Surface treatments of silver

There are many silver finishes. It brings benefits such as life extension and protection against blackening. In this article, I focused on the surface treatments that you can find on the Bohovibes e-shop. If you're not sure what to expect from rhodium-plated or platinum-plated silver, this is the read for you.

SILVER WITHOUT SURFACE TREATMENT

Silver in its essential form. I love using it because it has a beautiful light shade. Its big disadvantage is oxidation, or "blackening". Uncoated silver will always tarnish. For some faster and for some slower, but it cannot be avoided. Lifetime does not change in any way. It is only necessary to proceed to cleaning from time to time in order for the jewelry to regain its shine.

RHODIUM SILVER

Rhodium plated silver. Rhodium is an expensive, silver-colored metal that is very stable and durable. It serves to protect silver against blackening or yellowing. Rhodium-plated silver jewelry retains the same color and shine for a very long time. If you order a piece of rhodium-plated silver jewelry from me, be prepared for it to be slightly different in color than unplated silver. This is fine and natural because rhodium and silver do not have exactly the same shade of silver color.

PLATINUM SILVER

Silver coated with a layer of platinum. Again, this is a permanent and durable silver-colored metal that protects the silver from oxidation and discoloration. Platinum-plated silver has a slightly darker shade than plain silver or rhodium-plated silver. The color and shine remain beautiful for a very long time and the jewelry is essentially maintenance-free.

GOLD PLATED SILVER

A variant for gold lovers. Gold-plated silver is cheaper and more available than gold. That is why gold-plated jewelry is very popular. The gilding can have a different color depending on the purity of the gold used. For example, jewelry plated with 14k gold will be lighter in color than jewelry plated with 24k gold. There is also rose gold plated jewelry. I use 0.4 micron 24k gold plated silver for Bohovibes jewelry. Such a layer is strong and durable enough so that it does not rub off easily and remains beautiful for a long time.

You can read how to care for jewelry here .