Looking for rhodium electroplater in San Diego

Hi, I'm looking for someone that does rhodium electroplating in
San Diego. My wife's rings are white gold and she has developed
an allergy to the nickel in them. I'd like to have them (re)plated
with a pore-free layer of rhodium. The local jewelers don't seem
to think the rhodium plating they do will make any difference but
that's the opposite of what I've read everywhere else. The only
other alternative is to go to a platinum setting--not going to
happen right now. The matching ring set has small diamonds set
in the band as well so I don't know if the electroplating is
possible.

Thanks, Paul


PS--Anyone dealt with artisanplating.com? They do this process
but they're in Michigan.

wrote:
Hi, I'm looking for someone that does rhodium electroplating in
San Diego. My wife's rings are white gold and she has developed
an allergy to the nickel in them. I'd like to have them (re)plated
with a pore-free layer of rhodium. The local jewelers don't seem
to think the rhodium plating they do will make any difference but
that's the opposite of what I've read everywhere else. The only
other alternative is to go to a platinum setting--not going to
happen right now. The matching ring set has small diamonds set
in the band as well so I don't know if the electroplating is
possible.

White gold, even if the alloy is melted with nickel, does not cause any
allergic problems. The reason is, that the melted metal build new crystals
and this one have more characteristics of gold than of nickel.
This is like a new metal and you can measure this in electrochemic
potential e.g.

However very often there are allergic problemes due to white gold after
some time of wearing it.
I figured out that in all cases there was a geyish and hard layer of pure
nickel underneath the rhodium. Some producers started the galvanisation
process with a nickelbath and then with rhodium. Technically this is an
advantage for you need less rhodium and the rhodium will last longer.

So the solution is, to go to your yeweller and say him to sand the layer of
nickel completetly away at contact area to skin. Then polish and
if you like, he might put a new rhodium layer on it.

--
Heinrich Butschal
Beratung, Projektmanager
http://consulting.butschal.de

Why Platinum? Why not High-Karat yellow Gold? No Nickel in it.

--


Don Thompson

Ex ROMAD


wrote in message
...
Hi, I'm looking for someone that does rhodium electroplating in
San Diego. My wife's rings are white gold and she has developed
an allergy to the nickel in them. I'd like to have them (re)plated
with a pore-free layer of rhodium. The local jewelers don't seem
to think the rhodium plating they do will make any difference but
that's the opposite of what I've read everywhere else. The only
other alternative is to go to a platinum setting--not going to
happen right now. The matching ring set has small diamonds set
in the band as well so I don't know if the electroplating is
possible.

Thanks, Paul


PS--Anyone dealt with artisanplating.com? They do this process
but they're in Michigan.

Don Thompson wrote:

Why Platinum? Why not High-Karat yellow Gold? No Nickel in it.


Isn't that obvious? He likes white metal!

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com