What is Rhodium Plating? 

What is rhodium plating in its use in fine jewelry, particularly in precious metals, like white gold or even sterling silver? While solid yellow gold is naturally a dark yellow, white gold without the additional layer of rhodium will have a yellowish tint or hue.

What is Rhodium Plating?

White gold is a popular and timeless precious metal for jewelry. You see it in items such as white gold wedding bands, pendants, rings and necklaces. With its silvery-white hue and high luster, white gold looks stunning with all gemstones, but especially so with diamonds—or simply by itself in a gold-centric jewelry piece. But did you know that the bright white color of white gold isn’t purely due to the white gold itself? Instead, most white gold jewelry in the market today is plated with a thin layer of a precious metal called, Rhodium, which gives white gold jewelry its distinct color and sheen.

White gold that hasn’t been rhodium plated will still appear white due to the other alloys that are mixed in, but will still have an underlying yellowish tint or the that will be subtly come visibly in non-rhodium plated white gold jewelry.

What is Rhodium as a Precious Metal?

Rhodium is a silvery-white metal that is highly reflective and corrosion-resistant. It is the world’s rarest and most valuable precious metal, exceeding silver and gold. Rhodium gets its name from the Greek word “rhodon,” which means “rose,” and is named after the rose-red color of its salts.

Many people wonder why, if white gold is white, it requires rhodium plating. The truth is, white gold isn’t completely white. Like the majority of other types of gold used in fine jewelry, such as white gold cross pendants, white gold is an alloy of gold and other metals. White gold is typically pure gold mixed with nickel, silver, or palladium. When pure yellow gold is combined with these white metals, the result is a much whiter jewelry item. However, white gold alloys still tend to look yellowish or off-white because they are mostly still made of pure gold, which in its raw form, of course, is naturally a dark yellow. Therefore, many jewelers coat white gold with Rhodium to achieve a bright white color on the surface of the jewelry piece.

Rhodium is a bright white metal with a beautiful reflection frequently used to enhance white gold, including its use in white gold chains. Rhodium has some practical benefits in addition to its aesthetic appeal. Rhodium is a scratch-resistant metal due to its hardness. You also won’t have to worry about rhodium tarnishing because, unlike sterling silver, it doesn’t tarnish. As such, some silver jewelry is even rhodium plated to make it look more like white gold and to protect it from tarnishing. Rhodium-plated jewelry shines brighter and lasts longer than other metals. Rhodium plating is scratch-resistant, dent-resistant, and corrosion-resistant, and it retains its luster.

The Price of Rhodium

Rhodium is the most expensive precious metal, costing more than pure gold and even platinum. The high cost of Rhodium is one of the reasons why pure rhodium jewelry is hard to come by. However, because only a tiny amount of Rhodium is required, plating a white gold piece in Rhodium, such as in white gold diamond rings and other jewelry, isn’t particularly costly, but making an entire piece of jewelry out of Rhodium would be astronomical.

Rhodium is a highly lustrous, corrosion-resistant metal that has found applications in various automotive, jewelry, chemical, and electrical industries. The scarcity and use of Rhodium are what make it so valuable.

The price of Rhodium is influenced by supply and demand. Supply, like other precious metals, is a significant factor when it comes to rhodium pricing per ounce. Rhodium costs twice as much as gold, depending on the market. Solid gold jewelry costs more than rhodium-plated jewelry, but both are excellent quality.

The countries that traditionally and historically produced the most Rhodium were South Africa and Russia. As a result, prices are typically volatile due to their rarity, small market size, and complete supply.

Re-Rhodium Plating Jewelry

After years of use, rhodium plating can wear off. Some opt to have their white gold jewelry re-rhodium plated and some prefer the natural white gold look with a hint of yellow beginning to show through underneath and simply don’t want to deal with the hassle of re-plating their jewelry. 

However, re-rhodium plating your jewelry is not difficult for most jewelers and is generally inexpensive. Re-polishing and re-plating your ring with the precious, rare metal is usually nominal and your ring or jewelry will look brand new again and as bright white as when you first purchased it!

Although Rhodium plating is often used in jewelry, many people are not aware of what it actually is. Rhodium plating is used to enhance the durability and luster of metals such as white gold and sterling silver. It’s an important element in your favorite jewelry pieces that you may not even know is there! 

Category: Jewelry Education, White Gold Jewelry

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