Rose-Gold Century 2 Discoloring?

[WDanderson]

Hi Everyone,

 

I bought my wife a Rose-Gold Century 2 last Christmas. We noticed a couple months ago that the finish seems to be discoloring from underneath. It's a purplish discoloring. I've heard stories about something similar happening to the regular gold ones. She's a little disappointed with this and I am considering sending it back. Anyone ever had an issue like this with Century 2s or Townsends? This one is mostly a ring around the tip of the cap, but there is also some lighter spots on the bottom end of the barrel. Hard to show in pictures.

 

 

[RocketRyan]

I believe cross still offer a lifetime guarantee. Your pictures actually make it look like quite a nice patina developing.

[Drone]

Hi Doug,

 

First a bit about rose-gold and tarnishing...

 

Real "Rose-Gold" is pure gold (Au) alloyed with other metals, primarily copper (Cu) and silver (Ag). The rose tint in rose-gold comes from a higher copper concentration in the alloy. See the alloy color vs. concentration diagram, "Ternary Plot of different colors of Ag-Au-Cu alloys" on this page:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colored_gold

 

For example, from the above referenced Wikipedia page:

 

18K Rose gold: 75% gold, 22.25% copper, 2.75% silver

 

Copper has a tendency to tarnish, especially if comes into contact with corrosive substances and/or dissimilar metals. This can apply to copper alloys as well, even rose-gold alloys.

 

Often a metal alloy or metal alloy-plated part that tends to tarnish will, after-fabrication, be coated with a protective layer to resist tarnishing. However, areas where it is difficult to coat the part (such as holes, creases, etc.) may not receive enough of the protective coating, which results in eventual tarnishing. Also during assembly, parts that have been coated may lose the effect of the anti-tarnish coating due to friction and/or heating.

 

In my opinion, the tarnished areas on your rose gold pen finish look like they are the result of poor manufacturing quality control. This is especially the case as evidenced by the tarnished ring next to the finial at the end of the pen.

 

I think you have three options:

 

1. Return the pen. Cross pens come with a conditional Lifetime Warranty. See here:

 

https://www.cross.com/en/help/customer-service/lifetime-warranty?cat_name=warranty&aspxautodetectcookiesupport=1

 

Returning the pen for a refund (if-possible) is your best option IMO. If you are forced to exchange the pen one-for-one, you bear the risk that the new pen will eventually tarnish like the first one. I would try to exchange the pen for a different model of similar value instead. Simply state you have zero confidence in the original model.

 

In my experience, Cross has always been quite good about dealing with defective products. And IMO there's no question, your pen is defective.

 

2. Try to polish the pen. Normally I do not recommend polishing as it has the negative side effect of removing material. Polishing modern "plated" objects is an especially bad idea, they have very thin deposition (PVD) interstitial coatings which wear through fairly easily (this is called "brassing"). Also, polishing removes protective coatings which can lead to a destructive cycle of more tarnishing, which then requires even more polishing. On the 'bright' side; modern polishing compounds and/or cloths are designed to be minimally abrasive - while some even claim to leave coatings behind that resist further tarnishing. Yeah - YMMV.

 

3. Embrace it. Many think tarnishing over time leads to a highly desirable "patina" finish that shows the age and use of the object. Generally, I'm not one of those people.

 

Good luck Doug. Let us know how it comes out.

 

Regards, David

[WDanderson]

Thanks David, great explanation.

 

She decided to keep it, for a couple reasons. The tarnishing happened early on and doesn't appear to be getting any worse. And try as I might, no other finish really "fits" her. Like you said, we might even get a worse one if we did a trade.

 

I've dealt with Cross in the past, and their service is impeccable. No questions asked they have replaced even engraved pens for the smallest of problems. I am like you and wouldn't stand for a problem with a finish, but she's 95% ok with it considering the options and the fact she loves the Rose-Gold which matches her iPhone and iPad.

[Drone]

Hi Doug,

Since she decided to keep the pen, why don't you make one gentle attempt at polishing it. At least try to get that unsightly ring of tarnish off the end of the pen. I don't know about you, but just knowing the pen is still tarnished would drive me nuts - even though it's not even my pen! (I'm pen-weird like that.) A few suggestions (try one below):

1. Get a soft cloth or wad of facial tissues and some regular old toothpaste (nothing fancy). Wet the tarnished area of the pen and put a little dab of toothpaste on it. Gently rub the tarnished area with the wet cloth or tissue until the tarnish is gone. The trick is to use enough water and rub gently while inspecting the results as you go.

2. Get a jewellery polishing cloth at your local hardware or drug store. These are also called Microfiber Cloths, Glasses Cleaners, Detailing Cloths, or Sunshine Cloths. 3M makes good quality polishing cloths. You use them dry as-is. They get "dirty" with use as they collect tarnish, but most can be washed or laundered. See the link below for a good example of a professional polishing cloth, but be careful with the rouge side, it polishes more aggressively:

https://www.nibs.com/accessory/polishing-cloth

 

3. Try using the tail of a flannel shirt as a polishing cloth. Be gentle, flannel can be rather aggressive as a polishing cloth.

 

Regards, David

Edited May 28, 2017 by Drone