You're not alone if you’re unfamiliar with rhodium and rhodium plating. Rhodium plating is used to make white gold jewelry appear more white.
But why would you need white gold to appear more white? All gold starts out yellow. White gold is produced by adding small amounts of nickel to make the gold appear white but can still have a yellowish hue. Rhodium plating gives white gold a stunning reflective white appearance.
What is Rhodium?
Rhodium is a precious metal in the platinum family. Like platinum, rhodium is durable and features a bright and clear mirror-like finish. Rhodium is very strong and helps make jewelry more resistant to physical damage, corrosion, and oxidation.
Benefits
One of the most significant benefits of rhodium plating is that rhodium is hypoallergenic. It’s becoming more and more common for individuals to have an allergic reaction to the nickel used in making white gold. Rhodium plating protects the wearer from exposure to the nickel found in white gold because rhodium is naturally nickel free.
Rhodium plating increases a piece's scratch and scuff resistance, greatly enhancing its durability. It also gives your jewelry that beautiful bright mirror-like finish and shine everyone loves.
Maintenance
The only downside to rhodium plating is that it will eventually wear off, and the piece will need to be re-plated. When the plating wears off, the yellow color of the gold underneath will begin to show through.
Depending on how often you wear a piece of jewelry and its overall wear and tear, your jewelry will need to be re-plated every few years or so.
Have Your Jewelry Rhodium Plated
A quick trip to Park City Jewelers is all it takes to bring your white gold jewelry back to life. Prices start at just $50, with the 6th piece free! Our turnaround time for rhodium plating is typically 2-3 days.
Bring your white gold jewelry to Park City Jewelry today to have it rhodium plated. Your diamonds will shine with more brilliance, and you'll fall in love with your jewelry all over again.