What causes rhodium plating to wear off?
The rhodium plating on a white gold ring is exactly that – a plating or coating. A rubbing motion, like rubbing your hands together, will wear down your plating faster.
What do you do when rhodium plating wears off?
Rhodium plating wears off over time and will need to be re-plated. Typically, a ring would need to be re-plated once every 12 to 18 months, but this can vary depending on the wear and tear the piece sustains as well as the thickness of the plating and the color of the base metal.
Does rhodium wear off of white gold?
Most white gold rings are flash plated with a very, very thin coating of rhodium (a pure white metal) to give them a more brilliant, pure white appearance. This rhodium plating will wear off over time and reveal the white gold ring underneath.
How quickly does rhodium plating wear off?
between 12 and 18 months
All of these things can shorten the lifespan of your rhodium plating, which normally lasts between 12 and 18 months before it becomes noticeably diminished.
Will rhodium plating wear off?
It is important to know that rhodium plating is a surface treatment and WILL wear off in time revealing the underlying natural yellow or white gold color. The life span of a rhodium plated finish depends on how the piece is worn. On a ring worn daily the plating can wear off fairly quickly.
Does rhodium plated turn green?
Rhodium is nickel-free, so it does not tarnish. Rhodium is also corrosion-resistant and does not rust. Because rhodium is strong, it does not need to be alloyed with other metals like nickel or copper that, over time, will corrode and leave behind dark green marks on your skin.
How long does rhodium plating last on white gold?
2-3 years
Although having said that, if the base colour of the white gold has a really yellow colour to it, then you might start to see the gold colour coming through at the base of the ring, before the end of the first year. Normally you should expect the plating to last 2-3 years.
Will rhodium turn skin green?
Does rhodium tarnish? Rhodium is nickel-free, so it does not tarnish. Rhodium is also corrosion-resistant and does not rust. Because rhodium is strong, it does not need to be alloyed with other metals like nickel or copper that, over time, will corrode and leave behind dark green marks on your skin.
Does rhodium plated discolour?
Rhodium is nickel-free, so it does not tarnish. Rhodium is also corrosion-resistant and does not rust.
How long does rhodium finish last?
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.
What color is rhodium plating?
The rhodium plating is a process which gives the white gold its ultra white colour by placing a coating over the existing metal.
Why do they put rhodium over white gold?
When pure gold, which is yellow in color, is mixed with these white metals, it looks much more white. However, white gold alloys still tend to look a bit yellow or off-white, since they are mostly made of pure gold. So to get a bright white color, many jewelers coat white gold with rhodium.