Greetings! Let me introduce my self. My name is Dan and I recently
started a small jewelry business that I named Daniel.Be Jewelry.
Currently I sell sterling silver jewelry to friends and through
home parties etc. I plan to sell out of a kiosk in a regional mall
in the near future. I have been a “lurker” on the Orchid forum for
a while and have found it to be extremly informative. I am so glad
I stumbled across it.
The bulk of the sterling jewelry I plan to sell in the mall will be
rhodium plated, with much of it including cz’s. I think this will
help to differentiate me from another business which sells mainly
non-plated more “casual” silver jewelry (figaro chains, body
jewelry etc.) My kiosk will specialize in a more “formal” or
“dressy” type of sterling jewelry. Anyways… I hope to sell my
jewelry at a higher price point and one of the features I will be
emphasizing is that my jewelry is rhodium plated.
My question is: What is the optimal thickness of rhodium plating for
different types of sterling silver jewelry such as rings, pendants,
earrings, chains etc.? (I will not be selling watches) Also, what is
the standard unit of measurement for the thickness of the rhodium
plate.? I’ve seen it stated as mils and also microns.
What prompted me to ask this question is that yesterday I saw a
(wide) sterling silver ring advertised on e-bay with a “buy it now”
price of $29 that the seller claims is plated with a coating of
rhodium 100 mils thick. Isn’t 100 mils almost equivalent to the
thickness of two U.S. dimes? I find it hard to believe that you
could sell a ring with that much rhodium for only $29.
Thanks in advance for your replies.
Dan