| Search our quarter-million Q&As |
Home of the finishing HOTLINE since 1989
-----Rhodium plating of silver rings Q&A's
Quickstart:
Silver is a semi precious metal which tarnishes, especially in sulfur-rich environments which are quite common -- even boiled eggs give off sulfur vapors.
Rhodium is a precious metal more costly than gold or platinum, and often plated onto silver and white gold rings. Rhodium never tarnishes, so if the plating is thick enough to be impermeable, the silver rings stay bright.
⇦ Tip: Readers like to learn from others' situations;
some readers skip abstract questions.
Q. Hi everyone;
I had a question about silver ring plating.
Can any coating (other than nickel) be used under rhodium?
Thank you.
- iran, isfahan
March 9, 2022
by Terry Jones
on Amazon
(affil link)
A. Hi Morteza. To reduce nickel allergies white bronze is widely used as a bright underlayer on jewelry in place of nickel. You can search the site for dozens of threads about white bronze plating, which goes under many trade names and traditional names. Alternately, palladium plating can be used.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
⇩ Similar, related, Q&As -- oldest first ⇩
Q. I purchased a ring and it is described like this: 2 interlocking rhodium over sterling silver bands, with 2 diamond baguettes on each, joined by an emerald-cut diamond.
I am not expecting it to last forever, but I do expect to not have it turn my finger green, which is my main concern. So my actual question is Will sterling silver plated with Rhodium turn my finger green?
- Plainfield, Illinois, USA
2002
A. Rhodium and silver do not have green corrosion products.
Neil BellAlbuquerque, New Mexico
A. I don't believe that it's necessary to nickel plate silver before the rhodium plating, but it is possible to do so and for there to be nickel plating on the silver before rhodium plating, right, Neil? (although the nickel would be quite thin and unlikely to generate much green corrosion, and it would only happen after the rhodium became permeable.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
2002
A. Good point Ted, yes that is a common practice, so then a green result is possible.
Neil BellAlbuquerque, New Mexico
Multiple threads merged: please forgive chronology errors and repetition 🙂
Rhodium plating directly on silver
Q. I would like to know of any and all known pros and cons of plating Rhodium directly on top of Silver (without Nickel).
Sam ObermeisterPlating - Brooklyn, New York
2004
A. H,
Yes you can plate rhodium directly on silver without any problem.
Dipen Pattni
jeweler/goldsmith - Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania
A. Silver contamination in a rhodium plating bath will lead to darkened and/or streaked deposits at concentration levels below 5 milligrams per liter.
Neil BellAlbuquerque, New Mexico
A. Without the barrier of nickel, cobalt, gold, etc, the silver will migrate right thru the cracks in the rhodium and show as a tarnish on top of the rhodium, not the first day but a few days later.
Robert H Probert
Robert H Probert Technical Services
Garner, North Carolina
A. Hello Neil & Robert,
You both are right that silver will make Rh bath weaker after few days, but I've seen that in 925 silver jewelry there is plating of rhodium and they are not doing nickel undercoat, that silver jewelry is coming from Italy, China, many other places. That rhodium is like flash plating so I have tried to remove by buffing and if it is nickel then I can know after putting in 30% HCl acid it'll be like copper color.
Dipen Pattni
jeweler/goldsmith - Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania
A. Hi. One more point that Neil has brought up in other discussions which may be applicable for you is that you cannot chemically remove rhodium that is plated directly onto silver, but with a nickel underplate you at least have some shot at it by undercutting and dissolving the nickel.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
Q. Okay, so in follow-up, from what I understand, a ring that has been plated with nickel before rhodium plating has the potential to turn a person's finger green.
Does this only happen when the Rhodium finish has worn away? If so this can be easily prevented with regular re-plating, right? Or does the nickel potentially turn your finger green regardless of the Rhodium plating?
- OC, California
2005
A. Rhodium is a stressed and brittle "dried mudflat" plating, and quite thin. If, in fact, the particular item in question does include a layer of nickel plating, yes, I guess it could turn a finger green. Please see our FAQs which include a great presentation by Artisan Plating on the subject of rhodium plating. I think the better answer is no nickel plating. Thanks.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
Multiple threads merged: please forgive chronology errors and repetition 🙂
Having trouble rhodium plating silver jewelry
Q. I just started to plate silver jewelry with rhodium, the result is not shining at all.
I use 2.5V room temperature degreasing.
rising water
and plating in td rhodium 2g/l in room temperature, 2.5V,
I tried to plate from 10 sec to 1 min, the result is same.
Can you please show me my mistake.
Thank you.
