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Do they use nickel when plating sterling silver with rhodium?

I design/make/wholesale sterling jewelry and like to use rhodium plated sterling silver since it doesn't tarnish. A questions people always ask me is if they would be allergic to the coating as they use rhodium. Some of my supplier said they don't use nickel, while others told me nickel has to be used to help rhodium stay on sterling silver (by my silversmith teacher). I was also told (by a seller who said being in business for 25 years) that rhodium can not be plated over sterling because sterling silver would eat over rhodium. What is the real truth?

Yan He
Product designer, wholeseller - Lake Oswego, OR
March 16, 2009

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First of two simultaneous responses --

Rhodium is often plated onto silver with a nickel under-plate but silver can be and is rhodium plated without any nickel.

Neil Bell
Albuquerque, New Mexico
March 18, 2009

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Second of two simultaneous responses --

In the real world it is practically impossible to deposit bright rhodium without cracks. Then silver will migrate right through the cracks and show corrosion on top of the rhodium. A dip in cyanide will remove the corrosion but it will come right back. A nickel barrier layer or a palladium barrier layer would suffice.

Robert H Probert
Robert H Probert Technical Services

Garner, North Carolina

March 18, 2009

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