Where to get rings dipped

I mentioned it was rare - only about 20 tons per year are mined. Why is rhodium used in jewelry? Almost all white gold jewelry has been rhodium plated. The reason? Because gold in it's natural color is yellow. Think of the color of a gold nugget - it's not white. So to make "white" gold, pure gold is alloyed with white metals, such as nickel. You now continually have to re-dip the ring to correct this. The only other solution is waiting for the plating to wear off entirely.

You can speed this process up by asking a jeweler to polish the plating off. In this case, you have two options to avoid re-dipping. The second option, if you absolutely must have a silver-toned ring, is to pick platinum.

Silver is not very durable and tarnishes quickly , making it almost as difficult to care for as a plated white-gold ring. Platinum is less common for rings than white gold because it is more expensive upfront. However, platinum does not require plating. As a result, it will never need to be re-dipped.

It has a natural silver tone to it that white gold tries to imitate. While a platinum ring will cost more than a white gold ring, initially, not paying every few years for redipping may make up the difference in no time. If you have a yellow gold ring, it almost certainly does not have any plating on it. Check with your jeweler for care instructions, but yellow gold will rarely require dipping.

Silver may or may not have a rhodium plating over it. Silver tarnishes fairly quickly. Share on facebook. Share on twitter. Share on email. First, what does having your ring dipped mean? How often should I have my ring dipped? Remember, anything that has been plated will need touched up and re-plated every so often. Related Posts. Read More. View White Gold Rings. Ring dipping is the process of having a ring replated with rhodium. Typically, electric currents are used to bond rhodium to the metal of the band.

Depending on how often and how hard it's worn, the rhodium plating on a ring could last anywhere from one to three years. Hint: You should be taking your ring off for many activities even if they seem benign, like washing dishes and even going to bed.

Your rhodium plating will last a lot longer if you get into this habit. As mentioned earlier, the average timeframe for rings to be dipped are from one to three years. For all rings, gemologists recommend preventative care. That means putting the ring away as much as possible, when you have to work with your hands. A big visual indicator is when the ring seems a bit dull , or you see a yellow cast on its prongs. No, platinum does not require dipping.