Jewellery plating is the process of adding a thin layer of metal over the surface of an existing piece. This is done to restore its original finish, change its colour, or give worn jewellery a fresh appearance again.

Over time, this outer layer can gradually wear down from regular use. This causes the finish to look faded and dull.

Plating a piece of jewelry helps refresh the piece; the piece is cleaned and polished, and then a fresh layer of metal is added onto the surface.

Depending on the look you’re after, this can include rhodium, yellow gold, rose gold, and other finishes.

When you see a new piece of white gold jewellery, its frosty white finish isn’t because of the white gold itself, but rather the thin layer of rhodium that coats it. White gold on its own isn’t very bright like that.

With this in mind, over time, this thin layer of rhodium gets worn down. This leads to unevenness in the coat, and the piece becoming more dull. With rhodium plating, a fresh coat of rhodium is added onto the surface to rejuvenate the piece’s look, so that it looks like new again.

For a ring worn every day, its plating typically lasts two years or so before it starts to wear off. For pieces that receive less contact, like pendants and earrings, the plated surface can last much longer.

Yes!

Diamonds, sapphires, and most hard gemstones go through plating without any trouble.

That being said, softer or porous stones, like pearls, opals, and emeralds, need more care and would likely need to be removed prior to plating. For these cases, we can remove the gemstone prior to plating, and set it back once the process is finished.

Within limits, yes.

A yellow gold piece can be rhodium plated to look white, and a white gold or silver piece can be plated in yellow or rose gold for a warmer look.

Keep in mind though that plating is a surface layer. The original colour will show through as it wears, and colour changes on rings need refreshing more often than a standard rhodium touch-up that’s done on white gold.

If you want a permanent change, we'll talk through whether a new piece makes more sense.