Finest Junction - Thailand
2006
A. Hello Kristina,
The rhodium plate is reflective of the substrate metal, so the silver should be polished and bright before going into rhodium. Your Rh metal concentration is within range and I assume your sulfuric acid concentration is as well. The voltage you are using seems too low. Try boosting the voltage up to 4 or 5 volts, that should help you. Thirty (30) seconds immersion time should be sufficient. Good Luck!
process engineer - Malone, New York
A. Use 4V and make it 60 to 120 seconds plating time.
Good luck,
Dipen Pattni
jeweler/goldsmith - Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania
Q. The details on the ring said:
Silver CRYSTAL 3.5 Carat Cubic Zirconia ROUND Ring
Rhodium Plated Ring
Our quality Rhodium plated jewelry will make the difference. Get the Look of Real Genuine Precious Stone Jewelry at a fraction of the Cost. Elegant Cubic Zirconia Jewelry.
Textured Rhodium band with 10 mm prong set Round Cubic Zicronia in center with 1 square and 4 round Cubic Zirconia's on each side.
Should I worry about the ring turning my finger green or any other color or will I be okay?
consumer - Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States
2007
A. Rhodium is a precious metal as much as ten times as costly as gold; the rhodium itself will not turn your finger green nor any other color, Amber.
But it is a thin and porous coating only a few millionths of an inch thick, and you haven't told us (you probably haven't been told yourself) what the ring is made of. If it's silver you should be okay. If not, and if it hasn't been claimed to be gold, it probably is copper and nickel or cadmium and I think you may have a problem.
Unfortunately, trying to determine the quality of something from its sales blurb is nearly impossible because they obviously never point out its weak points. You must rely on the supplier's reputation or believable reviews from actual purchasers.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
Q. I purchased the cutest sterling silver mother of pearl ring. Immediately got a number of compliments on it. However, half way through the day my finger turned dark everywhere that the ring was touching. I contacted the merchant who said that they used rhodium plating on it. Do others have this problem? I've always been sensitive, but nothing like this.
M Hubbard- Mesa, Arizona Maricopa
September 15, 2014
A. Hi M. Rhodium is a precious metal like platinum and gold, but even more inert, and would not cause any such discoloration or irritation. I would suspect nickel; you can test for it.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
September 2014
|
Q. I want to buy this ring and want to know if it's good for the price and whether the ring will last for long and not tarnish even if I put it in water ... I've pasted the link ⇨ A Noorani- Maharashtra, Mumbai, India November 6, 2014 A. Hi Noorani. Even precious metal rings should not be worn in the water -- certainly not a rhodium plated sterling silver ring. Thanks for your vote of confidence in this site, but 89 purchasers on Amazon have left their reviews, averaging 4 stars ... those reviews from actual buyers will certainly reveal more than our guesses based on a photograph and sales pap 🙂 Best of luck with it. Regards, Ted Mooney, P.E. Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey Need quick confidential answers? $25 Need project assistance? $100/hr. Ed. update: That ring is no longer available |
Q. I purchased a sterling silver ring and it us turning my finger green. The manufacturer said it's because of the rhodium. How likely is that?
Melissa villano- folcroft Pennsylvania, America.
May 1, 2015
Hi Melissa. No point in Neil Bell or myself answering because we've already said that rhodium is a precious metal that does not corrode like that, but agreed that there could be nickel plating between the silver base and the rhodium plating, and that could turn green. I think it's obvious that that's a bad idea though.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
Q. So if there is no nickel it will not turn black or green?
Helen Smith- Somerset New Jersey USA
October 7, 2017
A. Hi Helen. Right ... neither silver nor rhodium ought to turn green. But silver can turn black ... and the reason for the rhodium plating is to deter that.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
! When my husband and children wear any type metal, be it silver or gold, that has been coated with rhodium; the piece of jewelry turns black. And if they handle any of my rhodium plated jewelry, my jewelry turns black. Their skin is not affected; just the jewelry. I am very careful to watch for jewelry with the rhodium plating, before I buy.
Debbie Nicol- Scherr, West Virginia USA
March 25, 2018
Level alloy
Q. Layered plating on silver jewelry
1-Acidic copper
2-white bronze
3-Palladium
4-Rhodium
Is this the secret of silver plating in Thailand?
Thank you for helping me.
- Mashhad, iran
May 22, 2020
A. Hi Amir. I don't know if "Level alloy" has any special meaning to you or others, but it doesn't anything to me. I am not familiar with the asian jewelry trade so "the secret of silver plating in Thailand" means little to me either 🙂
Are you implying that rhodium plated silver jewelry from Thailand is special in some way -- much higher quality or much less expensive than jewelry from anywhere else?
Please introduce yourself and the situation that motivates your question because I am not able to read between the lines to feel that I actually understand what you'd like to know.
In addition to what you can read on this page, a youtube video from Stuller asserts that silver rings are first nickel plated or, to avoid nickel allergy they are palladium plated, and then rhodium plated ...
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
Sorry! Finishing.com is temporarily Read-Only.
Ted Mooney is retiring but I have several offers to take it over.
We're working hard to make sure we find it the best new home.