[Jewelry making - Article 00081] - Re: [Orchid] Rhodium plating platinum?

[richard hart]

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Orchidians,

    Having received several responses about rhodium plating white gold, I
    will share my experience. I have a retail store. My store is in a
    neighborhood, and my customers are frequent repeat customers.We sell
    manufacturer's goods, and I do custom gold and platinum. My
    experience in most people who want white metal choose white gold over
    platinum because of the price. The pieces I have sold, always with
    disclosure, that we bought and the pieces I make have either held up
    well, or my customers do not care that the rhodium wears off. 

    arrings and pendants are an never an issue, as I tell people that
    those items last forever unless they fall down and scrape their
    necks or ears frequently. 

    My experience is that there is more regret by customers who have
    platinum that were not informed that platinum is soft and develops a
    patina than regret by customers who were not informed that their
    white gold was rhodium plated. I think that white gold customers
    understand that rather that being deceived, they understand that it
    is a necessary evil to have the white look they desire, and desire is
    what I mean. 

    y experience is that rhodium can last several years depending on how
    hard the customer is on their rings, and how good of a job the
    plater does. 

    I have never had an irritated customer about rhodium in 17 years of
    retail. 

    With education about negatives and positives about characteristics of
    each metal and no prejudice on my part, I believe my customers are
    apparently to take responsibility for their decision. 

    The last ring I re-plated that I sold, I sold about 3-4 years prior,
    and I believe that my customer feels that $30 over that period of
    time is a reasonable price to maintain the look. 

    I would never plate anything I made in platinum. 

Richard Hart

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