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What is Rhodium Plating ?
Rhodium is a hard corrosion-resistant silvery-white element of the platinum metal group, occurring free with other platinum metals in alluvial deposits and in nickel ores. It is used as an alloying agent to harden platinum and palladium. It is usual to rhodium plate all white gold jewellery in Europe and some platinum. Rhodium is very bright, hard, and highly reflective and when applied by an electrochemical process to white gold it forms a hard white highly reflective surface to the metal. This is the polished white surface you associate with platinum jewellery. When the Rhodium plating wears through the colour of the actual alloy can be seen. This varies from a yellowish grey to a plain grey. On some castings made from yellow alloy, the highlights or head is made white by masking the yellow part. The mask is then removed after plating leaving a two colour item. How long will Rhodium Plating last? This depends on how thick the plating is, and how much wear the item is subjected to. An average is perhaps several years I have seen rings last many years, but this is in the hands of the wearer some people wear their jewellery all the time and others only on special occasions. My advice is to be sensible:- If your preference is a white wedding ring you should opt for platinum, this avoids the problem completely. For all other jewellery if there are no moving parts as they sometimes are with fobs and some pendants Rhodium plating is a good option if you find it appealing cosmetically. Engagement Rings are always given an extra thick coating and last for many years without any problems. |