Firstly, let’s start with what rhodium is.
Rhodium is a chemical element with the symbol RH and atomic number 45.
It’s a very rare, silvery -white, hard metal and a member of the six platinum group metals: platinum, palladium, rhodium, osmium, iridium and ruthenium. Rhodium is the rarest of the platinum group and most valuable precious metal in the world. Rhodium has lower density and a higher melting point than platinum. It is also classified as a noble metal, meaning that it does not react to oxygen easily , it’s a fantastic catalyst , hypoallergenic and resistant to corrosion and oxidation.
For all of the above reasons, rhodium is commonly used in jewellery as a plating alloy to shield a protective coating over your jewellery that increases the durability, resistance to scratching and retains a beautiful shiny lustre. Pendants and earrings hardly ever need to be re-rhodium plated but rings need to be re-rhodium plated often to avoid mishaps as in the photos below.
The customer brought in her jewellery for rhodium plating , she had bought them elsewhere.
The ring shows significant wear, and the rhodium plating has been worn away revealing a yellow colour underneath.
A misconception we came across over the years is that the majority of customers think that 18ct white gold alloy is yellow. Well ,18ct white gold alloy is made of 75% fine gold and 25% alloys. These alloys can be a range of other metals, including silver, copper, and nickel. Each jewellery manufacturing company differs when making their own gold alloy using more or less parts of the other range of metals. Thus, the difference in colour . Using more parts of the other range of metals makes the alloy softer and more prone to mishaps. But of course, there other factors contributing to the deterioration of your rings like occupational and lifestyle wear.
If your 18ct white gold ring looks silvery grey looking underneath when the rhodium plate comes off, we recommend rhodium plating every few months, a good indication is when you see the rhodium plating starting to wear away and looking quite dull.
e.g. To make premium palladium 18ct white gold alloy at Euphoria Jewels we mix pure fine gold and pure palladium, the result is a lovely white gold hue alloy, excellent choice for customers with allergies .
