Rhodium Plating Cost

A. It could be $25 - $100 depending on quality, and the stones would not normally be removed. But it is not a good idea to rhodium plate a yellow ring because the contrast is so strong that the wear will be immediately obvious. Only white gold rings should be rhodium plated because the off-white color won't stick out so much.

There is no commercial process of white gold plating a ring as far as I know. White gold is an alloy to cast the ring out of, not to plate the ring with, and white gold alloy rings are usually rhodium plated these days.

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.

A. 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.

A. Ken,
Rhodium plated white gold is quite common in the jewelry industry. It gives the jewelry added brilliance and because of the "as plated hardness" gives the jewelry improved wear resistance. Rhodium sulphate is now over $150.00 per gram, so depending on the price increase you are referring to it may be justified. Rhodium does not "peel off" over time, but can wear off gradually. It would depend on the plating thickness and the actual "wear" the jewelry is subjected to. Good Luck!

A. Kelly: The amount of time rhodium 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 and the rhodium goes bye bye in just a few days.

A. RHODIUM IS A PLATINUM GROUP METAL AND IS WIDELY USED TO PLATE ON WHITE GOLD AND SILVER TO RETAIN MORE SHINING. ON SILVER JEWELLERY IF YOU PLATE RHODIUM IT WILL PREVENT FROM OXIDIZATION FOR LONG TIME. RHODIUM IS AN AN EXPENSIVE METAL. BUT TO PLATE ON A RING IT SHOULD NOT COST MORE THAN RS. 100/- IN INDIA AS IT NEEDS VERY MINUTE QTY OF METAL.

I HOPE YOU ARE HAPPY AND SATISFIED.

A. Assuming your rings are about 1 square inch of surface area and you are plating to about 0.2 micron thickness and you will not be able to plate 100% of the rhodium out of the 1 gram bath you should be able to plate at least 300 rings.

! Rhodium plating is also useful for those that have severe nickel allergies, like myself. I can't wear anything with nickel as it makes any part of my skin that contacts it crack, blister, burn and bleed. I found out the hard way with my white gold wedding ring and engagement ring and white gold earrings that get constant/frequent wear.

A. Hi Annette. Rhodium is not at all yellow, it is bright metallic, much like chrome; it's also very thin. So the answer is that if your ring is generally that color it should be fine; but if your ring is the yellow color of gold, the yellow color will catch your eye as soon as there's a little wear, and rings get a lot of wear, so you probably won't be happy with it.

Regards,

A. Hi Gudlaug. Your question may be clear to you but not to me :-(

Do you have a black rhodium plated something or other that you know to actually be made of solid white gold ... but the black has begun to wear off or fade ... so you are considering having it replated ... but it's not worn enough yet for you to know what it would look like if all the black were gone ... and you think you know how to get the rest of the black off ... so you are considering the alternative that you might be content if this black thing were to be made a white thing ... but only if the white gold which you are sure is under it is 'white enough'?

Unfortunately, even if all of my guesses were right, and even if you can get the black rhodium off (which you may not be able to do in the recesses of the object), my guess is that the finish will be too yellowish for your taste. I think you should probably get the black plating restored. Best of luck.

Regards,