Have you got any white gold jewellery that has lost its lustre? Well the chances are it needs rhodium plating, and luckily Guy Wakeling Jewellery can help.
Have you got any white gold jewellery that has lost its lustre? Well the chances are it needs rhodium plating, and luckily Guy Wakeling Jewellery can help.
Rhodium is a precious metal and is a member of the platinum family; it has a shiny, silver appearance and is very durable. Rhodium electroplating – or rhodium plating – is a process that is used by jewellers to apply a thin layer of rhodium to items of jewellery, to give it a bright, light appearance and provide a more hard-wearing surface that will be scratch and tarnish resistant.
Most commonly, rhodium plating is used on white gold jewellery to give it that white appearance that is so desired. The reason is that the term ‘white gold’ is somewhat of a misnomer; as we all know, gold is naturally yellow, hence what we term white gold is actually an alloy of gold mixed with another metal, usually nickel, silver or palladium. To make the alloy more durable and to provide a shiny, silver appearance, white gold jewellery is finished with a coating of rhodium, applied using rhodium plating.
Whilst rhodium is a hard and robust metal that ensures your white gold jewellery is much less likely to be scratched or damaged, rhodium plating unfortunately doesn’t last forever. For example, jewellery that takes a lot of daily wear, such as a wedding ring, can wear away the rhodium plating entirely in as little as 4-6 months. On the other hand, items that are worn less frequently or that come into contact with your skin less frequently, can keep their rhodium plating for up to ten years. Hence, how often you need to have your piece of jewellery rhodium re-plated will depend entirely on how much the item is worn and how often it is exposed to the elements.
It’s very easy to tell if your white gold jewellery needs to be rhodium re-plated simply by looking at it. Overall, the item may look tarnished or appear to be a different colour from what it was originally. Any areas that have lost the rhodium plating altogether will show the yellowish colour of the original white gold underneath, and there may be discoloration in other areas too. On rare occasions, particularly for those with sensitive skin, there may be a slight reddening or irritation of the skin where it has been exposed to the alloy metal beneath.
Rhodium re-plating is not an arduous task; thanks to the specialist equipment we have at Guy Wakeling Jewellery, we can rhodium plate your jewellery quite easily. The majority of jewellery items can be re-plated fairly quickly and easily with absolutely no damage to the stone.
Rhodium plating is not as expensive as you think, although the exact cost will depend on the item of jewellery and how thick a layer of rhodium it requires. Why not get in touch with us today to find out exactly how much this service is likely to cost for you?
Alternatively, you can take advantage of our special ring cleaning offer, which includes rhodium re-plating for your white gold rings. Our exclusive 5 step cleaning process costs just £50 per ring. You can check out the full details of our ring cleaning service here.
Please feel free to contact us for further details, thank you.
Stone Clean
Stone Security Check
Ring Reshaping
Metal Polish
Rhodium Re-plating
£50 per ring