Rhodium plating question!!

[Daisi2112]

How do jewelers re-plate white gold rings that are covered in diamonds? I doubt they take all the diamonds out?

 

[DiamanteBlu]

Nope. The rhodium only sticks to the metal.

 

[Daisi2112]

So they dip the ring in Rhodium with all the diamonds in it??? wow...

 

[CamoKitty]

I may be wrong, but I read somewhere that they put the ring in a solution and run an electric current through it to attach the rhodium to the gold? Maybe someone more knowledgable can answer this better.

 

[DiamanteBlu]

Yup.

 

[Daisi2112]

it still kinda scares me hahaha!

 

[DiamanteBlu]

Date: 2/21/2009 9:49:45 PM
Author: CamoKitty
I may be wrong, but I read somewhere that they put the ring in a solution and run an electric current through it to attach the rhodium to the gold? Maybe someone more knowledgable can answer this better.

Yes. Here is an article.

 

[BeachRunner]

I''ve always wondered about this too, Daisi2112

What is the average cost for rhodium re-plating? I had a jewelry store at the mall quote me ~$30, which seemed pretty reasonable.

 

[Daisi2112]

Date: 2/21/2009 9:54:09 PM
Author: BeachRunner
I've always wondered about this too, Daisi2112


What is the average cost for rhodium re-plating? I had a jewelry store at the mall quote me ~$30, which seemed pretty reasonable.

When I was at a local jewelry store someone came in wanting a fresh coat of rhodium plating, and the sales guy said $30... so I think that's about right.

 

[cellentani]

I think different jewelers replate differently. My local jeweler will just replate over the existing finish "while-you-wait", using the electric current method described by others. I just had my e-ring at Quest where they did a complete replating: completely removed any existing rhodium (included soaking in a neutralizing solution for at least an hour), repolished entire ring, and replated with rhodium. Cost for this alone was around $130. Having experience both types of processes, I can tell you that the job Quest did was far superior, but the other method wasn''t used on my e-ring, so I wasn''t as picky, and was satisfied with how it looked. $30 for that type of process sounds reasonable; I think that''s what my local jeweler would normally charge.