Letter 8502

Rhodium plating 

Ed. note; This is an interesting thread, and only one of many. Before you get too confused, you might want to start with our FAQ on Rhodium Plating and White Gold to get an overall understanding :-)

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My engagement ring is yellow gold on the bottom half and white gold on the top half. I recently had it Rhodium plated so the ring would be a solid white color. The jewelers informed me that I would need to maintain the plating but would not tell me how often. After reading some of these postings, it seems as if the re-plating should take place every few years. My plating is already wearing off and I can see the yellow gold coming through! It has only been 2 months! I do not do any work with chemicals of any kind. What should I do?

Kelly Pennington
- Monroe, GA, U.S.A

G'day Kelly,

It makes me wonder how much Rhodium was plated on? Was it just a flash or a decent thickness? Rhodium is expensive.

My advice would be to by-pass the jeweller and go to your friendly electroplater. With precious metal plating the more money you want to part with the more Rhodium they will plate on. Try and find an electroplater who has a device for measuring the thickness of the Rhodium and have them print you out a copy. Or better still ask that they preform the test in front of you.

I assume the plating has worn off on the inside of the band. The rubbing of the ring on your finger will wear the Rhodium off eventually. Also some people tend to corrode jewellery rapidly. I have seen jewellery corroded so much it looked like the surface of the moon. It always occurs where the jewellery comes in contact with the skin.

Richard Bancroft
- Parkdale, Victoria, Australia

Hello:
I have a 14k gold diamond engagement ring.
about a week before "my time of the month", my finger and the pinky next to it, turns black. This lasts right until "my time" is over.

I can't stand the site of this, and sometimes won't wear the ring for one week or more during every month.

My question is this:
Will rhodium plating my ring stop my fingers from turning black?

Teresa B
- Dunellen, New Jersey

In response to the young lady who had difficulty with her rings turning her fingers black at various times of the month, it could have to do with the amount of acidity in your system. Invariably, if I take a large amount of vitamin C or drink orange juice, my rings will turn my skin black.

Ashley Davis
- Houston, TX

I have a 14k white gold ring that is beginning to turn yellow gold. I have had the ring re-plated before and it seems to last about a year and then I need to replate it again. I was wondering if I have my white gold ring plated with yellow gold this time, will I be done doing this or will the yellow gold plating start reverting back to white gold eventually (the reverse problem)? Is there any way rings can be replated with platinum to avoid this? thanks!

Jenelle Pontrelli
buyer - Chicago, IL, USA

Kelly: The amount of time rhodimm lasts is is very dependent on body chemistry, hand soaps, hand creams and swimming pool chemicals. I have seen ladies that can wear white gold with no problems for several years then they get pregnant ad the rhodium goes bye bye in just a few days.

Dan Fredenburg
- Plano, TX, USA

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