Rhodium - what's the deal?

The plates and bridges of the movement are made of brass, and then plated with Rhodium on the Cal. 1861 inside modern Speedmasters. Since it's on the inside, it's not subject to a lot of wear, but plating on watch movements can come off given enough time and cleanings, in particular if the cleaning is aggressive.

There are also parts that can move inside the watch, so they can ride on the plated surface and wear it off.

Cheers, Al

Isn't most white gold jewelry and watch cases in fact given a plating or rhodium so that what we're seeing on the surface is rhodium?


I keep this neato 1949 Gillette Executive razor. Only made one year and marketed about Christmas time, it is the only completely rhodium-plated razor the U.S. Gillette company ever produced. Rhodium-plated razors were more popularly supplied in England by Gillette who manufactured them there as any of several "Aristocrat" models. A "President" model was sold in the 1950s in the U.S. but it only has a rhodium-plated handle, the head being plated in the much more common nickel.


Here's the American Rhodium Gillette Executive razor again, shown with two of their gold-plated models. I've not used the Rhodium Gillette often but it doesn't seem to show any wear.

Rhodium is very attractive.

It depends. For a long time yes white gold was rhodium plated (white gold that is plated like this isn't very white - more very, very pale yellow) but some modern makers alloy the gold with different substances so that plating isn;t required, and the watch is still white. Palladium is one of those alloys. But rhodium plating will give the brightest white gold...

Surprise surprise! A lot of white gold jewellery and silver is chrome plated! Rhodium is the most expensive of the platinum group. Chrome is cheaper, so it is often used on "popularly" priced jewellery. I have heard the term "karat platinum" applied to some forms of white alloy jewellery. I have never had it explained to me in terms I understand, exactly what these alloys are. They are not platinum/palladium alloys.