Permabrass darkens over time

[lovely_bag]

Hello!

The Régate was not available at the store in the past. I received a pre-loved Régate from a friend and found the colour to be quite dark, the yellow tone leaning towards orange gold.

Pictured you see the scarf ring
- solo
- and combined with a yellow-gold Tiffany ring.
The Tiffany ring which is a "true" Yellow gold is lighter than the Régate. The difference might not look drastic, but in terms of metals it is "a world".

Yesterday I saw a new Régate (colour: permabrass) in the store, much lighter, leaning towards a white-gold, not dark at all.

Does permabrass darken over time?
I ask because of 2 reasons:

If it stays true (=light)
- I might want to buy a new one and forget the pre-loved one.
- the one I got is probably a fake

If it chances its colour over time,
- there is no reason for buying a new one, because it will change its colour over time.

Thank you for your advice and sharing your experience!

 

[etoupebirkin]

The comparison you make between Permabrass and Tiffany gold is like comparing apples to oranges. They are two different metals. There can be different hues to yellow gold among manufacturers, even if they are marked 18K. It all depends on the alloy used. All metals oxidize to a certain extent over time. I would polish your current scarf ring and see if it turns out to your liking. I'd save the $ and put it toward a scarf that can go in the scarf ring.

 

[MsHermesAU]

• I had a permabrass Regate scarf ring for 5 years and it did not change colour whatsoever over time. It remained a very pale champagne colour. The scarf ring in your pictures looks to be a gold one, not permabrass

 

[dharma]

My permabrass items have not changed over the years. I agree that the one you have is gold, not permabrass, and not likely to be a fake. You can't compare Hermes gold plated hardware to 14/18k jewelry. It's different.

 

[maplemoose]

My permabrass items have not changed over the years. I agree that the one you have is gold, not permabrass, and not likely to be a fake. You can't compare Hermes gold plated hardware to 14/18k jewelry. It's different.

I fully agree. It is gold plated scarf ring. Mine looks the same.

 

[marietouchet]

I fully agree. It is gold plated scarf ring. Mine looks the same.

Agree, permabrass does not darken noticeably over time - but over 20 years maybe ...

I doubt it is gold plated at all or the name would be permagold not permabrass ...
I think it is made of base metal ie any old thing, then plated with brass to achieve a nice shade of yellow, then finally sealed with a clear coat - just a car. The clear coat is likely plastic based and is also (inorrectly) called lacquer. In truth, lacquer is an organic product (from the lac insect) and rarely used anymore - people are incredibly prone to allergies to real lacquer

For the silver color scarf rings ...
Mine is labeled laiton - French for brass , yet is silver colored , beats me

 

[bababebi]

Agree, permabrass does not darken noticeably over time - but over 20 years maybe ...

I doubt it is gold plated at all or the name would be permagold not permabrass ...
I think it is made of base metal ie any old thing, then plated with brass to achieve a nice shade of yellow, then finally sealed with a clear coat - just a car. The clear coat is likely plastic based and is also (inorrectly) called lacquer. In truth, lacquer is an organic product (from the lac insect) and rarely used anymore - people are incredibly prone to allergies to real lacquer

For the silver color scarf rings ...
Mine is labeled laiton - French for brass , yet is silver colored , beats me

I think your scarf ring is actually Laiton Palladie, which is brass plated with palladium. It is the Hermes palladium silver colored hardware we know.

 

[lovely_bag]

First and foremost thank you so much for your patience and replying to my newbie questions!
Now it all adds up.

The label "permabrass" origins from my lack of knowledge, I thought there were 2 shades available: gold (permabrass) and silver (palladium). I feel embarrassed that I confused permabrass with gold. I was not aware of the variety of shades Hèrmes offers. ouch! My aplogies.

Looking forward to buying an actual permabrass scarf ring. After a "drought" the store now has a large variety in stock.

Again, thank you!

 

[marietouchet]

First and foremost thank you so much for your patience and replying to my newbie questions!
Now it all adds up.

The label "permabrass" origins from my lack of knowledge, I thought there were 2 shades available: gold (permabrass) and silver (palladium). I feel embarrassed that I confused permabrass with gold. I was not aware of the variety of shades Hèrmes offers. ouch! My aplogies.

Looking forward to buying an actual permabrass scarf ring. After a "drought" the store now has a large variety in stock.

Again, thank you!

Bababebi is correct about palladium. Went to the horse's mouth
http://usa.hermes.com/hoscatalog/search/find/?search=scarf+ring&store=13
The yellow metal ring is called permabrass, the white metal is called palladium
«Permabrass» refers to the plating (super thin coating of metal), which is covered by a clear coat like on a car, I think Hermes invented the term «permabrass» for 2 reasons: there is no gold in there so they cannot use the G word, and permabrass expresses the idea that the ring wont oxidize like regular brass (because it is coated)
As to the white metal color ring, it refers to palladium plating covered with a clear coat
In either case, I dont think the inside of the ring is brass at all, which would be too heavy, it is just any old metal called «base metal» in the jewelry trade. Neither ring is heavy enough to have a brass core - which is super heavy metal.
So 3 layers on each ring - unknown base metal core + plating in brass or palladium , clear coat

I confused things (mea culpa) mentioning my white metal laiton ring - must go pull out the box and look at the exact label, and that was at least 5 years ago (have not bought a ring since then, I have a drawer of them already), Maybe my white metal ring came in the wrong box? It happens ... And Hermes does change the names for the same products ...