Plating jewelry with rhodium is an extremely common practice in the jewelry industry as it improves not only the appearance of jewelry but increases its durability as well. If you're shopping for gold and silver jewelry, you’ll want to understand what rhodium plating is to help you make a purchasing decision best for you.
What is Rhodium?
Rhodium is a rare, bright white, hard, brittle and expensive metal. Rhodium often costs more than both gold and platinum in part due to its rarity and scarcity but also because of its most appealing properties: its brilliant white appearance and its durability.
What is Rhodium Plating?
Plating something in rhodium is referred to as “dipping” or “flashing” in the jewelry industry. When something is plated in rhodium, a very thin layer of this metal is electroplated to the jewelry by applying a positive charge to the piece, then fusing the rhodium on top.
Rhodium plating is done to give jewelry that brilliant white dazzling color you’re accustomed to seeing when you think of white gold or silver jewelry. Without the rhodium plating, white gold jewelry will have a dull, unfinished look to it and silver jewelry will naturally tarnish over time.
Jewelers will therefore plate rhodium on gold and silver jewelry to give it a bright, white appearance to protect the base metal (i.e., gold or silver) from wear and tear.
What is Black Rhodium Plating?
Black rhodium plating is done by the same process as plating other pieces of jewelry in rhodium, except the rhodium has been dyed black instead of its natural white color. This is used to create pieces of jewelry with a black finish for a darker, more gothic-inspired look.
There’s another metal used to plate jewelry to make it black and that’s an element called ruthenium. Ruthenium, like rhodium, is hypoallergenic but has a dark, gun-metal gray coloring. Both looks are growing in popularity, especially in the “alternative bride” category created by retailers to attract shoppers looking for more dramatic styles of jewelry.
Bear in mind that both black rhodium and ruthenium aren’t particularly scratch resistant. If you’re planning to buy a piece of jewelry using either of these materials, plan on scheduling regular maintenance to keep the piece looking new.
What Can You Put Rhodium Over?
Rhodium can be plated over a variety of metals, but it’s most commonly plated over other white metals, like white gold and silver, as they are the most similar in color. The reason the jewelry is plated with rhodium in the first place is to enhance the look of the jewelry because, as previously noted, white gold without rhodium will have a dull, unfinished look to it and silver jewelry naturally tarnishes over time. A rhodium plating can counteract both of those things.
It’s important to note that plating rhodium over another metal changes the appearance of the jewelry, which is another reason it’s most commonly plated over white gold and silver, as again, they are similar in color.
For example, if you have a rose gold ring and want to change its color, you can do so by plating it in rhodium, which again is white, to hide the color of the base metal. Just know that the plating will eventually wear off and you’ll have to plate it in rhodium again as part of ring’s maintenance.
An insider tip: if you have jewelry made from brass that’s being passed off as another metal like gold or silver, you’ll know it once the rhodium wears away, as your skin will turn green!
How Long Does it Last?
How long rhodium plating lasts really depends on how often you plan to wear the piece of jewelry and how well you take care of it. Since rhodium does wear off, you will need to schedule maintenance for your pieces with your jeweler. In the instance of a rhodium plated engagement ring, consider that you’ll be doing a lot of things with your hands while wearing it. All those things eventually take a toll and contribute to the wearing away of the rhodium.
You will need to pay attention to the appearance of your jewelry to determine whether or not servicing it is in order. If you’re unsure of when to service your jewelry, thinking of rhodium plating like the treads on the tires of your car can help you decide whether the piece needs to be plated with rhodium again. In the case of tires, you know that the treads will eventually wear away after a period of time and you’ll have to replace them. You also know that the wear and tear will be more rapid if you don’t take preventative measures, like rotating the tires. It’s the same concept when it comes to caring for your rhodium plated jewelry; the better you care for your jewelry, the longer the plating will last and the better it will look. How will you know it’s time to schedule service for your jewelry? You’ll see it: the rhodium will wear away enough so you’ll be able to see the base metal and you’ll know it’s time for a touch up.
Rhodium vs. Gold
Rhodium and gold vary vastly from one another, namely in color, usage and price.
Coloring: Pure, natural unaltered gold is a warm yellow color while the coloring of rhodium is a brilliant, white, silver-like color. It’s the color that you think white gold should look like but what you’re actually looking at is white gold plated in rhodium.
Usage: Gold is used to make jewelry while rhodium is used to plate jewelry to give it a dazzling white finish. You typically won’t find a piece of jewelry made completely out of rhodium in a jewelry store as it would be far too expensive to sell thanks to its high price per ounce.
Price: Rhodium typically costs more than gold due to its rarity.
Rhodium vs. Silver
Rhodium and silver may be comparable in terms of colors, but that’s where the similarities end. Both rhodium and silver are white in appearance, but silver is a little duller and not as reflective as rhodium.
The main differences between rhodium and silver are cost and usage. And like with white gold jewelry, rhodium is used to plate silver jewelry rather than as a base metal because the cost of rhodium is typically more than gold and silver.
Now that you’re a rhodium expert, you have a knowledge base that can help you decide what kind of fine jewelry you’re in the market for and how best to care for it after purchase.
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