Rhodium Plating
Also called rhodium finish, rhodium dip
Rhodium plating is a thin coating of rhodium applied over white gold to give it a bright white surface that resists scratching and tarnish. White gold on its own has a faint yellow or grey cast from its alloy, so most white gold jewelry is plated before it leaves the workshop.
In other words, it is the bright white top layer on white gold rings. Without it, white gold looks slightly warm rather than silver-white.
Why white gold needs it
Gold is yellow. Making it white means alloying it with pale metals such as palladium, nickel, or silver, and that gets the colour close but not all the way. The result is usually a soft grey with a warm hint to it.
Rhodium is a bright white metal from the platinum group. A layer of it over the finished piece gives the hard, mirror-white look buyers expect from white gold.
It wears off
The layer is very thin, and on a ring it thins fastest on the underside of the band where it rubs against a finger. When it goes, the warmer white gold underneath starts to show through, usually first as a patch.
Re-plating is a routine jeweler service. It is worth setting the expectation in your product copy, because a customer who was not told will read normal wear as a defect.
How it changes the render
A rhodium-plated surface is more mirror-like than raw white gold, which means it reflects more of the environment and shows deeper contrast between bright highlights and dark reflections. Our white gold renders are lit for that plated look, because that is what the piece looks like when it ships.
If you sell unplated or brushed white gold, tell us. It is a lighting and material change on our side, not a re-model, so it costs nothing extra to get right the first time.
Questions about Rhodium Plating
How long does rhodium plating last?
It varies with wear. Rings worn daily show it first, and most jewelers treat re-plating as periodic upkeep rather than a repair.
Does your white gold render show the plated finish?
Yes. The white gold version of each render is lit as a rhodium-plated surface, which is how the finished piece looks in hand.