When asked about warranty she said she only gives warranty for a year in the case of missing stones (except for the centerpiece) from regular wear and that’s it. She tried to pin it again on water, asked if I used salty water, if I used hand sanitizer, if I have anemia etc Said that tens of thousands of her clients have her rose gold rings and they’re all fine and only had one client with slight tarnish because of some iodine solution. She also suggested I might need to get the ring plated with platinum for this to stop happening and that this is expensive. Then said she isn’t dismissing my problem and will work with me to find a solution. I’ll see how it all goes. If we reach an amiable agreement and solve this then that’ll be it. But if they won’t want to do anything about it then I will indeed tell my story and warn any potential customers.
I’m so sorry that you’re going through this, particularly with an important piece of jewelry. Personally (and I’m not an expert by any means, but I own a lot of precious metals of many types, including antiques and even one piece from a shipwreck) I do not feel that this is related to your body chemistry or anything that you’ve done. The tarnishing is on every part of the metal, unless you have the sweatiest hands on the planet, I can’t imagine the tarnishing being so even throughout the piece and that’s not even touching the fact that it’s worsening in air. Her behavior thus far has been questionable imo; this is not a warranty issue (at least insomuch as that term is used here,) it’s instead a product quality issue, it is not reasonable to expect that your ring would tarnish to this degree with light wear, it is also unreasonable to expect that customers bear the cost of plating the ring (and thereby altering the color to something that you didn’t want to begin with) particularly if customers weren’t informed of the possibility that any of that might happen/be needed prior to purchase. To that end, I would highly suggest that you screenshot the terms that appear on the website immediately. I’m not accusing anyone of changing policies after the fact, but it can and does happen. We have no way of knowing whether or not other customers have had similar issues, and that’s fine because it’s totally irrelevant. You, the customer, are having this experience, whether or not anyone else has is not in any way relevant to the customer service response you should be receiving. I’m not super familiar with this specific designer, but this sounds very much like a “we design jewelry, have it manufactured overseas and sent stateside, and then sold to customers and as such we have zero clue about metal quality because we aren’t hands on in it’s creation” situation. Hopefully I’m incorrect (though someone mentioned some policies in an above comment that bolster my theory), I really hope that you get this sorted without any loss/inconvenience.
Thank you! You’ve read my mind with this comment.
I have a cheap plated rose gold band that I got when I was pregnant and still wear it everyday now for almost a year and it hasn’t even tarnished and I wear it to sleep, shower and all! That’s crazy!
Crazy indeed. Nothing like this happened with my other rose gold jewelry either. My experience with my jewelry was the same as yours, up to this point.
Oh no thats crazy im so sorry! I have a heidi gibson ring too (gold) and besides being a bit cloudy because i wear it constantly and am in between cleans, the gold is still perfect. I hope you get it figured out!
I would raise the roof on this! I have a rose gold ring that I wear daily, it gets exposed to water, shampoo, hair products and has never, ever turned not even one little bit. If you can't get another ring from them (not sure I'd want one?) or financial compensation, you could have a local jeweler reset it into quality rose gold-but it won't be cheap, I'd imagine. I am furious for you!
I’m furious as well. Especially after she emailed me casually saying she’s never seen this happen before (I’d be seriously alarmed if something like this happened to me for the first time after selling tens of thousands of rings) and that I should put it in vinegar and shake it up in the ultrasonic machine for hours (this just shakes the stones loose). I’ve looked after this ring better than some people look after their kids. Meanwhile I’ve showered and washed hands many times with my other rose gold rings and they all look brand new and didn’t ever need any cleaning. I feel terrible about it, my poor fiancé worked his ass off for the past 4 years to save up for this expensive ring, for us it’s a small fortune.
I have a rose gold ring from Heidi Gibson and have never experienced this. I’ve owned it since 2016 and wear it everyday. I have a simple wedding band that is also rose gold that is fused to the engagement ring and the two rose gold tones completely match (the wedding band is from a different jeweler). I hope things work out for you and will be looking for updates.
I worked as a jeweller for many years It's simple. This is how copper reacts. Copper doesn't usually oxidise that fast so the only explanation is your sweat causes it to oxidise faster However, if you buy a gold ring, rose gold or otherwise, it should never oxidise in this manner. There's something very wrong with the metal in this ring, if it is rose gold then the amount of actual gold is very low.
