At Baron
Designs, all our silver and white gold jewellery is rhodium plated.
Inevitably…every time we mention this word, our clients question us.
So, what is rhodium?
It’s a precious
metal, like gold, silver, and platinum, but VERY expensive! In fact, don’t be
surprised to learn that it is the most expensive precious metal. The reason for
this is that it is VERY rare in nature. It is found only as a by-product of
mining other metals, such as platinum. Its price is VERY volatile because its
availability is directly linked to the supply and demand of platinum. In 2022,
rhodium was almost 10 times more expensive than gold!!! Investors beware:
rhodium is not the most stable of investments.
Note for those
who may wonder why we don’t make jewellery out of rhodium (like with gold, for
example).
Very
simple...pure rhodium is extremely friable and brittle, which makes it
difficult to manipulate. However, despite these particularities, rhodium is
highly sought after in jewellery as a plating material since it gives a higher
shine to items made of silver and white gold and for its finishing properties.
It is harder than silver and gold, providing an excellent protective layer
against scratches.
The biggest
advantage, however, is that it does not tarnish and requires no special
cleaning. On white gold, plating helps preserve the shine longer. With sterling
silver, the plating will prevent the metal from oxidizing (turning black) and
also ensures that the brilliance will last. It is also an excellent suggestion
for customers with allergies to silver because it completely covers the
jewellery and prevents direct contact with the metal.
Don’t forget
that rhodium plating is an added
value to your jewellery and should be sought for your
jewellery’s finish.
Although very
resistant, the plating doesn’t last forever and must be redone every 12 to 24
months, depending on the jewellery’s amount of wear and tear.
Note that we
also offer gold plating (yellow and rose) as well as sterling silver plating.
We
offer this service at a very competitive price!