Rhodium Plating
All of JSquared jewelry is made of 925 sterling silver, then plated with rhodium. Why? So many reasons. Rhodium plating gives our jewelry the shine that we love and it protects the silver from tarnishing. So to give you an idea about what rhodium is all about we took to the Wikipedia and pulled out the good stuff.
What is Rhodium?
Rhodium is a chemical element with the symbol Rh and atomic number 45. It is a rare, silvery-white, hard and corrosion-resistant metal. It is a noble metal and a member of the platinum group. It is one of the rarest and most valuable precious metals.
Rhodium is found in platinum or nickel ores together with the other members of the platinum group metals. It was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston in one such ore, and named for the rose color of one of its chlorine compounds.
How is Rhodium Used?
The element's major use (approximately 80% of world rhodium production) is as one of the catalysts in the three-way catalytic converters in automobiles. What???
Because rhodium metal is inert against corrosion and most aggressive chemicals, and because of its rarity, rhodium is usually alloyed with platinum or palladium and applied in high-temperature and corrosion-resistive coatings.
Rhodium detectors are used in nuclear reactors to measure the neutron flux level.
Rhodium Plated Jewelry!
Rhodium finds use in jewelry and for decorations. It is plated on white gold and platinum to give it a reflective white surface at time of sale. It may also be used in coating sterling silver to protect against tarnish. Solid (pure) rhodium jewelry is very rare, more because of the difficulty of fabrication than because of the high price. Rhodium has also been used for honors or to signify elite status, when more commonly used metals such as silver, gold or platinum were deemed insufficient.
Is Rhodium Hypoallergenic?
Rhodium plating does not have nickel so that means it's hypoallergenic. A lot of "white jewelry" has yellow gold with a small amount of nickel to give it the “white gold” color. If you are allergic to nickel you are good to go with JSquared since our silver has rhodium plating.
Fun Fact: In 1979 the Guinness Book of World Records gave Paul McCartney a rhodium-plated disc for being history's all-time best-selling songwriter and recording artist.
We love rhodium plating, it gives our jewelry a nice shine and because we live in Turks and Caicos it really protects it from our lovely salt air. Plus you'll wear one of the most precious metals in the world!