Rhodium what is it

If you are allergic to nickel or silver, rhodium plating creates a barrier that prevents the allergen from coming to contact with your skin. Because rhodium is very rare and expensive, plating is also expensive. Wider and heavier jewelry pieces soak up more rhodium and consequently cost more than smaller ones.

A common issue with rhodium flashing is that it is an ongoing cost, and this cost can add up significantly over time. Rhodium-dipped jewelry is safe to adorn for a good reason. Rhodium does not readily oxidize, corrode, or react with the skin. Some people are allergic to jewelry materials like silver, nickel, and gold.

Rhodium is devoid of nickel and is naturally hypoallergenic, making it a perfect option if you have nickel allergies. However, the rhodium coat can wear off with time and expose the part of the jewelry that contains the allergens.

You can solve this by re-plate the jewelry with rhodium. The primary benefit of rhodium dipping is longevity.

It enhances the resistance to scrapes and scratches on rhodium-plated jewelry. Another advantage is that rhodium is hypoallergenic. You will not experience allergic reactions to rhodium, which also covers the allergen material that makes the core of your jewelry. Rhodium plating will also prolong the visual appeal of your jewelry. The plated coat makes your jewelry have a brighter sheen, slows tarnishing, and lessens the appearance of blemishes.

Rhodium is quite rare because it does not occur as a single mineral. It occurs in minute quantities with platinum and silver ore. This scarcity, coupled with the considerable demand for rhodium and its lustrous appearance, makes rhodium the most expensive metal. The price of rhodium can fluctuate immensely. At one time, it can rise to 10 times the price of gold and at other times equal the price of gold.

Rhodium is therefore not a stable investment. Rhodium occurs uncombined in nature in the river sands of North and South America. The ores of platinum also contain a mixture of other metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, which complicate its extraction process.

Since it's only a trace element in these mines, we have very little material available annually. To give you an idea of how rare and expensive this metal is—only 20 tons are mined per year. Jewelers love using rhodium plating for a good reason. Rhodium itself doesn't easily oxidize, corrode, or react to your skin. It's nickel-free and naturally hypoallergenic, making it a great option if you have nickel allergies. Is it unsafe? The plating process itself has potential risks—specifically that your jewelers can get exposed to acidic fumes during plating.

Unfortunately, rhodium's price fluctuates massively. Sometimes, it can be ten times more than or equal to the price of gold—making it an unstable investment. As an alloy, rhodium is durable and resistant to corrosion but is brittle in its pure form. This is why commercial industries and the jewelry industry use it for plating purposes rather than solid pieces. You wouldn't want to spend an extreme amount of money on fragile jewelry completely made of rhodium.

Rhodium plating can last you several years, but it slowly rubs off with friction. What Is Rhodium? What Is Rhodium Used for? Where Is Rhodium Found? Share this post Facebook Twitter LinkedIn. Related posts. Many shoppers believe that rhodium plating is permanent. While it is permanent, like any other metal used in jewelry, it tends to suffer wear and tear with exposure. 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.

Sometimes the body chemistry of the wearer is also a factor that can affect how quickly the plating wears off. If the base metal is yellowish, there is a high chance that the color will bleed through before the 12 months is up. This depends on the gemstone. Some softer gemstones such as peridot , pearls, opals , topaz, turquoise, coral and treated or heavily included rubies and emeralds can be damaged during the process.

These gemstones, and many others, are not able to cope with the sulfuric acids and heat in the electroplating solutions and their surfaces can be damaged, becoming spotty and studded.

See these here. Diamonds and hard gemstones like sapphires and rubies are hardy enough to withstand rhodium plating. Rhodium plating is bound to wear off after a while, but there are some steps you can take to make it last as long as possible.

Because rhodium is very rare and expensive, plating is somewhat costly. The issue many people have with rhodium plating is that it is an ongoing cost that adds up significantly over time. However, note that there are always maintenance costs involved regardless of the metal you choose. Even platinum tends to acquire scratches and scuff marks and requires periodic polishing. For more information, check out our article on white gold vs platinum , which details the issues of plating and polishing.

James Allen offers free periodic rhodium plating. See this ring here. Another solution is to purchase from a jeweler that provides free rhodium plating maintenance. Some reputable retailers, such as James Allen , offer a lifetime warranty that covers periodic rhodium plating services whenever needed, which can reduce your ongoing cost of re-plating.