By very wary of the 'SH' though as it is EXACTLY the same upside down, ie: 'HS' which is a mark for H Samuel, a high street jewelry chain in the UK.

The earlier Samuel Hennell is S.H plus you would have to look at ALL the Hallmarks together and check their overall shape to get an accurate date.

There is NO 22ct gold rings which should be scrapped unless extremely thin or worn. The 'f' or foreign mark is a modern mark and shouldn't be confused with the full UK Hallmark.

You can get a complimentary eCourse on Hallmarks from the Jewelry Antiques of the 20th Century website, which will go through some of these aspects for you.

The first mark (KLd) is usually the Makers or Manufacturers mark. Sometimes it could be the Store Mark (like SH) for Samuel Hill Jewelers... This doesn't make any difference to the Hallmark so you can generally ignore it.

The next mark was an 'F' which is the Date letter (I'll get back to that one).

The next is a Crown, which is the 'Quality' Mark which was introduced for 18ct and 22ct gold in 1798 and has been used ever since. The 22 indicates the gold quality being 22 carat gold.

The last mark is a shield so I am going to assume that it was assayed in Chester UK. However each Shield is slightly different.

Now one of the MOST IMPORTANT stamps is the SHAPE of the Hallmark (which you didn't mention). Sometimes they can be oval or square. Many times with the corners cut off. These help with the Date letter 'F' above - see I said I'd get back to it ;o)

MOST date letters come in batches of 20 and they change every 20 odd years (one letter per year). In order to identify them they can sometimes be un Uppercase - othertimes in lower case. This is where the SHAPE comes in too. This is also why I needed to know how old your Aunt was when she died. Most women didn't get married until say 20. This will help you in narrowing down the date RANGE (ie: That Batch of 20 letters).

May I suggest you go to the Antique Jewelry of the 20th Century website, where you will find a complimentary Hallmarking Course. The link is near the top right. You will learn from very easy emails how to understand UK Hallmarks. This will finally narrow down your search to around the 1950's - Hint: 1956 Date letter is an 'F'.

White gold is routinely alloyed down with nickel. Nickel causes allergic reactions in a lot of people. It's probably showing up now, because your ring was plated in rhodium (the whitest member of the platinum family) when you bought it. This is normal, as white gold always has a little warmth to it, so it is almost always plated in rhodium.

The rhodium has worn off. The white gold, alloyed with nickel is in direct contact with your skin. You are reacting to the nickel. One easy solution is to bring the ring in to the jeweler where you purchased it and have it replated with rhodium. Or, you could trade the ring in for a white gold ring that does NOT contain nickel, a palladium ring or a platinum ring. The metal rhodium is essentially inert to the skin, hypoallergenic, no reaction. What the reaction could be is a basic metals reaction and that SHOULD NOT be happening if the rings have a real rhodium plate.

My suggestion? Contact QVC and tell them of the problem. They should either give your money back or replace the item with one with a real rhodium plate! Green is a reaction generally to base metals, such as copper, etc., which are either preplate(done beneath the rhodium on metals like silver) or part of the the meatal alloy the ring is made of.

Either the plate is not rhodium or is a poor job at plating. QVC owes you an answer on this one and your may use my answer when you contact them if you want. Without seeing the ring and actually examining it, I can say little about the ring itself.

"Temporary Fix. Recommended for you to Try: Rhodium is a hard and durable white metal. Most white gold is given a quick plated layer of rhodium when brand new or when repaired.

This thin layer of rhodium gives the metal a whiter look. Rhodium is also a metal that does not react with the skin. A local jeweler should easily be able to refinish, buff up nicely and rhodium plate your ring. The look is good. The advantage to you is the rhodium provided a safety layer between the nickel in the ring and your sensitive skin! The rhodium works very well when the plating is done correctly. You can expect the rhodium to wear off in time but you should get 6mos to a year of wear before the ring should be plated with rhodium again. We often do this service for ladies who love white gold earrings but have problems. With yellow gold problems, we plate the parts touching the skin and it works until the rhodium eventually wears away."

Is your ring white gold? If so, the rhodium plating by a local jeweler should ease the problem immensely and the surface will last a fair amount of time before redoing is needed. If the ring is yellow, there are likely environmental issues here, including swimming pool chemicals and salty air(if living near the ocean).

