| Platinum
Rhodium plating can also be done on yellow gold and silver.
It can prevent the silver from tarnishing and it can make
yellow gold look like white gold. Since rhodium is so hard,
it does not wear away as quickly as yellow gold plating. People
who are allergic to l0K or 14K gold earring posts or other
types of jewelry sometimes have them plated with rhodium they
discover it helps eliminate allergic reactions.
Rhodium
plating all of the metal of your ring is a quick and inexpensive
process. ring is specially cleaned. Then, for 15 to 20 seconds,
it is immersed in a rhodium solution an electrical current
running through it. Afterwards, the ring is rinsed and dried.
If you w1 n I your ring to be part white and part yellow,
then more time is needed to cover the yellow w i t h a special
paint or masking before plating.
There
might be times when you wonder, "Is the ring white gold
or platinum?" Usually a marking on the ring will identify
the metal, but this marking can be wrong. If you suspect it
is, bounce the ring in your hand and judge how heavy it feels
in comparison to a gold ring y, u have. If it feels a lot
heavier and it's marked platinum, it probably is.
Jewelers
and polishers usually know immediately when they start working
on a ring it's platinum because the metal is so hard and heavy.
Sometimes, they do an acid test similar to the one described
for gold in Chapter Nine since platinum reacts in a characteristic
man to stannous chloride solutions mixed with aqua regia (a
mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acid).
Generally
the easiest way for the layperson to be assured of the type
of metal buying, is to deal with reliable jewelers. They,
in turn, have to deal with reliable supplies because they
don't have time to test every piece of jewelry they sell.
Finding a person you trust is not always easy, but a general
knowledge of metals and gemstones can make you a better judge
of a jeweler's honesty.
Harder
and therefore
Hardest
metal known
Probably
be better
Chapter
Nine since
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