Those who buy a new piece of jewelry have one desire - it should remain as beautiful, graceful and attractive even after many years. To do this, you need to put a lot of effort, and sometimes money. But usually there is not enough time even for elementary home cleaning, not to mention trips to jewelers. This is why jewelry rhodium was invented.
What is the element rhodium?
Rhodium is used quite often in jewelry. He is considered a noble representative of the platinum group. It is a bright metal with an extraordinary strength. Its main feature is that rhodium is not subject to oxidation in air and the effects of acids. Outwardly, it is a light metal, very similar to silver, with a steely sheen, but in terms of hardness, other precious metals are inferior to it. When heated, it becomes plastic and wellinteracts with other metals, many craftsmen actively use rhodium in jewelry, creating beautiful jewelry.
The Secret of Birthing
How is rhodium used in jewelry? Let's understand what birthing is. This is the coating of any precious metal with a thin layer (from 0.1 to 1 microns) of rhodium. This procedure gives the metal high strength, immunity to oxidation and the effects of certain chemicals, as well as some other advantages:
- Protection against temperature changes (cold, heat, dry or humid air).
- Decoration takes on a completely different appearance. A beautiful steel luster appears, which does not disappear over time.
- No need for constant cleaning, because rhodium does not allow large particles of dirt to fall on the surface of the product.
- A thin layer of this metal perfectly highlights precious stones against its background: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires.
How much does rhodium plated jewelry cost? The price of the product will depend, first of all, on what metal it is made of. That is, a decoration made of cheap metal can be bought for 1500-2000 rubles. Accordingly, a product made of expensive metal will cost much more.
How does the metal application process itself
How is rhodium used in jewelry? Is the process of applying it to the decoration difficult? The very process of coating one metal with another is not difficult, and any jeweler of the "medium" can carry it out.hands", but you need to trust only specialists in their field. Therefore, you should choose only proven masters.
To understand how the birthing process is carried out, just look at the seventh grade physics textbook, but you can also explain with a couple of sentences:
- It is best to carry out rhodium on new jewelry, on the surface of which there are no flaws or damage. Then the rhodium layer will lie more precisely and thinner, as a conclusion: less cost, more beautiful thing.
- The decoration is polished, thoroughly degreased and washed. The rhodium layer must be integral with the other precious metal and any layer of dirt or micro-dust can cause failure.
- The basis of the whole process is the same physics, or rather, the phenomenon of galvanization. Jewelry is lowered into a galvanic bath with a certain solution and an electric current is applied. Under its action, rhodium is released from the solution and covers the product with the thinnest layer. The thickness of the coating layer can be freely varied by the current strength and the duration of the process. On average, the process takes several minutes.
Disadvantages of the birth process
Rhodium plating jewelry has many advantages. But no matter how good this element of the periodic table is, it also has its drawbacks. They are insignificant, but it is better to familiarize yourself with them in advance.
- The coating procedure itself does not take much time, but it requires certain tools and the ability to handle them. real jewelers whoable to work with rhodium, take a decent fee for their art. Therefore, having made the decision to rhodium-plated their piece of jewelry, the client must be ready to invest in this certain funds.
- Real connoisseurs of precious products believe that rhodium hides the natural beauty of metals. And if applied, it overrides the true value of the jewelry.
- Unfortunately, rhodium cannot be soldered. If the jewelry is deformed, the rhodium layer has to be applied again over the entire surface, repeating the original procedure. And since even the thickest layer of rhodium is erased over time, sooner or later it will have to be done.
- If the owner of a rhodium-plated product is going to sell it, then this will cause some trouble in assessing. It will not be very easy for a jeweler to determine the metal from which the jewelry was originally made. What if rhodium was used in jewelry? The price of pure rhodium is quite high. But given that the top layer will have to be broken in order to find out what metal the jewelry is made of, the cost of the product may suffer significantly.
Some care tips for rhodium-plated jewelry
As mentioned above, close care of such products is not required, it is enough to do the following:
- Wipe the jewelry every few months. Regular shampoo is best for wiping.
- Never use any chemicals to cleancovers from fine dirt.
- Do not use materials with fine crumbs for cleaning.
The best option is to leave the choice of action to a professional. Just take the item to the jeweler.
