What color is rhodium? Rhodium is vibrant silvery-white and highly reflective. We choose to plate our jewelry in rhodium rather than designing with white gold or platinum because of its brilliance and quality. Other colors like black, rose, or yellow can be added to rhodium through ink binding.
Rhodium is a chemical element with the symbol Rh and atomic number 45. It is a very rare, silvery-white, hard, corrosion-resistant transition metal.
Rhodium has a finish akin to a mirror, meaning that rhodium-plated jewelry pieces have a diamond-like sparkle. While sterling silver has a beautiful shine, its sparkle does not come close to that of Rhodium, even after polishing. Sterling silver also has a whiter appearance compared to Rhodium's grayish appearance.
Rhodium-plated sterling silver - rhodium is one of the rarest and most precious metals in the world, worth much more than gold or silver. It has a darker color than silver and looks closer to the color of stainless steel. Jewelers use it as plating on sterling silver because it keeps the silver from tarnishing.
What is Rhodium? Rhodium is a beautifully reflective, bright white metal that's often used to enhance white gold. In addition to being very pretty, rhodium has some practical advantages. Rhodium is quite hard, making it scratch resistant.
Rhodium vs silver
Silver is not as white or reflective as rhodium. It is softer and must be combined with other metals that make it susceptible to tarnishing. Sterling silver is often a base metal for rhodium since it is sturdy and high-quality. Rhodium adds some value and imperishability to silver.
Colour: whiter than pure silver
In terms of colour, a piece of rhodium-plated silver jewellery is very similar to a piece of white gold jewellery, but it can also be combined with other components to obtain other shades…
The process of plating a piece of jewelry means coating in an extremely thin layer of rhodium, only a few microns thick. Because this layer is so thin, it is easily subject to being worn off after exposure to: Occupational and lifestyle wear.
A: Wearing rhodium-plated jewelry in the shower is generally not recommended. While rhodium plating adds a protective layer to jewelry, it is still a thin coating that can be affected by exposure to water, soaps, and chemicals. Showering may cause the plating to wear off more quickly or become damaged over time.
This is because white gold is traditionally Rhodium plated; what you see in jeweller's windows is actually white gold coated in a Platinum-looking layer of Rhodium. This disguises the white golds' natural colour, making it look like Platinum but with a less scary price tag.
Used on some of our sterling silver designs, rhodium is a precious metal, notable for being extremely durable and resistant to tarnish. A layer of rhodium plating brings a shiny finish and a bright lustre to your jewellery.
Generally, the more you wear your ring, the faster the rhodium will wear away and cause the silver-white color to transition to a yellow shine.
Some white gold jewellery contains nickel since gold is a soft material. However, this can irritate people with sensitive skin and allergies. If you have sensitive skin, having Rhodium-plated jewellery will save you from skin irritations. Rhodium does not contain any types of allergen.
In fact, Rhodium plating only lasts between 3 months and a year, depending on the amount of wear that can be seen. You will know when your rings need to be re-plated again, because you will start to see glimmers of yellow gold showing through the coating of the Rhodium plating.
925 Silver can tarnish and oxidize over time and requires regular polishing to maintain its appearance, while Rhodium Silver is less prone to tarnish, corrosion and is more durable, but is more expensive and requires replating as the coating wears off to maintain its appearance.
Rhodium is a silvery-white metal in the platinum family. It has highly reflective quality that does not tarnish. Rhodium is allergy-friendly, harder than gold, and extremely durable. This metal is idea for jewelry plating as it strengthens the durability and adds a glorious sheen to the metal below it.
However, it's important to note that rhodium plating on sterling silver will eventually wear away over time due to various factors such as wear and tear, exposure to humidity, water, air pollution, UV lights, body chemistry, pH balance, cosmetics, chlorine, and harsh chemicals.
To keep your rhodium plated ring looking its best, you should clean it with warm water and a mild liquid soap. Use a soft polishing cloth and dry immediately. You should never use any chemicals of any kind such as silver polish, silver dips, or ammonia based products on your rhodium plated rings or jewelry.
So most white gold pieces on average will need to be rhodium plated every 12-18 months. This depends on how the item of jewellery is worn. Rings will generally need to be done more regularly as compared to earrings or pendants that receive less contact wear.
If you do not have access to a jeweler, you can check the underside of the ring with a magnifying glass. There should be a stamp such as "14k" or "10k" to signify what type of gold the ring is made of. If you see this stamp, and the ring is silver-colored, it's rhodium-plated.
Over time the rhodium will wear, and your white gold jewelry will need to be re-plated. Wearing rings every day - Your rings may need to be rhodium plated once every six months to once a year. Wearing rings for special occasions - Your ring may need to rhodium plated every 2-3 years.
So, why is white gold rhodium plated? Like any other gold used in fine jewelry, white gold is made of an alloy. In this case, that means pure gold and other metals that have a silver-to-white tone. On its own, white gold has a yellow tint to it, so rhodium plating is used to make it more white.
Rhodium is distinguished by its unique corrosion resistance, hardness, silvery-white metallic appearance and chemical inertness.
Jewelry pieces that are worn daily like rings, however, undergo quite a bit more wear and tear and should be coated more often, ideally every 3 months to a year. Overexposure to friction, certain chemicals like chlorine, and body oils can all cause rhodium plated jewelry to dull faster.