shape
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rhoidum and platinum

Gibson486

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
91
Do platinum (PT900) rings come rhodium plated? Is there a need to do it? Short of asking, how can you tell if it was rhodium plated?
 

slg47

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 4, 2010
Messages
9,667
I don't think platinum is usually rhodium plated.
 

diamondseeker2006

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Jan 11, 2006
Messages
58,547
I have heard of platinum being rhodium plated before on rare occasions, but I would assume it is not. But there's not a thing wrong with asking! White gold is plated because it is yellowish. Platinum is already white (silver, actually), so there is no need to plate.
 

Indented Natural

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Messages
11
If you want it to shine then you rhodium plate it. However since platinum is softer than gold it's prone to scratching and the plating will rub off quickly.

Honestly, platinum isn't worth the money.
 

Circe

Ideal_Rock
Trade
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Apr 26, 2007
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8,087
Indented Natural|1305230184|2919952 said:
If you want it to shine then you rhodium plate it. However since platinum is softer than gold it's prone to scratching and the plating will rub off quickly.

Honestly, platinum isn't worth the money.

Matter of taste, really - I much prefer platinum because I like the heft of it, I like the way it displaces from a scratch so that it can be polished back to its original condition, and I like how the ductility makes for safer prongs.

Concerning rhodium: it's basically a cheap and non-labor intensive way to make metal look shinier. The plating won't rub off more quickly, but it's a micron thick, so as the metal underneath it wears, so, too, does it - which means the shine won't last forever. Honestly, I'd just ask the jeweler: I prefer mine unplated, too, because I like the look of greyish look of platinum more than the whiteness of rhodium.
 
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