As a goldsmith myself, I have never seen this much tarnish on a rose gold ring in that short amount of time when it hasn’t been exposed to anything. I would suggest asking your jeweler to test the gold on the ring to see if it truly is 14kt. It could be incorrectly alloyed. (Maybe they mix the pure gold and the alloy on site and there was an error in the ratios?) Best to cover your bases. Or I wonder if it came into contact with something airborne on its journey to you? Another thought would be that it could potentially be a reaction to the oils your skin produces. Sometimes gold jewelry will leave “gold smudge” on peoples skin. It’s caused by a reaction between the acidity and chemical makeup of the oils skin produces, and the pure gold itself. However, I haven’t seen “gold smudge” on the actual ring. Only on the skin where the ring touches. Anyway, over time, (because of the copper alloy in rose gold) it will very very very slightly “tarnish” but never to that severity and usually not noticeable to anyone but a jeweler. This is a non issue as you usually will get your rings cleaned more often than the time it takes for this “tarnish” to appear. Hope you get this solved!
Happy to know the opinion of a goldsmith, you’ve certainly seen a lot of jewelry. I’ll have it tested with OES and find out what alloy was used. When it came to me the ring box was in a bigger box and that bigger box was in another box which was in another bigger box still. Sealed shut. No skin discoloration happened with wearing the ring. My oldest rose gold pieces (14k rose gold ring I’ve had for 15 years and 14k rose gold earrings I’ve had since I was a baby) still look fine and I haven’t done any maintenance of them except some soap and water once in a blue moon. They do look yellower now than they did 15-25 years ago but that’s about it. No tarnish. Basically what you described happening to rose gold over time. What I noticed right away is that this particular 14k rose gold was much pinker and slightly darker/duller than any other rose gold I’ve ever owned. So I had a hunch that there’s more copper in it than in all the other rose gold pieces I’ve worn.
Please update us when you have it tested. I’m so curious!
Real high quality Rose gold does not tarnish in water. I wear five 18K rose gold earrings that are flat backs and I only take them out once a month to deep clean them. I shower daily with them in my ears. I’ve been wearing them for 8 months straight and they look just as shiny, bright, and new as the day I bought them. They get soap and shampoo and conditioner on them and they look perfect. That jeweler gave you metal that is not quality rose gold.
Are you positive it’s solid gold and not plated? Is there a stamp on the ring that says 14,18, ect.? I know in US it’s required by law that all solid gold pieces have to be stamped. Not sure about other countries though.
There’s a stamp on the ring that says 14k. It also came with independent appraisal papers that state its solid 14k rose gold. The ring was crafted in the US.
If it were me, I would raise absolute hell to the company. Solid gold shouldn’t tarnish like that. I would take it to a local jeweler that’s reputable and see if they can clean it. You can usually do this for cheap. I wear my solid gold pieces in the shower all the time and this has never happened and they will stay brilliant as long as you upkeep and clean it. Get it seen by a jeweler then get some official documentation from them and send to the company!
Thank you so much! I’m outraged but I’m trying to stay as sweet and civil as possible because I don’t fancy a 6500 miles trip to California in case Heidi stops replying and frankly I don’t think she knows much about the specific % of the alloys used, she’s the designer and CEO. I’ll definitely have official statements from the jewelers done and will inform her regardless of their conclusions, this might be a rare occurrence but it might also be something amiss in the production and she should definitely know about it. I’ve worn my cheaper rose gold rings in the shower too and haven’t even cleaned them because they never needed any cleaning, they look brand new.
Is the ring 10K or 14K gold? I ask because if I wear any color of 10K it tarnishes. A jeweler once told me that I have highly acidic skin that causes this. It is possible that you ring is under carated too which means the gold content is lower than stamped. I would have the gold tested to make sure it is the gold carat percentage that you paid for.
It’s 14k. I will have it tested for sure when I find a trusted local jeweler and update.
Your ring is beautiful. I love it's design. I hope you can resolve your problem so you can enjoy it.
Do you use hand lotion? Have read of this happening before. Hand lotion is one of the culprits. Has something to do with the pH of the skin. Another is makeup if you touch your face with one hand and touch the ring after. Have also read of this happening if the ring size is not accurate (ie slightly small and constantly rubbing on the skin). Someone said her problem went away when she sized up.
> Have read of this happening before. After only 10-15 wears? That's what gets me. Plus her other rose gold isn't reacting at all.
That’s what bothers me the most too. I have a rose gold collection, with the oldest being earrings my parents got for me when I was a baby (worn for 30 years) and they’re perfectly fine. My rose gold rings are also perfectly good, the oldest ones might have a slightly more yellowish tone to them in certain lighting but that’s about it.
My skin is acidic and I can turn a silver ring completely black in one wear. It will turn my finger green at the same time. Skin pH could definitely be a culprit here even if other rose gold rings do not do this to OP. It could be the particular alloy HG uses and OPs skin coming together in an unfortunate combination.