Chemicals will often build up in a microscopic way and lead to skin reactions or smudges. Salty air can lead to a build up of residue which will cause smudges or even some sensitive skin reactions. For yellow gold, the solution is difficult but involves either avoiding the environmental issues or cleaning the ring quite often(every couple of days) with a good gentle scrub with a gentle dish detergent and rinsing well.

You asked if you "were doing something wrong" when the nickel plate came out dull and not bright. Perhaps it is something you are doing and perhaps it is the solution you are using.

First of all, please keep in mind I am far from expert in nickel plating. I work in a small shop, likely not too different from your work area. Almost all the plating we do is rhodium over white gold. Nickel plating is only needed once in a rare while. Still, I will give you my 2 cents worth.

THE SOLUTION.

Nickel plating solutions as available in the small quart sizes used by small shops come in two varieties. One is simply called "nickel" and the other is called "bright nickel". I don't know the specifics but the makers say special "brighteners" are included in the bright nickel solutions. The solutions I have used are not called "bright" but with proper voltage have produced bright coatings on polished metal. There might be something to using the "bright nickel" solutions. I do not have these solutions in our shop. The additives may help overcome some of the faults we may have in the process.

VOLTAGE, AMPERAGE AND TEMPERATURE.

What I see from industrial websites and other info in the importance of amperage in plating. Of course, voltage and amps work together in a sort of volt/amp curve. In small shop setups, amperage is not so controllable as in industrial applications. We must rely on voltage as the guide for proper plating. Most rectifiers of small sizes do not have milliamp gauges and have an almost crude amp meter so unless amps are going much over full amps, like 1 to 2 to 3 amps, we cannot read the gauge accurately. I installed a milliamp meter on my personal rectifier but found little info with solutions or from solution makers to make the gauge very useful.

With nickel plating, as I understand it, low amperage is desired. Voltage recommendations are best used as the ones with the solution you have. Generally, a low voltage of about 2 volts is desired to produce a bright, smooth plate. The item should be agitated in the solution, a little shake is ok. There will be little visible action on the item and only perhaps a few bubbles showing on the anode. This lack of visible action makes the plating more difficult since time in the bath will affect the coating. Still, do not exceed the recommended voltage for the solution you have on hand.

Temperature is recommended from 70 degrees f to perhaps 120 f. I always had the best results at low temps, closer to room temperature. The plate was immersed at the recommended voltage, agitated and removed after about 30 sec and inspected. Then a following plate was applied with a bit more time allowed to go beyond a simple flash thin plate. Nickel can produce a quite dense plate when repeated and not hurried. Inspection should be done to insure things are not going to grainy or discolored appearance.

BRIGHTNESS OF THE ORIGINAL ITEM TO BE PLATED.

Contrary to what some of our customers believe about "dipping" an item in gold, in rhodium or even in nickel, we know we do not dip into hot metal! We dip into electroplating solutions. When active in the plating bath, the metal ions moving to the object follow every curve and crevice in the object. Scratches and dull surfaces will be repeated by the plate. It is imperative that the item to be "bright" plated be polished to the utmost degree. Once polishing is done, the item should be immediately cleaned and readied for the plate bath. You do not want to allow sterling, in your case, any time to develop even the slightest tarnish which would interfere with good plating result.

Yet, from experience, what I have said rings truth. Please be certain the silver item is well polished and cleaned and plated very soon. Be patient with the plating process and do not try to rush it. Too much voltage can cause a rough and dull surface on a polished item.You might want to try an experiment by masking a piece of silver stock with fingernail polish. Red colored polish is easy to read. Plate an item in the nickel and use a nail polish mask for part of it. Remove the lacquer with acetone and look at the surfaces to compare and note brightness and color difference.

This is a good test. You might want to do the masking to preserve silver as unplated silver and rotate a piece of silver stock to plate one end at one length of time and the other at another time allowance or even use multiple plating. You will have a direct comparison on the same piece of silver which makes reading the differences much easier.

