Raw rhodium is a hard, shiny, silvery-white metal with a bright, reflective luster, similar to platinum but very durable, often found naturally as a free metal or alloyed with other platinum group metals and appearing as dense, heavy chunks or grains mixed with other ores, making it look like dull metallic flakes or pieces rather than pure, polished jewelry.
It is a very rare, silvery-white, hard, corrosion-resistant transition metal. It is a noble metal and a member of the platinum group.
Although the underlying metal may be magnetic, the rhodium plating itself is not magnetic. Thus, if you have a piece of jewelry that has been rhodium plated, it will not be magnetic.
45) Rhodium (Rh) – Rhodium is a shiny silvery white, very hard metal of group 9 on the periodic table and is the least common of the platinum group metals. As one of the rarest, it is also one of the most valuable of these metals.
RHODIUM (METAL FUME) is flammable. Acts as a reducing agent. Reacts violently with BrF5, ClF3 and OF2. Reacts with fluorine, with chlorine (when heated), hydrogen peroxide, sulfur dioxide (when heated), and nitrogen dioxide.
Rhodium is one of the rarest elements. It is estimated to make up only 0.0002 parts per million of the earth's crust. The largest known concentrations of it are in the Ural Mountains in Russia, in South Africa, and in Ontario, Canada.
The current price of Rhodium is $342.49 per gram.
For bulk rhodium purchases, whether industry or investment, please contact us directly for a quotation.
Rhodium only has a single naturally occurring isotope (103Rh). However, there are 25 radioactive isotopes of rhodium, eighteen of which have half-lives of less than an hour.
Does rhodium plating turn green with time? No, rhodium plating does not turn green over time because it does not tarnish or corrode. If brass is rhodium plated and the plating wears off, the copper could turn your skin green.
Rhodium is inert to most acids and does not react with water (under normal conditions).
As of early January 2026, the price of palladium per gram fluctuates but hovers around $58 to $60 USD, depending on the market source, with slight variations for different currencies like €52.54 or A$89.49. It's important to check live metal pricing sites, as these figures are based on recent spot prices for 24k (99.9%) pure palladium.
Rhodium is the rarest of all non-radioactive metals. It occurs uncombined in nature, along with other platinum metals, in river sands in North and South America. It is also found in the copper-nickel sulfide ores of Ontario, Canada.
Types of Rhodium Testing
It involves directing X-rays at the sample, causing it to emit secondary X-rays that are characteristic of the elements present. XRF provides rapid and accurate analysis of rhodium purity, detecting the presence of other elements or impurities.
Rhodium's natural color is white metal, but ink can bind to the rhodium particles and so you can dress up your jewelry in various colors. For rhodium plating, a positive electrical charge is used to fuse the rhodium onto the base metal. Within minutes, your silver or gold jewelry will turn black.
For the recovery of rhodium from primary sources, ores are generally crushed, finely ground and then treated by flotation and magnetic methods to separate sulphide minerals. These sulphides are further separated to yield a nickel concentrate which contains most of the platinum metals.
Impact of Rhodium on human health
Most people do not come into contact with rhodium, which is highly toxic and carcinogenic. Rhodium compounds "stain" the skin very strongly. The body can absorb rhodium through inhalation. The health effects of exposure to rhodium have not been thoroughly investigated.
It's the finishing touch that elevates your ring from beautiful to breathtaking. But if you're wondering “How long will rhodium plating last?” the simple answer is: Usually 12–24 months — depending on how you wear your jewelry.
South Africa is the dominant producer, accounting for nearly 80% of global rhodium output. Russia and Canada account for the remaining 20% of global rhodium production, depicted in the graph shown.
Top 9 rarest precious metals on Earth
Market Supply and Demand: If the supply of PGMs exceeds demand, prices fall. This can happen due to increased mining output, reduced industrial demand, or advancements in technology that reduce the amount of PGMs needed for applications like catalytic converters.
Typically, the amount of rhodium in a catalytic converter is anywhere between 1-2 grams, while the amount of platinum ranges anywhere from 3 to 7 grams and the amount of palladium ranges anywhere from 2 to 7 grams.
The rarest metal on earth is actually francium, but because this unstable element has a half life of a mere 22 minutes, it has no practical use. Tantalum, on the other hand, is used to make capacitors in electronic equipment such as mobile phones, DVD players, video game systems, and computers.
The HSEs, in decreasing order of abundance, are platinum, ruthenium, palladium, osmium, iridium, rhodium, gold, and rhenium. Note that all of these elements occur in concentrations of less than 2 ppm (<2000 ppb) in ordinary chondrites (Table). Concentrations are even lower in other types of stony meteorites.