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Is Rhodium plating reversible?
I have recently been lucky enough to find a very expensive collectors wristwatch on sale for a very good price. Needless to say, I bought it even though it was cased in 18K yellow gold instead of platinum, which I would have preferred.
I am now considering having the case, crown and buckle (all solid 18K gold) rhodium plated, so as to get a similar look to the platinum case. As I am hesitant, my watchmaker has told me that rhodium plating is reversible, and that one can simply reverse the polarity on the bath and have the rhodium come off without attacking the 18K yellow gold underneath.
So at this stage I have a few questions (please bear with me):
1) Is rhodium plating indeed reversible? (By electrical means, not by mechanical ones such as polishing). 2) If it is, and if I decide to eventually take it off, will the yellow gold underneath be affected at all by the non-mechanical removal process? 3) Can the rhodium plating be applied without having to polish the case beforehand? As each polishing operation makes the edges less sharp, I would prefer to live with the few scratches the watch currently has rather than having to polish the case. 4) Would a rhodium plating applied directly over a gold surface with the regular tiny scratches given by regular wear look odd? 5) Given the difficulty of disassembling and reassembling a complicated wristwatch, what would be considered a sufficiently thick coating to ensure a decade or so of more or less regular wear (or is such a thing even possible, given the thickness which might be involved and the fact that a watch case does have to respect certain fine tolerances)? |
Thank you very much for any light you can shed on this subject!
Bruno Rossi- Paris, France
If your watchmaker has a formula for electro-stripping rhodium from 18K gold without harm to the gold surface I would be surprised and interested in knowing more about this formula. Maybe he can demonstrate this bit of magic on a piece of scrap gold? You are smart to be careful and I believe you will regret plating your fine gold watch.
Neil Bell
Red Sky Plating
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Hi Bruno,
Rhodium is not generally reversed by electrical means unless it is thin and has a nickel plating underneath it. The nickel layer can be attacked and the rhodium and nickel will separate from the main substrate. You can carefully remove the rhodium mechanically using sandpaper sticks of variable grit sizes. Rhodium plating should not be reapplied unless the surface is re-polished and cleaned. All contaminants must be removed. The electroplating process does not conceal scratches or surface blemishes. Rhodium plating in pore free thicknesses of 4-6 microns combined with a proper pre-plate over the white gold will last easily 6-10 years. Rhodium plating can be made very hard and scratch resistant. Plating a watch properly is time consuming but with the proper methods, a fine watch such as yours can be restored to a pleasing and durable finish. In general avoid jewelry stores, they are nice people, but rarely have the plating processes or methods for plating in the thicknesses you will need for your watch.
Good luck!
David Vinson
Metal Arts Specialties
Leonard, Michigan
David,
4 to 6 microns of rhodium seems unlikely from any conventional aqueous solution because of stress in the deposit. What kind of bath are you using and does the surface remain bright at this thickness?
Neil Bell
Red Sky Plating
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Hi Neil,
I meant a total of 2-4 microns total plated deposit including a preplate, of which about 1.5-2.0 microns is Rhodium. If the watch surface is a brush satin finish the rhodium can be made a little heavier. Thanks for the clarification.
Best regards,
David Vinson
Metal Arts Specialties
Leonard, Michigan
-- this entry appended to this thread by editor in lieu of spawning a duplicative thread
I have a 14K gold wedding band set, that is 9 years old. I have heard about Rhodium plating and am considering doing this with my set. Is this a good idea? I go to a very reputable jeweler and trust them fully. Is this reversible and will it do any damage to my wedding band set if I choose to Rhodium plate and then in a few years decide to go back to yellow gold? I really like the look of "platinum" or "white" gold, so wondered if the Rhodium plating is a good option or not?
Thanks!
Jodi Colehomemaker - Bloomington, Illinois
-- this entry appended to this thread by editor in lieu of spawning a duplicative thread
I HAVE AN ANTIQUE DIAMOND RING THAT I BROUGHT TO MY JEWELER TO REPLACE A LOST STONE. THE JEWELER TOOK IT UPON HERSELF TO RHODIUM PLATE MY RING WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE AND NOW THE RING IS SO SHINY AND HAS LOST ALL ITS LOVELY PATINA THAT COMES WITH AGE. I TOLD HER THAT I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE THE RING NOW LOOKS NEW AND SHE SAID THAT IS WHAT THEY DO WHEN THEY REPAIR JEWELRY TO "BRIGHTEN IT UP". I HAVE HAD REPAIRS TO JEWELRY BEFORE AND NEVER HEARD OF THIS PRACTICE AND NEEDLESS TO SAY I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED.
