rhodium dip help!

sgervais88

Hi I am recently engaged and I have heard about white gold rings having to be dipped in rhodium. My fiance paid for insurance at Helzberg (where my e-ring is from) so that when I do have it dipped, it won't cost anything. I have some questions though.

How often will this need to be done? And how long does it take? Do they send it off for a week or so, or do they do this in the store?

I am fairly new to the rhodium thing. My class ring was 10k white gold, as was a previous sapphire ring from my fiance that I wore for four years before we became engaged, and I never had either of them rhodium dipped, and they do not look yellow.

AmoroAgain

Gah.  I seriously hate the use of the word "dip" because that is definitely not what happens.  I know that people use it constantly, but it still drives me nuts! It's plated people, plated!

Anyway, the quickness to which a ring will yellow depends on various factors.

 1) How often do you wear your ring? Meaning, do you take it off when you shower, cook, clean with harsh chemicals?  The more you wear it in these circumstances, the faster the plating will wear off.

2) Does your body naturally "eat" the plating faster? Some people have chemistry that is more acidic than others, which wears the plating

So, if you want to preserve the integrity of your rhodium plating, and even the integrity of the prongs and have fewer scratches, etc, you should remove your rings whenever you are cleaning, doing laundry, working out, etc.  All of these things lead to keeping your ring in better condition for longer.

swim1011

Mine started turning yellow about 7 or 8 months after the last time I had it plated.  I'm holding out a few more months to have it replated, since the wedding isn't that far off. 

It depends on your jeweler, and how busy they are.  We got my rings at Whitehall jewelers, which is now closed, so I had it plated last time at a local jeweler. 

emilyinchile

My ring is also from Helzberg, and they said it would take a few days to a week. I haven't done it yet though and don't know if that time varies store to store or if you can get it rushed.

duckie1905

I get mine plated every six months and haven't seen any fading yet.  I usually drop it off in the morning and pick it up later that day.

lostsoule77

I can't say for my engagment ring, but for my other rings I have never gotten them plated and they have yet to start yellowing.  I do take them off while I sleep as well as doing dishes, exericising, gardening, etc.  My one ring in particular I have worn for at least 3 years almost daily and see no signs of yellow yet.  I didn't even now you were supposed to get them rhodium plated until we bought a ring at Helzburg and they told us about it.  They said it was something I should consider doing and I'm still considering a couple yrs later.  LOL

That being said it would def. depend on how well you treat your ring and the acidity of your skin.  As for how long it will take will all depend on where you bring it and since I haven't done it yet I can't really help there.

lyndausvi

It really deepens.  I wear my rings 24-7 add in saltwater (from work) and mine yellows pretty quickly.  That said, it does not bother me because it's only on the inside of my hand.  The last time I had mine done was 18 months ago right before the wedding.  I will mostly likely have it done in the next few months.

As far as how long it takes, mine normally took a day or so.