Does 22ct gold really tarnish like this?

[Foster88]

I’ve recently bought this 22ct gold ring with a number of others so I didn’t get to see this before receiving it. My error. Although the others I bought were fine.

I was aware that all were hallmarked 22ct gold and were purchased from a reputable auction house.

But I’m a little confused about this one, it’s hallmarked Birmingham, 22ct and letter N for 1962 or 1987.

The inside is tarnished but the outside isn’t. I know lower grades such as 9ct can tarnish. I have left it in a gold cleaning solution for a few hours and tried to polish but it doesn’t come off.

Has anyone seen this before on 22ct gold?

[DarkChameleon]

Looks like plating coming off....id get it checked at a jewelers.

[dicker]

Not in my experience....and I have been in many situations where my wedding ring has had to be removed!

Best

Dicker

[Britannia47]

'Charles Green & Son'. Looks plated to me suggesting considerable wear and may be earlier than '62 or '87.  Font N looks like 1937

Good-luck.

[DarkChameleon]

The first picture right at 3 oclock looks like plating peel.....not good, once got some like this in a bunch of gold scrap i bought,hope you got it on ebay or used a cc to get your money back, ive seen 9k plated to 22 before but this doesnt look like it..

[Foster88]

Thanks all for your opinions.

I have raised this with the auction house and this was their reply. I think I’ll be asking to return it for a refund.

They have come back with a thorough reply but even the odd fake can slip through an auction house unless they are testing even the hallmarked items.

“As i understand it, only 24ct gold will not discolour i.e. pure gold, though unusual, strictly speaking 22ct gold could discolour given enough time and wear as it's 91.67% pure gold and the rest an alloy of usually zinc, copper and silver. 

 

Regarding hallmarks: It's an offense to describe any items as 'gold' if they're not hallmarked, you may see a lot of our descriptions on jewellery as 'a fancy link chain marked '375'...' for example, technically under UK law we cannot describe this item as gold but it's generally safe to assume that it is unless there's evidence of alteration. Sometimes we may comment in the condition report on the marks, an example being lot 100A in the same auction, "Condition - marked '18k' & '400' suspected not to be 18ct gold but mixed metal...". An awful lot of auctioneers will not stick to this and will happily describe items as gold even if they're not hallmarked, something to be weary of.

 

Getting back to the ring you bought, unless there's any evidence of alteration then technically it's guaranteed to be 22ct gold. I would give it a good clean in mild soapy warm water with a soft brush to see if the tarnishing comes off.

 

It may be worth adding that i've never seen any fake hallmarks before, i've seen lots of fake gold marks such as '18k' etc, but these are very obviously not gold, they feel and look very brassy or obviously gold plated.

 

I hope this is of some help but if you require further information please don't hesitate to contact us.”

[DarkChameleon]

Take it to a jeweler and askh9w much its worth, the jeweler will check it out instantly...with a gold tester or acid test, either way theyll see it right away and offer you money for it, just turn them down and youll know ... the only reason someone would plate a 22k with 24k is if they had an allergic reaction to the mixture of metals, my mother had to have her wedding ring plated on the inside with silver as she would eat away gold...i have the same problem.....but i dont think this is the case

[Foster88]

Update - the auction house have agreed to a full refund.

Once I’ve returned it of course.