| Search our quarter-million Q&As |
Home of the finishing HOTLINE since 1989
-----Allergic to Silver -- will Rhodium Plating It Help?
Q. I am allergic to silver; would a rhodium plated item make it possible to wear these items?
Trish WorkmanBUYER - Golden Valley, Arizona USA
November 20, 2016
A. Yes Trish it would. Just keep in mind that a rhodium finish will be brighter than silver. Rhodium is a much harder metal so it would last longer and will not tarnish.
Mark BakerProcess Engineering - Phoenix, Arizona USA
November 21, 2016
Q. Does that mean I shouldn't have an allergic reaction to those items?
Trish Workman [returning]- Golden Valley, Arizona USA
November 22, 2016
A. Hi Trish. I think Mark has told you what he can. There are some metals, like nickel, to which a large percentage of the population is allergic. If we can plate them or coat them such that skin and sweat don't make contact with that metal, the allergy problem is usually solved.
But when a few people report more exotic allergies, like allergy to silver, it's hard for anyone to assure them that they will not find themselves allergic to some other metal like rhodium. I don't know how sure you are that you are allergic to silver (repeated allergy tests by a dermatologist vs. just anecdotally getting itchy from certain jewelry), but apparently not all such itches are metal allergies. If you're not sure, please see thread 33777, "Boiling Rings in Peroxide and vinegar ⇦ in bulk on eBay or Amazon [affil link] Stops Rash".
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
November 2016
Sorry! Finishing.com is temporarily Read-Only.
Ted Mooney is retiring but I have several offers to take it over.
We're working hard to make sure we find it the best new home.