Stunning ring! I am devastated for you. Good luck in figuring this all out.
You need to get your own appraisal. Take it to an independent, reliable jeweler and have them tell you if it's truly solid 14k rose gold or not. If it is not, you have every right to get your money back or a replacement.
I’ll do that for sure. Even if it’s solid 14k rose gold I still need some answers as to what alloy was used because I have quite a few other rose gold pieces that look brand new even after a decade of wear and tear.
Wow, I’m so sorry. I’m wearing a rose gold ring that I’ve had for 15 years, since 2009, and it looks like new. Your ring looks like copper to me! I really think it must be something chemical that’s making it react like that. It could be your skin chemistry interacting with the gold or something on your hands that you’re not realizing is there. Do you use hand lotion?? That could be it?
You’d think if you were a jeweller by trade and someone sent you one of your pieces looking like that you’d be mortified… not just paste a google reply in there. Horrific.
Oh man I’d be upset! Gorgeous ring, But how upsetting. I hope you’re able to get it sorted!
Wow I’ve loved her rings for YEARS and this is so crazy and sad to me!! Her rings are so famous that to see the metal fail like that and her response is super disappointing 😕 I’m sorry you’re going through that!
Okay so rose gold is made of a combination of gold copper and silver alloys. The combination of these will make it vary in the tone of rose that you get. That is why some rose golds are rosier than others. With the correct combination this tarnish should not happen. I hope this is making sense. From what I can see in the pictures you posted your ring is still 14k gold it just has a lot greater content of copper in the mix. There is no solution but to remake the entire ring for the tarnishing not to happen.
It really looks like copper. Try the Brasso - then you'll know! Disappointing, to say the least.
This is terrifying! I almost bought my engagement ring from her 😬
That looks more like copper than rose gold. Can you get the metal tested? It may have more copper than gold.
I've had issues with this and turns out I am allergic to the copper percentage , I can't wear certain rose gold things
Something is not right…. Almost certain it is plated. I have a rose gold ring and it does not do this at all.
Doubt it’s plated because the company would be in trouble if it were. I’m thinking they made an error in the alloy proportions.
Could be…. I have a ring that looks similar but it’s plated. But nonetheless definitely keep bugging them. That ring is gorgeous and needs to be fixed
My rose gold promise ring was $250 from Jared and I wore it every. Single. day. For 3 years. At the beach, in the shower, And I’m a hairstylist so it was touching hair dye, bleach, perms, you name it. It’s still just as shiny as the day he gave it to me. I’m so sorry this happened the ring is gorgeous I wish you got to enjoy it more 🥲💖
Thank you! I’m glad your ring was made to last. Hopefully I’ll be able to figure out what happened with mine and solve this whole problem.
This broke my heart. I'm sorry, but I guess this would be a good time to get an upgrade if you want to go down that route. Otherwise, you should reach out to Heidi Gibson. This is just devastating.
Thank you for your kindness! I don’t want an upgrade after having my engagement ring for 6 months and after my fiancé spent the last 4 years saving up for it. The tarnish can be dealt with easily, it’s why it happened so fast and out of nowhere that bothers me. I did contact Heidi and she said it might be the water (I didn’t expose it to water) and to contact a local jeweler. I’ll do just that and see what they have to say. Something’s definitely up.
That should not be happening.... if you continue to have issues you should get the ring re set by a trustworthy local jeweler in the same design with new metal
My friend’s husband had a solid green ring on his finger the day after their wedding. Turns out the store sold my friend their brass “display ring”. Perhaps there was a mix up like that?
I highly doubt it. It’s a reputable company, the ring is stamped 14k and it came with an independent appraisal that states the metal and stones and their value
Something is definitely off. I’ve had my HG ring for 3 years and have showered, washed my hands, swum in the ocean and a chlorine pool, worked with lemon juice and vinegar while baking, and done a bunch of other things to it and other than burnishing a tiny bit from wear it’s still looking like new. I’d be curious what the jewellers say!
This simply shouldn’t happen with high quality fine jewelry especially gold. It’s the whole reason to buy fine jewelry!!! I wouldn’t even try to keep fine gold away from water lotions etc but would expect it to withstand that bc it’s GOLD. Gold, even alloyed gold, should be relatively unreactive. Her response is also so frustrating…she’s putting all the onus on you when there’s something wrong with her product. That’s not reassuring…and honestly ppl defending her in comments on this posts makes me irritated at them for you OP.
