FAQ: Rhodium Plating & White Gold

Q. What does "rhodium" have to do with white gold jewelry?

A. Rhodium is also a precious metal. In fact, it's about ten times costlier than gold! But it is generally not considered a feasible material to make solid jewelry from because it is stressed and brittle, is very difficult to "work" properly for jewelry making, and it's price is very volatile (sometimes it's 5x as costly as gold, sometimes 25x) But rhodium is fabulous as a plating for jewelry because it is glitteringly, dazzlingly, white and mirror-like. It's like chrome, only more so, and much whiter.

Rhodium plating makes diamonds look bigger and better because it's so bright that it's hard to see where the stones end and the metal begins. Nothing sets off diamonds like rhodium plating does -- but it is only a plating and therefore it will wear off and require replating.

A. Yes, things have changed! Years ago, white gold rings were not rhodium plated, and today they usually are. Which is better and why?

Well, if you feel that heirlooms should not require replating, you won't be happy with a rhodium plated ring, because rings are "high wear" items, and no matter how high the quality of the plating, it will wear away over time.

But if you love today's brilliant, dazzling, ultra-white diamond-like look, recognize that you simply can't get it from an unplated ring, and you never could. No matter how well white gold is made, a metal which is about half gold (which is yellow) can never even come close to offering the flashy glint of rhodium plating. Yes, your grandmother's ring stayed white for decades and never ever needed plating, but it was never dazzling like today's rings -- it was white enough for people's taste in a different time, but it is not white enough for many people's taste in this age of "bling".

Q. How long will the rhodium plating last?

A. This is the big question, but the answer isn't easy. First, it depends on whether it's a ring (rings suffer a great deal of wear), or a pin or broach which receives almost no contact. And it depends on whether you wear the ring constantly. To some extent it also depends on that old bugaboo "body chemistry". But it also depends on two other very important and controllable factors --

How good is the quality of the plating? Good quality plating will last far longer than a thin layer of plating applied from a teacup of contaminated plating solution in the back room of a jewelry shop. Courtesy of Metal Arts Specialties / www.artisanplating.com we offer a Powerpoint tutorial about rhodium plating which you can download.

What color is the underlying gold? If the white gold underlying the rhodium plating is a nice acceptable color, there will be nothing jarring as the plating begins to wear a bit thin in spots, so you can go a long time between replating. If the color is slightly yellowish, more frequent replating will be necessary because the item will look poorly much sooner. And if the underlying material is strongly yellow or is actually yellow gold, the contrast will be dramatic, and replating will be required very frequently.

Yes, you can get your yellow gold jewelry rhodium plated, but if the piece experiences significant wear, the good appearance may last only a fairly short time even if the rhodium plating quality is good, and almost no time if the plating is poor.

Conclusion: If at all possible, make sure that the white gold jewelry you are buying is actually a good shade of white so that there will be little contrast as the rhodium plating gets thin. If the jewelry store can't rhodium plate the jewelry well enough for an acceptable life, try to find another jeweler or a plating shop who can.

If this FAQ didn't cover what you were looking for, please search the site because we have dozens of threads on this topic. Good luck with your ring, and if you found this page informative, please tell others about it!

See some close-ups of white gold rings: