Does the rhodium plate on sterling silver wear off?

Sterling silver jewelry isn't usually plated with anything besides rhodium, and since rhodium has the same silvery-white hue as sterling silver you wouldn't notice even if it did wear off. Sterling silver plating can wear off with prolonged use and exposure to the elements. Also, the more often you clean your sterling silver jewelry, the faster its rhodium plating will rub off. If you want to make sure that the rhodium plating doesn't wear off then I suggest taking the jewelry to the local jeweler to have it professionally cleaned. The jeweler can clean your silver jewelry with care, and avoid rubbing off the rhodium plating. You could also try smearing a clear coat of nail polish on your sterling silver jewelry which should temporarily protect the integrity of the rhodium plating (you would however need to keep smearing the nail polish on periodically, since it will peel off over time and with use).

• 13
• 10

Yes, the rhodium coat most definitely wears off during the course of time. However, due to the fact that silver and rhodium have a very similar color, you won't even be able to tell that your rhodium coat has faded. By the way, this is not necessarily a good thing. On the contrary – not knowing whether your rhodium plating has worn off could actually be somewhat risky. You must realize that silver in itself is quite a soft metal, reaching a value of 2.5-3.0 on the Mohs scale of hardness. Therefore when your silver jewelry item is coated with a thin layer of rhodium (which is a much harder metal reaching a value of 6.0 on the Mohs scale) it provides the silver jewelry greater durability. Having a rhodium coat plated onto your silver jewelry means that your silver is much less prone to normal wear and tear, such as scratches. Therefore if your rhodium plating will wear off, it simply means that your precious silver is much more vulnerable and could scratch much easier. Having said that, you shouldn't worry too much about this. Rhodium plating is meant to last for about 18 months, so as long as you give your silver item for a thorough clean at the jewelry store every two years or so, your silver jewelry will be just fine. Your jeweler will point out if your rhodium plating has faded, and in such an event you will always have the option to recoat your silver item. Prices for re-plating rhodium, by the way, are not that high so it's not such a big deal to do so.

For more information about silver jewelry and rhodium plating check out Zoara.com’s silver learning guide 
www.zoara.com/jewelry/silver#guide

• 10
• 16