I have seen advertisements for rhodium finished Sterling Silver. The Sterling is supposed to be .925 and the rhodium allegedly improves the shine, is more scratch resistant, and stops tarnishing. This doesn’t really make sense to me. If you are going to coat the metal in rhodium, why silver, why not stainless steel. It is only the outer coat that is visible. Is this really an improvement, or some kind of money saving scam on the part of the manufacturers?
This article talks about rhodium as a protective coating.
This article talks about reflectiveness-silver is the most reflective(shiney) but rhodium is harder and more resistant to tarnishing so that silver will over time become less shiney without repolishing.
They do rhodium plating on white gold as well, to improve the shine and hardness. White gold is rather yellowish in comparison to a truly white metal like rhodium, so when it wears off you need to get it plated again.
Granted, the above does not explain why you use an expensive metal under the plating instead of a cheap one, it just makes it worse since white gold is way more expensive than silver. I don’t understand it either, and refuse to buy rhodium plated jewelry.
[
](http://www.stainlesssteeljewelry.com/msg2.htm)The difference in how it’s made;
soft alloy-make one ring out of casting wax, make mold, pour molten metal in mold, repeat until the mold wears out
or
grind one stainless steel ring (by hand), repeat.
7.5mm plain band ring in stainless steel $109
Celtic knotwork ring in sterling silver $16.99
CMC fnord!
Total hijack, but that’s where we got our wedding rings–the stainless steel ones–and I love them.
Heres one more kink in the process to ponder…Rhodium is porious…so to keep the sterling silver from oxidizing underneath the rhodium plate you first plate with nickle…
Most of the things I’ve taken the nickel plating off were copper plated first!
CMC fnord!
One thing I don’t understand is that if you go to, say, Canal Street in New York City, there are tons of designer “inspired” jewelry in stainless steel dirt cheap. Clearly, they are not carving the individual links of heavy chain, and whatever other adornments are attached, from chunks of metal. They are forming it in whatever manner say hardware store steel chain is produced. So while I can see why that stainless steel ring is so expensive, it seems that you could produce a visually identical one for much, much less using a different process. And that brings us back to the rhodium. It still seems that rhodium finished sterling would look like a lesser metal, rather than silver.
I think I know the jewelry of which you speak, never had a magnet with me though.
The jewelery I’ve gotten 'round those parts was chrome plated pot/white metal.
Stainless steel chain is a fairly common item, and I’m sure the same chain is being used in the jewelry.
It’s just bent and sometimes twisted (depending on the style of chain link desired) wire.
I know knife blades are being made from cast and powdered stainless, last time I priced them they were 2 to 3 times the cost of similar ground blades. Obviously you could use the same process for jewelry, but you still have the problem of the melting temp of steel 1370 ° C (2500°F) vs silver 961.78 °C, (1763.2 °F) or gold 1064.18 °C, (1947.52 °F) that extra 500 °F does make a difference!
Lesser metal?
In 1980 the silver price rose to an all-time high of $49.45 per troy ounce.
Rhodium averaged $1000 per troy ounce over the last 30 years and $6200 per troy ounce in May 2006.
A rare silvery-white hard transition metal, rhodium is a member of the platinum group, is found in platinum ores and is used in alloys with platinum and as a catalyst. It is the most expensive precious metal.
CMC fnord!
6.5mm plain band ring in stainless steel $29.99
5mm plain band ring in sterling silver (also from Zales) $29.99
I’m sure the workmanship isn’t the same, but there is definitely a way to get a cheapo stainless steel ring made, even if I don’t know what it is.
Anyway, if you’re going to plate it, you can make it out of copper or brass or any other cheap, easily workable, metal instead of sterling silver. You certainly don’t need to make it out of 18K white gold, if all you will ever see is the plate.
Well, that makes me feel better. If Rhodium is a more expensive metal than silver, then clearly they are not using it without a significant and real reason. I should have checked the price of Rhodium first thing. The things you don’t think of.