Rhodium Plating Jewelry

Although jewelries are being used for various purposes such as protection and symbolism, these items are primarily designed to add glamour and elegance to people’s lives.

Jewelries such as earrings, bracelets, rings, necklaces and brooches are worn by men and women alike to serve as captivating adornment to different body parts. These personal adornments can be made from various sorts of materials, but most of the expensive types of jewelries are crafted out of gem stones and precious metals. One of the precious metals that are often used to enhance the quality of jewelries is the rhodium. This metal belongs to the platinum family and it is silver-white in color. Since it is resistant to corrosion, acid and tarnish, it is used to enhance the durability and shine of jewelry.

Many people take pleasure in looking at shining and shimmering ornaments made of platinum, white gold and silver but only few individuals are aware of the fact that many of these precious jewelries are actually electroplated in rhodium. This is done so that jewelries will have very lustrous and reflective appearance. Rhodium plating also makes it possible for jewelry to be scratch resistant. Moreover, it protects jewelry from discoloration. In other words, rhodium plating keeps jewelry in good condition for a long period of time. However, since rhodium plating does not last forever, jewelries need to be maintained from time to time through the process of re-plating or recoating. When the plating of jewelry is worn out, the person should have it re-plated so that it will come back to life as soon as possible.

The price of maintaining rhodium plated items will usually depend on the thickness of the metal that will be used. Naturally, the thicker the rhodium, the higher will be the cost of plating. Re-plating may somehow be expensive, but the process will definitely make personal adornments quite noticeable. It is highly recommended that the wedding rings and other jewelries worn daily should have thicker rhodium plating so that their beauty will last for years.

Before jewelries are plated, they should be cleaned and polished first and this gets done quite easily since many jewelry stores offer free cleaning services. These precious items are good kind of investments, so they should be taken care of to maintain their quality and of course, their worth. Whenever you purchase platinum, silver or white gold jewelries always make sure that such ornaments are rhodium plated.

Adornments made of platinum and white gold will look lovelier when they are electroplated in rhodium. This is because rhodium is brighter than those two metals. However, you have to understand that because silver is shinier than rhodium, the main advantage of having it electroplated in rhodium is more on making it sturdier and scratch resistant. So do not be perplexed if you notice that silver items which have rhodium plating are not as bright as those without coating. Even if it will not be very lustrous, you can be assured that you will get to enjoy your silver rhodium plated jewelry for many years.

Source by Dan A Lett

Rhodium Plating Jewelry