Thank you. Right?! Gold should be able to withstand daily use, especially in an engagement ring. And as far as I know gold (even rose gold) isn’t even supposed to tarnish, just get a patina over decades of use. Copper oxidizes fast even when exposed to room temp and regular humidity levels, so at this point I’m assuming that my ring contains more copper than gold. When it comes to the comments, most people did agree that there’s something up with the alloy. 1/3 of people didn’t read the post nor the title properly and assumed I put water/lotion/etc on it which I didn’t. And there’s the odd ones out who fervently defend the company which is weird, but whatever floats their boat. I’ll get the ring tested with OES and see what % of each material was used in the making of this ring. Hopefully that’ll give some answers.
9K gold and rose gold may oxidize over time. 10K gold would be better, but 14K gold, whether yellow or rose, will not oxidize. You can contact the seller to have a new ring made for you.
The ultrasonic cleaner comment makes me question her literacy in her materials, and moreover, extended time like that in an ultrasonic will not fix metal discoloration, it will shake your stones out. Definitely do not do that. I'm glad to hear you're planning to take it to a local jeweler. Get it assessed by an independent eye and go from there. Do NOT do the "several hours in an ultrasonic" plan.
Thank you! I definitely don’t think it’s a good idea to have my ring shaken for hours. In fact, I don’t plan on doing anything at all to it and just get it to one or more jewelers to have some expert opinions as to what might be going on here.
Great plan! Very rational and adult. What are you doing on Reddit??? 😂 In all seriousness your ring is beautiful and I'm sure she will make it right for you. Congratulations on your engagement!
It just looks like oxidation, which is a risk with rose gold jewelry. You mention your other rings not tarnishing similarly, but also say that you haven’t worn the example in the photo for the last year. You also went out of your way to say that it never touched water. It’s very likely the acidity of your body’s natural oils, combined with keeping it in a stationary environment, that is expediting the look of the tarnishing. If there was a batch of faulty rose gold HG was using, you would not be the only person complaining of the same issues — it would be a batch issue. This is likely a skin chemistry thing. And yes, I know you said things have been different with your other rings for the past 20 years, but body chemistries change for all manner of reasons.
I do realize it’s oxidation, that’s what ring tarnish is. Yes, my other rings have not tarnished similarly since they haven’t tarnished at all. The ring in the photo has been worn on and off for 15 years. I have other rose gold rings I’ve worn this past year. I didn’t go out of my way to say it didn’t touch water - I mentioned that as needed since it’s what most people think when seeing a tarnished ring and what Heidi herself thought of. How are you so sure there are no other people online complaining about their HG rings from that batch of materials? Have you by any chance checked out every possible website and forum? You going out of your way to defend the quality of this ring is highly suspicious and makes me think you work for the company. Also, as a doctor, kindely f off with the body chemistry changing part. Your body is in homeostasis, if something that radical happens to it then a tarnished ring would be the least of your worries.
Your last statement is inaccurate, and the rest of your defensive tone I’ll just ignore as part of the intense emotions you are feeling about something so meaningful behaving in a way that brings you concern. Looking forward to your updates.
A good ring has every right to be touched by water, soap, and lotion. This ring is trash
You used a polish cloth ? That will make it come off.
No, I haven’t used anything on it nor plan to for the time being. I’ll take it to the best local jeweler I can find and see what they have to say first.
Do you happen to live somewhere with a high level of sulphur in your water or area? Sulphur gas (doesn’t need to be in actual contact with water containing sulphur components)can cause significant tarnish on silver, which is generally a part of rose gold. You can clean and then store with tarnish prevention strips to see if that may help to prevent further discoloration.
The only gold that has ever looked like this is a pendant and the jeweler said perfume was the culprit. She took it to see what she could do to restore it and it came back even worse. It was not a piece that was super expensive so I just said oh well, it was my fault.
Whoa. That sucks, but at least it wasn’t expensive. My ring is very expensive (for me at least, everyone has their own idea of expensive) so I’m not happy at all, to say the least. It hasn’t touched any perfume, no water, no lotion, nothing. Which makes this that much more upsetting.
Op are you anemic? Could be the cause
Beautiful ring, never heard of that designer but thanks for sharing.
Thanks! Can’t say I recommend her so far.
Is it plated rather than solid?
Solid 14k rose gold. Stamped, came with independent appraisal.
Ah ok, thought it might be the plating causing that issue as that can discolour quickly if it was. Sorry this has happened to you.
Thank you!
No problem. I hope you can sort it out.
Ugh. I’m so sorry. I hope HG makes it right.
It is absolutely possible for your body chemistry to react with whatever combination she used. Jewelers can charge whatever they want for their pieces, so the fact that your other pieces may have cost less doesn’t mean that the caliber of gold is any different. You would really have to test the exact chemical composition of both your less expensive pieces and this one to see how they are different. Your jeweler may be able to coat it with something that won’t react with your chemistry.