Hammered pieces dull quickly? Is it true?

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Jun 11, 2009
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Hi! I heard someone with an extensive VCA collection say that hammered gold pieces dull very quickly and don’t look good that way so they’re constantly having to clean and scrub them with a brush to bring back the shine which is apparently short lived.

Is this true? Is it oxidation or perhaps accumulation of oils/grime in the hammered crevices? Hoping to get insight from other owners of hammered gold pieces. How often do you have to clean your hammered pieces to revive the shine and what do you use to clean them? Thanks!
 
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I bought these rose gold sweet hammered studs pre-owned. There is a long background story to this and they couldn't be returned. One earring is rosey and the other is yellow and looks more dull. You can see that the more rosey earring has some yellow creeping in around the edges, as well. This was after cleaning/polishing to try to remove the oxidation by both myself (I tried basically everything) and by VCA (they were sent out for service). I didn't take before pictures, but it was a lot worse. They looked slightly better when they came back from VCA compared to my cleaning but still noticable difference in color and shine in person (the pic is after VCA serviced them). VCA said that the yellow looking stud is oxidized. I ended up selling them to Fashionphile because it really bothered me. These earrings were from 2021 and I don't know what the original owner did to them that might have contributed to this or if this can happen to RG hammered in general.

I also have a RG hammered bracelet. I've only had it for a few months and it is not as rosey pink as it was originally, the color has definitely oxidized some, but it's not dull or yellow.
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I bought these rose gold sweet hammered studs pre-owned. There is a long background story to this and they couldn't be returned. One earring is rosey and the other is yellow and looks more dull. You can see that the more rosey earring has some yellow creeping in around the edges, as well. This was after cleaning/polishing to try to remove the oxidation by both myself (I tried basically everything) and by VCA (they were sent out for service). I didn't take before pictures, but it was a lot worse. They looked slightly better when they came back from VCA compared to my cleaning but still noticable difference in color and shine in person (the pic is after VCA serviced them). VCA said that the yellow looking stud is oxidized. I ended up selling them to Fashionphile because it really bothered me. These earrings were from 2021 and I don't know what the original owner did to them that might have contributed to this or if this can happen to RG hammered in general.

I also have a RG hammered bracelet. I've only had it for a few months and it is not as rosey pink as it was originally, the color has definitely oxidized some, but it's not dull or yellow.
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I do see the yellowing of the studs. Maybe VCA’s rose gold fades over time like Cartier rose gold. I have some pieces that aren’t as rosy as when I first got them. Good to hear your bracelet is not dull! Do you wear it 24/7 or shower with it?
 
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