Rhodium Plating Opal Jewellery

After some research, as well as our in-house testing, we will now be rhodium plating all of our white-gold opal jewellery and sterling silver opal jewellery. The improved appearance of rhodium plating was initially noticed because of its extra beauty to the naked eye, but as the points below will show, it not only enhances the beauty of both white gold opal jewellery and sterling silver opal jewellery, it helps ensure the longest-lasting, most durable finish for your black opal jewellery. The result: stunning Queensland boulder opal jewellery that stays stunning much longer than un-plated white gold opal jewellery and sterling silver opal jewellery. Rhodium does not tarnish. There will be no need to polish the tarnish off your jewellery again.

Rhodium is a member of the platinum precious metals group. The full platinum metals group is:
platinum                                                                            
palladium  
rhodium                                                                                    
iridium 
ruthenium
osmium
Why Rhodium?
Rhodium is considered the best of all the platinum metals for resistance to corrosion and tarnish. Rhodium will also remain bright and shiny under most environmental conditions. Not surprisingly, of all the metals in this group, rhodium is by far the most expensive to utilize. Rhodium is nearly 4x as expensive as platinum, and 9x as expensive as gold.

Rhodium is the most tarnish resistant member of the platinum metals group. As a protective coating, rhodium finishes virtually eliminate any chance of surface discoloring even when exposed to extreme environmental conditions under normal temperatures. The surface hardness of plated rhodium is also the highest of the precious metals, thus is highly resistant to incidental scratching and abrasion. Rhodium plated finishes are best for wearability among the precious metals.

Additionally, rhodium is hypoallergenic. White gold and sterling silver normally employs nickel to provide the whiteness, however, approximately 20% of women will have some form of allergy to nickel. Thus by rhodium plating, a possible allergen is removed from contacting your skin.

Rhodium plating can dramatically increase the long term durability, brightness and luster of the finish. Because it is a plating, it will wear off over time. How soon depends on how much wear and tear the jewellery item takes, mainly only on rings that are worn everyday, over a period of many years. However, virtually any jeweller can quickly re-plate your jewellery, usually for around $45, to bring back the original shine and luster that only rhodium can provide.