What is silver plating or rhodium plating?
Many times nickel (Ni), a hard metal, is placed between the coating and the silver because it facilitates the adherence of the plating to the metal. Silver, when used in jewelry, is usually in the form of sterling silver. Rhodium is a hard, durable, silvery-white metallic element that is used to form high-temperature alloys with platinum and is plated on other metals to produce a durable corrosion-resistant coating. Sterling silver jewelry that is plated with rhodium is resistant to scratching, abrasion, and corrosion. Sterling silver jewelry has a tendency to form tarnish rather quickly if exposed to harsh contaminants, such as sulfur and many others that are found all around us. Also, contact with skin oils, perfumes may discolor the silver, which requires frequent cleaning and polishing. This makes sterling silver the best candidate for rhodium plating. However, it should be noted that rhodium plating will not tarnish proof the silver jewelry and eventually, the rhodium plating will