ALTERNATIVE. Did I mention palladium already? Palladium solutions are available and generally at a much lower cost than rhodium. The plate will go on silver directly, for most solutions. The palladium does not have the hardness of rhodium but will provide a tarnish barrier layer to the sterling. This might be attempted. The color is generally bright and in the thin plated layer is close to the original color. Solid palladium has a blue/grayish tint compared to some other metals. In electroplate, the color is just fine in my experience plating on to white gold.

The following web sites offer some but not really important info. When you have time, you might want to check out what is said.

PARTS PLATING...NOT JEWELRY. Interesting Info.

After searching the internet, we found a website that mentions buffing to polish. You might try this. Since nickel does plate with a dense layer, often the surface is gently polished then recleaned prior to other plating, such as rhodium. I have done this with success. I polished with a soft brush in a flex shaft machine using a non-abrasive rouge. The nickel polished from a semi-dull to a bright finish and was dense and thick enough not to be polished away. Polishing of nickel plate is not at all uncommon and should be given a chance.

The best way to repair is often with a cement. Do the edges of the broken pieces fit together closely? If so, a good two-part epoxy cement is best. I recommend an epoxy which cures to a clear color, not amber like most. The brand name is Huges 330 Epoxy. It is made for gemstone material cementing. A craft shop should have this cement or may order it for you. If not, try an exposy cement from a craft shop or hardware store but do not get the quick setting kind. The best will harden in about 2 hours. Quick set cements cure in 5 minutes and this is too little time to make a good joint of the broken ends.

Clean the ends well with alcohol. This is needed to remove any traces of oils, etc. which will lead to a joint failure later. Arrange a means to hold the ends together so the ends will not be moved until the cement cures. Do this arrangement first and be certain it will work.

Then, mix the two part cement according to directions. Apply only enough cement to one broken edge to cover the end with a little cement. Push the pieces together and see if too much runs out the edges. If so, wipe off before the cement starts to cure then place together again. Hold the pieces in place as mentioned already.

Leave the left over on a mixing paper or plastic, whatever is used to mix the cement and place the mixer(toothpick, paper clip or other handy object) into the unused part. When the object is cemented hard on the unused portion of the cement, you know the jade is also cured and may be handled.

Excess if any may be carefully trimmed with a razor edge or left alone. Trimming of extruded cement will often leave a white and easily seen line. Sometimes it is best to leave the cement as is.

If you have way too much cement and way too much is pushed from the joined edges, clean in acetone or nail polish remover. Clean well as you can. Then start again with a new mix of the epoxy. Do not use "super glue" since this will not hold strongly for a long period of time.

If you want to try to do the work, I believe you can. The first try might be messy and you might have to try a second time. If you want someone else to do it, a jeweler should be able to cement the pieces together for your repair depends on the sort of break in the bracelet. If the jade is broken and the ends of the break fit fairly well, a jeweler (or you if handy with such) may use a good epoxy cement to join the ends. A recommended epoxy is Hughes 330, recommended because it cures water clear and is quite strong with gemstone materials. In any case, epoxy cements have no strength when first mixed. The cure brings the strength. If you try it yourself, dry fit first to find a way to support the pieces during the 2 hour cure time.

If the break is jagged and the ends do not fit, the best solution is to have a jeweler make a metal tube, either of silver or gold, to go over the broken ends and bring all together as a jade bangle with "metal fittings". The tube will need to have two ends angled to fit the curve of the jade pieces at each break.

I do hope the break is clean and will fit back together. If so, with a good cleaning to remove all traces of oils, etc., the epoxy solution to the fix will work quite well. If done carefully, there will be little to show obviously at the break line.

You might be surprised to know just how many ladies come to our business with similar problems. Of course, the knuckle is the critical point in simply getting a ring on the finger in the first place, and then comes the difference in size with that and the bottom part of the finger. We see this from injury, arthritis and simple heredity. The knuckle on my left ring finger is larger than the part where the ring goes and I like wider bands...well, the size difference is not so great but the situation was solved by using three narrow bands which will go over the knuckle ok while a single band that wide would be a real problem. In your situation there is the problem of the ring being so loose that it turns on the finger and is perhaps uncomfortable with the extra space. Let me tell you now, there is hope! The differences in the "hope" is price and what suits you best.