IS THERE A WAY TO REMOVE THE RHODIUM PLATING - THE JEWELER SAYS NO-IT WILL WEAR AWAY IN TIME.
PLEASE RESPOND
THANKS
NANCY CATANIAHOMEOWNER - NEE HOPE, Pennsylvania
January 27, 2008A lead anode in conc. sulphuric acid will dissolve rhodium with little effect on the gold.I use this process regularly to eradicate cracking problems in the re melt of white golds.
Paul Anderson
manufacturing jeweler - Southport, Queensland, Australia
Intriguing, Paul. Are you sure you mean "anode" rather than "cathode"? Any additional details or clarifications would be great.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
finishing.com
Brick, New Jersey
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October 29, 2009 -- this entry appended to this thread by editor in lieu of spawning a duplicative thread I have a 14 kt yellow gold band that I had rhodium plated because most of my jewelry is now silver or white gold and I wanted it to match. Now I wish the ring were yellow colored again. Is there any way for me to remove the rhodium plating myself? Can a jeweler safely remove the rhodium? I considered soaking in Tarn-X but didn't know if that was okay or if it would do any good! ? I have a few things that I have left yellow gold but this is a particularly beautiful ring that I would like to have yellow gold again. Thanks for any suggestions! Sandy Camachojewelry owner - Shawnee, Kansas November 6, 2009 -- this entry appended to this thread by editor in lieu of spawning a duplicative thread Upon the suggestion of a jeweler, I had an 18 kt. yellow gold ring plated with rhodium. Customer - Washington, DC
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January 19, 2010 -- this entry appended to this thread by editor in lieu of spawning a duplicative thread
I had my engagement ring 18k gold plated in rhodium and it wears quite fast and was wondering if it's possible to get it restored back to the original 18k gold? Can you get the rhodium plating removed from a 18k gold ring?
Thanks,
Vanessa
buyer - Johnson City, New York
February 22, 2011 -- this entry appended to this thread by editor in lieu of spawning a duplicative thread
A number of years ago I had several very nice yellow gold rings plated with rhodium so that they would match my wedding ring. I wish I had not done that because yellow gold is becoming popular again. Is there a way to take the rhodium plating off of these rings and earrings?
Jane AdamsHobbyist - Granbury, Texas, USA
Hi, Vanessa. Hi, Jane.
Yes, but it's tedious because (as you will read above) it can't be done chemically; the jeweler has to polish away the rhodium. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
finishing.com
Brick, New Jersey
May 15, 2011
When I was employed at a major jewelry mfgr as a diamond setter, I asked the jewelers in the adjoining shop for help polishing three silver bangle bracelets. Unfortunately, they rhodium plated the silver, giving it a too hard, too bright finish. Can this be sanded off? Is there a chemical way to do it? Thank you
Paula Krauss- Lords Valley, Pennsylvania
May 16, 2011
Hi, Paula.
Although your question is slightly different from the ones that proceeded it, because your bracelets are silver rather than gold, it's actually the same problem: you can't chemically remove rhodium because it's as resistant or more resistant to all chemicals.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
finishing.com
Brick, New Jersey
May 24, 2011
Hi Jodi...
There is no harm in Rhodium plating the wedding band. There will be no loss when you are plating the bands as you will be adding metal to the surface of the bands. As for removing the plating a few years later ... you need not bother as the plating may itself wear off showing the original color yellow...
So go ahead ... enjoy the white color ... regards,
- Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
May 15, 2012
Q. I recently took my wedding set in to have the band repaired. When I dropped it off it was a very pale yellow gold. When I got it back it is bright white because they "re-dipped" it for me for free. Now they are offering to either redo it in yellow gold or leave it white. I specifically choose it for the pale yellow color.
I've read some of the other posts and saw that the only way to remove the plating is to polish it off. Does this affect the original finish of the ring? I really don't want it the bright yellow they are offering but if I choose this, will this plating wear off like the rhodium plating?
I appreciate your input on this.
- Miami, Oklahoma USA
May 15, 2012
Hi Joy. Yes, it's my understanding that rhodium plating probably can't be chemically removed, but it's not a good idea for me to try to remotely micro-manage a jeweler from a thousand miles away :-)
You need to tell him what you want and let him work out the details. But I think you should tell him you'd prefer that the plating be removed rather than add yet another layer. It's only millionths of an inch thick and won't affect the ring if done properly.
Regards,
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 Ted Mooney, P.E. RET finishing.com Brick, New Jersey |