Rhodium plating is something that is done almost every day in a manufacturing workshop. Because it is something that is done by hand, there are times when it doesn’t always work out as perfectly as you would like. Every good workshop should have someone who is appointed as a quality control agent. Here are the things that you should look for after having your ring rhodium plated.

1. Does your ring have rhodium burn ?

This effect usually occurs when the ring has made contact with the metal electrode. It can sometimes look like a dark spot of the ring. This can usually be fixed quite easily by giving the ring a light polish in the affected area. If it is on the inside of the ring, the ring will usually not need re-plating. 

2. Does your ring look grey after rhodium plating ?

Every time a ring is rhodium plated it draws some of the rhodium out of the solution (which makes the solution weaker) and makes the end result less white. This can be fixed by filtering the rhodium solution through a graphite powder filtre or topping up the solution with some new rhodium. 

3. Can you see join lines in your ring ?

White gold solder generally has a slightly darker colour. When a ring is rhodium plated it masks this discolouration. If you can easily see the join line, it either means that the solder has been polished out though the process (as it is softer than the gold) or the rhodium plating hasn’t binded to the new ring properly. Unfortunately the only solution here is to re-do the whole process.

At Xennox Diamonds we make sure that all our work has been checked by our master jewellers to make sure your ring leaves our workshop as perfect as it can be. If for whatever reason you are not happy with any element of the ring, we will change it to make sure you are 100% happy with the finished piece.  If would like an impartial second opinion on any piece of jewellery that you have serviced and are unhappy with the result. Please come in and see our jewellers any time, or email me at [email protected] Any other questions that you might have, please leave a comment below.