URGENT: Should I not rhodium plate my platinum?

[Valleyboy]

Hello everyone.

Well today''s the day! I''ve chosen my diamonds and 3 stone e-ring and now it''s down to one final decision;

Should I or should I not rhodium plate my platinum???

My jeweler has given me the choice of either with no pressure either way. He has however recommended that I rhodium plate so as I get that extra shine for the sparkle.

I don''t think it''s a money thing at all as he will rhodium plate my ring at no charge up to twice a year for the life of the ring.

I have my final appointment in two hours, any last minute advice please!!!

 

[mrssalvo]

I wouldn''t. Why not just polish it?

 

[windowshopper]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO rhodium looks like chrome...........it doesnt have the patina platinum gets

 

[JulieN]

Yeah, I don''t get it...

 

[Valleyboy]

I''ve heard putina makes the ring look dirty and it''s quite hard to keep a good polish on platinum. Is this true?

Can we shine it at home or does it need to be done at the jewellers?

 

[JulieN]

Patina is the part of the charm of platinum. Yes, you do it at the jeweler.

 

[mrssalvo]

I like the patina and it doesn''t look dirty to me at all. You''ll have to have your jeweler do it.

 

[Valleyboy]

Thank you all so much for your replies!

I''m getting the impression that polished without rhodium plating is the way to go.

Will the platinum still look nice and shiny of not plated? I wouldn''t want a dull or grey looking ring. Also, if I''m not happy, can I have it plated at a later date?

Thanks again everyone?

 

[mrssalvo]

when it starts to look dull to you, just have it polished again. no need to plate platinum..

 

[KissyKissy]

I think if you''re going to go through the procress of rhodium plating twice a year you might as well buy white gold and not spend the extra money on platinum.... just my two cents.

 

[belle]

Date: 5/18/2006 12:08:20 AM
Author: KissyKissy
I think if you''re going to go through the procress of rhodium plating twice a year you might as well buy white gold and not spend the extra money on platinum.... just my two cents.

absolutely.

it would be silly to buy a platinum ring only to have it plated.

 

[monarch64]

Valley, honestly, my platinum e-ring and wedding band that I''ve been wearing for the past 2.5+ years now look just as shiny as my brand new white gold earrings! Yes, the rings have a few scratches, but they still do not look "dull" in comparison to the very polished WG ball studs that I have been wearing. My husband has actually had his 18k WG wedding band "re-dipped" twice since we''ve been married, and he kind of wishes he''d gone with platinum for his band. Just my .02...hope this helps.

 

[Valleyboy]

Thanks so much for all of your help everyone!

I''ve just come back from my jeweler and have payed the deposit for him to start work on my girlfriends sparlking and hopefully shiny new e-ring (if she says yes that is

).

We had a lengthy talk about rhodium plating whilst I was there during which he told me it comes down to personal preference. He said about 90% of his clients prefer the plating just because it gives the ring that little bit more of a shine. But then others would not hear of just an injust.

What we decided is that he''s going to leave the ring unplated and highly polished for my final viewing at which point I can decide whether or not I would like to have it plated. If I do, he''ll just dip it for me then.

Somehow I don''t think I will but it''s re-assuring that he offered the option.

 

[Mara]

wow i have totally never heard of plating PLATINUM...what is the point then? just get white gold. i can only imagine if 90% of his clients prefer it then he's not explaining it right or something. platinum on it's own is not 'gray' or dull, it's beautiful. yes it does scratch but so do the other metals, and if you just have it polished once a year or whatever it's fine. very curious.

 

[ForteKitty]

I get mine plated. But I see I''m the only one.
The "patina" platinum developes drives me nuts. Absolutely hate it. Looks like silver after a while.
I''m very sensitive to color/shade, and that grey color of Plat just drives me nuts. Nobody else seems to notice but me.

However, I like the weight of Platinum, so I get my Plat rings plated.

 

[niceguymr]

Date: 5/17/2006 8:45:11 PM
Author: JulieN
Patina is the part of the charm of platinum. Yes, you do it at the jeweler.

It is as much of a ''charm'' as the pungent smell of the air in Venice, Italy. I could do without it.

I bought platinum b/c I never wanted it to turn yellow and I also liked the weight and durability. I never chose it b/c I liked the way it looks when it ages. I had the jeweler rhodium plate it when I bought it, but since the ring was already brand new, the difference was minimal. Once it gets old, it makes a huge difference. Picture for example what a quarter dollar coin looks like fresh from the mint, and compare one that has been in circulation for years. There''s nothing wrong with wanting that ''new and shiny'' look over that ''old and dull'' look. That''s what patina is by the way...

 

[JulieN]

Date: 5/18/2006 7:26:54 AM
Author: niceguymr

It is as much of a 'charm' as the pungent smell of the air in Venice, Italy. I could do without it.

I bought platinum b/c I never wanted it to turn yellow and I also liked the weight and durability. I never chose it b/c I liked the way it looks when it ages. I had the jeweler rhodium plate it when I bought it, but since the ring was already brand new, the difference was minimal. Once it gets old, it makes a huge difference. Picture for example what a quarter dollar coin looks like fresh from the mint, and compare one that has been in circulation for years. There's nothing wrong with wanting that 'new and shiny' look over that 'old and dull' look. That's what patina is by the way...

Everyone has different taste. Old, and dull (I prefer dreamy) it may be, but not everything has to look shiny and new; surely you wouldn't polish your old family silver to a shiny brightness?

Some people like platinum patina because it shows they've been married a long time.

Excuse me, carry on.

 

[Kaleigh]

I learn something new every day on here cause I never heard of plating platinum either. Guess it''s a personal choice but for me I wouldn''t do it either. And yes the patina is part of the charm of platinum, in my book anyways. You can always have it polished to bring back that new look. But I love the patina of platinum and the feel of it.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Scroll down this thread to cflutist''s post 5/17 at 10:31pm (I think). She shows three bands, and the first is platinum. Looks great to me! Seems like having your plat. rings polished is as easy as having them rhodium plated anyway. So I''d choose polishing over plating.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/white-gold-vs-platinum.45246/

 

[Valleyboy]

Thanks for all the great advice everyone!

Here''s a thought, if I were to leave the platinum ring unplated but polished when brand new (BTW it''s 950 Plat), can I have it plated in the future should I choose to?

Also, if I were to do this, would the unplated platinum underneath the diamond settings be duller than the rhodium plated platinum and remove some of the sparlke of the diamonds?

These may be silly questions but I guess I just have to ask them anyway.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

It seems to me that polishing it would make more sense than rhodium plating. But yes, you could do it later. And no, the setting is not going to affect the sparkle of the diamond. Keeping the diamond clean will affect the sparkle of the diamond.

 

[Mara]

The metal won''t affect the sparkle of the diamond regardless of plating or not.