Most of us assume that if the ring is made of a combination of gold, such as rose and white, then it should be cared for in the same way as a “regular” gold ring.
In fact, this is not the case, and jewelry made of combined metals differ not only in how they should be cared for, but also in their performance, which should be known if we do not want to spoil the jewelry by ordinary cleaning or trying to change the size.
Ring with birth. On the inside, the metal is of the same color. Ring with birth. On the inside, the metal is of the same color.
Combined — two-color rings are divided into three main types, depending on which they may have certain differences in performance.
The first of these are rhodium plated rings. A thin layer of rhodium is applied to the gold jewelry in the allotted area and the ring turns out to be two-colored.
The main disadvantage of such products is the susceptibility to scratches and abrasion of the rhodium-plated coating.
Example. birth ring. Example. birth ring.
It is better to clean such jewelry with a special cosmetic product for jewelry, which contains “additives” that protect against scratches and aggressive acids.
Rings with rhodium details wear well, are easy to roll out and have almost the same performance characteristics as ordinary gold jewelry.
Things are a little more complicated with the second type of combined gold rings. It includes jewelry in which gold of different colors is interconnected by soldering.
Such rings are not desirable to be subjected to strong heating, since a different degree of expansion of metals with increasing temperature can provoke the appearance of microcracks.
Resizing or soldering such jewelry is also much more difficult than products made from the same type of gold. Therefore, when buying such a ring, carefully consider the choice of size, since only a jeweler with good experience and professional equipment can roll out the jewelry with high quality.
Combined metal ring Combined metal ring
The third type of combined rings are products made by sintering. It consists in a special way of «gluing» metals using a kind of sintering of metals in special furnaces.
Gold of different colors is placed in a special furnace, where, under high pressure and under the influence of high temperatures, the metals are, as it were, welded together.
Such products are very durable and have the same care requirements as ordinary gold rings made of precious metal of the same color.
However, they are almost impossible to melt into another item in ordinary workshops, and they also often crack when soldered by a jeweler.
Such rings can be distinguished by x appearance. The line between white and, for example, rose gold, at the junction, looks a little blurry and it seems that one metal is dissolved into another.
In general, combination rings are very reliable and beautiful jewelry. You definitely shouldn’t be afraid of them. The main thing is to know what properties they have and not to neglect the recommendations for their care.