Metal finishing Q&As since 1989

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Details on my ring seem to have been lost in re rhodium plating

I have an 18K white gold ring that I had to have sized. I have had the ring for over a year and it still had its original luster. The ring was sized and replated and seems to have lost a few of the small details. Will the details return after the rhodium wears down?

Also, the jeweler I took it to said that the ring would now need to be plated on a yearly basis. Is this normal? I am a little upset about this. Now I feel that my ring will never be the same as when I first received it.

Marissa Smith
jewlery owner - Memphis, Tennessee, US
September 3, 2008

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September 4, 2008

The rhodium plating is very thin and will not obscure even fine details.

The details were lost when the ring was polished/buffed prior to plating.

The polishing/buffing was done to remove flaws from normal wear and tear, or from the resizing, or just as a normal procedure to produce a smooth surface before plating.

You can expect to lose more detail each time the ring is replated.

If the plating is done correctly and to the correct thickness (which is still too thin to obscure details), it should last as long as a new ring.

Jeffrey Holmes, CEF
Spartanburg, South Carolina

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