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Allergic reaction to exposed 'white gold' where rhodium faded

 

I was told of the plating before we bought my ring and although it's been only 4 months and I'm noticing a yellowish tinge on the underside of the band, which I did not expect so soon I am assuming this is do to the high acidity of my skin. My question is if I do develop an allergic reaction to the ring with the wearing down of the Rhodium and I find out my 18Kt white gold ring does contain nickel do I have any recourse to have my ring replaced? I did mention to the sales person that I do have metal allergies, but I wasn't aware of the presence and that the nickel in the white gold could affect me (I'm thinking a trained jeweler would have). Upon mentioning my allergy to metals should the jeweler not have mentioned that my ring could potentially irritate me? I'm not certain my ring is made with nickel alloys but my finger was having a reaction the other day that I chalked up to soap sensitivity under the band (I do wear my ring everywhere but the shower). Also another question the setting I have is an invisible setting with the stones side by side 3 rows of 11 stones flush with the band. Do the stones have to be removed to have the rhodium reapplied or is it done with the stones intact?

Tracie Serraotre
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada

First off, forget about blaming yourself for "high acidity" or your susceptibility to nickel rash; nickel has been outlawed from jewelry in much of the world already, and although the U.S and Canada are slow to follow suit, they eventually will. The problem is the jewelry, not you. But whether you are entitled to your money back is something else again, especially since the jeweler told you it was plated.

Rhodium is a very hard metal and does not wear rapidly, but it is a difficult to plate metal--it gets brittle and stressed and it cracks unless done by experts from very pure solutions with careful methods. So jewelers doing rhodium plating from a bowl on a desk in the back office apply only a couple of millionths thickness, which leads to rapid yellowing. If the rhodium plating were thick enough and non-porous, it is possible that the nickel would not be exposed and would not be a problem for you appearance-wise, and a smaller problem allergy-wise allergy-wise. Download a great PowerPoint presentation on the subject by Metal Arts Specialties.

No, the stones are not removed for re-plating.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey