What "Rhodium Plated" Means, and When to Replate

Your white gold ring has not gone wrong and it is not fake. It is doing exactly what plated white gold does, and the fix is routine.

A common and slightly alarming moment: the white gold ring you have worn for two years has gone faintly yellow-grey underneath. Nothing is wrong. Here is what is happening.

The layer

Rhodium is a platinum-group metal, brilliantly white and very hard. It is applied electrolytically in an extremely thin layer, measured in microns, over white gold jewellery.

That layer is what gives white gold its bright, cool white. The alloy underneath is a warmer, softer white, because it is still mostly yellow gold with white metals mixed in.

Why it wears

The layer is thin, and a ring in daily wear is constantly abraded, against desks, steering wheels, keys, soap. It wears fastest where contact is greatest: the underside of the shank first, then the edges.

This is not a defect and it is not a sign of a cheap piece. Every plated white gold ring does it. Very expensive ones do it too.

How fast

It varies enormously, and the variables are personal:

• How often it is worn. A daily ring plates out far faster than an occasional one.
• What you do with your hands. Manual work, gym equipment and gardening accelerate it.
• Body chemistry. Some people's skin is more acidic and takes the plating off noticeably faster.
• Where it sits. Rings wear faster than earrings or pendants, which barely wear at all.

A daily-wear ring commonly needs replating every one to three years. Earrings may go a decade.

What replating involves

The piece is cleaned, polished, and re-plated. Usually a day or two at the jeweller, and inexpensive relative to the piece.

Two things worth knowing:

Polishing removes a little metal each time. Over many cycles across decades this thins a shank slightly. Not a concern at normal intervals; worth mentioning if someone proposes replating annually.

Stones may need to come out, or be protected. Some stones do not tolerate the process. A competent jeweller will identify these, pearls and certain porous or treated stones especially.

Can you avoid it?

Choose platinum, which is white all the way through. See our comparison of the two.

Choose unplated white gold. Some jewellers will supply it. The colour is warmer and more natural, and many people prefer it once they have seen it. It never needs replating, though it may still be polished.

Choose yellow or rose gold, where the colour is the metal and cannot wear off.

The practical rule

Take the ring off for the gym, for cleaning, for gardening and for the pool. That single habit extends plating life more than anything else.

And when it does go warm underneath, that is maintenance, not failure. It is the same as a car needing tyres.

Book a complimentary design consultation at the C'Garden atelier, The MET Corporate Towers, Kuala Lumpur: 010-766 7448 · hq@cgarden.com.my

C'Garden is an independent bespoke jeweller in Kuala Lumpur. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or certified by any organisation, laboratory or brand named in this article. Third-party names are used only to refer factually to those organisations and their published standards. All text and imagery in this article is original work created by C'Garden.

Reference

Jewelers of America. (n.d.). Jewelry care. Jewelers of America. https://www.jewelers.org/buying-jewelry/jewelry-repair-and-care/jewelry-care