I will start with the lowest priced options first. Truly, sometimes the simple solution works fine but other options are there even if more pricy. I will not even mention duct tape!

MEANS OF FITTING A RING WHEN THE KNUCKLE IS ENLARGED. This is the first option. The simple RING GUARD. A ring guard is a piece of metal formed so the ends will wrap around the lower part of the ring shank (band). Sometimes these work quite well. Generally, in gold filled the price installed is about $7 - $10. Ring guards are available in karat gold such as 14k but first try the gold filled ones and see how it works for you. Over time, the device will need to be replaced but the cost is minimal compared to other options. To see what a ring guard looks like, browse through a few search engine results. For example, Ring Guard (site chosen at random in Google): Figure perhaps $7 -$10

Sizing Beads. Figure perhaps $55

There is no website for this since this is a jeweler made and installed option. Sizing beads are small roundish beads made of the same metal as your engagement ring. Two beads are soldered into the ring shank on the lower 1/3 of the ring. These take up space and help prevent a ring from turning on the finger. Generally, unless actual bone against thin skin is the knuckle problem, the sizing beads work pretty well. It is difficult to measure accurately for these beads. The jeweler will make the beads larger to start and can trim the size down in a "try and fit" situation. The two beads generally go over the knuckle with little if any problem. Figure perhaps $85 plus the cost of sizing the ring up about 1/4 sizes, about $28 more.

The butterfly is a U shaped piece of white gold (since it is more springy than yellow) with the bottom of the U soldered in place inside the ring. The bottom of the U is at the bottom of the ring. The two sides go up about ? to slightly more in the ring. The sides spring outward when the ring is put on and spring back in when on the finger where the ring is to be worn. The ring must be resized slightly larger to accommodate the space taken up by the "butterfly" piece of metal. These work pretty well in most cases but fit can be guessy.

Ok, so those are the first ways to approach the fit problem with a problem knuckle. The rest are quite price in comparison and are certainly permanent options. The afore mentioned methods may be removed and the ring made just as it was to start with. These next devices mean about 1/2 of the ring shank must be removed and replaced with the new shank which opens and closes to fit the finger. If the ring is platinum, the price is not shown here. In fact, some of the devices are not available in platinum. Yes, these are pricy but work very, very well. I suggest trying the ring guard and perhaps sizing beads first, even if it means spending a little up front. Then, if all else fails, consider one of these specialty ring shanks. Web site for each type are shown, the home sites for the manufacturers.

Ring Shanks of the Open and Close Type. See each type for price guesses.

Fingerfit ? shank. The fingerfit shank is the one we sell the most of. The device opens to allow fitting onto the finger and closes on the wearing part of the finger. For this and the other two devices mentioned, first the jeweler must measure your knuckle and then measure your finger where the ring is worn. The new shank is fitted to the lower half of your ring with a closed size to match your finger size. Figure about $400.

Superfit shank. This is heavier than the fingerfit and very well finished. The shank snaps shut on well designed closure which is practically invisible when closed. The top of the ring must be strong enough to keep tension in the Superfit. A good jeweler who has installed these before can tell you about that. Do not use a jeweler who does not have experience with the Superfit. Figure about $500.

Lockshank. This is one I have not used. I have done all of the above but not this one and cannot comment on how well it works. Price, well, I figure about $500.

This device appears to be simply an open and close hinged ring band with a secure fit when closed. It should work just fine.

There is your answer and I did not mention duct tape again or adhesive tape...a nightmare to jewelers to remove when doing work on a ring!!! Please do not use the tape. If the ring will fit on with something like tape on the shank, the sizing beads should work fine. The butterfly is not a bad option but I get mixed reviews on it. The beads are difficult to fit to size and do not work in all cases. However, when smooth and the right size, these seem to be and almost ideal answer with no more than 1 size is the finger issue.

Note on prices: I figured average prices based on the totally out of sight price of gold right now. Gold is higher than in years and silver and platinum are in the same situation. Prices from last year are almost doubled in some cases and at least up 30% in other areas of the jewelry market. Prices include total cost of the item and installation based on typical pricing structure. Of course, you local market will determine actual price in your area.