Radium and rhodium - these names are very similar, which causes many people to confuse them. However, these are completely different concepts, and below we will look at the difference between them in more detail, and also tell you what kind of irradiated silver it is and the rules for caring for it.
Radiant silver
First of all, it should be noted that the word “Rhodium” is simply absent in scientific circles, it was invented “by the people.” The main confusion occurred because of the word - radiation. During this process, the silver item must be coated with a very thin layer of radium. Many may recall that radium is a very dangerous element, which should make radiated products unsuitable for wearing. And indeed it is. After all, in the jewelry business there is simply no concept of “Radiation”.
Radiant silver
Applications of radium
Radium is a radioactive element, which, however, is used in medicine. For example, this material is used in radon baths, where many people are very effectively treated for many genitourinary ailments. Radium can be found very rarely in nature. It is usually formed in modest quantities during the decay of uranium. This chemical element is very active and can interact with many elements.
Uncontrolled exposure to radium is extremely dangerous for the body. Radium remains in the body for a long time, constantly destroying it at the molecular level and causing the formation of certain types of cancer. The name of the element is translated from Latin as “ray”, which is explained by the slight glow that radium emits when interacting with certain substances. This feature of radium has long been used in the production of such luminous products as aircraft instruments, wristwatch hands, children's books with glow-in-the-dark pictures and other products in which luminescence is important. This glow persists for a long time, which contributed to the widespread growth of its popularity. However, radium was NEVER used to process silver. Therefore, you should remember that there is no such thing as “Radiated Silver”.
Why do silver items become cloudy?
Silver is one of the metals with healing properties. It is soft and has minimal resistance to oxidizing agents. The metal changes its color from contact with chlorine, acetic acid, and some foods. Most often it turns black due to several factors:
- increased humidity in the room (for this reason, you should not wear jewelry in the bathhouse or sauna; store it in the bathroom);
- regular contact with household chemicals or cosmetics (remove rings before applying creams or washing dishes);
- contact with human sweat (therefore, cleaning of jewelry is most often necessary in the summer).
Rhodium plating - description
Now you know more about both radium itself and what radiating is. One can only guess why there was confusion between words that, although similar in sound, were completely different in meaning.
Rhodium plating is a technological process that allows you to protect a silver item from darkening and is often used to ensure that the original shine does not disappear over time. During the rhodium plating process, a special substance must be applied to the surface, which provides long-term protection of the product from tarnishing and darkening. At the same time, the appearance of the product becomes even better.
The name of the process itself comes from the name of the metal, which belongs to the platinum group. The metal is called “Rhodium” and is the most brilliant in its group.
Rhodium is a rather rare element. Thanks to rhodium plating, the product will not be subject to oxidation and corrosion, and will be reliably protected from aggressive substances and physical influences. As a “bonus,” rhodium plating greatly improves the appearance of the paint.
Properties of silver
Since ancient times, silver has been used to make jewelry, dishes and coins. Mystical properties were attributed to this metal. It was believed that products made from it were able to protect a person from evil spirits and diseases. Therefore, silver amulets and household items were in every home. This noble metal has many positive properties:
- Thermal conductivity - it’s not for nothing that the habit of putting a silver spoon in tea is still preserved so that it cools down faster.
- Ability to kill germs. Scientists have proven that silver does have disinfecting properties, and when people put silver objects in water, they did so not out of prejudice, but in order to purify it.
- Wearing silver jewelry helps with many diseases: improves vision, treats hypertension and diabetes, improves immunity and normalizes the functioning of internal organs. This has been confirmed by scientists, and silver ions are added to many medicines.
- Another property of this metal is that it cleanses a person’s energy, helps to think more clearly, increases intuition and promotes spiritual development. But scientists are skeptical about this.
Anyone who has used silver objects knows that this metal has one negative quality, which often darkens the joy of owning such lovely things. This means that silver darkens over time and spots and a greenish or yellowish coating appear on it. Previously, this was explained by mystical reasons, but now it is known that this metal easily reacts with various substances in the air or on the human body.
Silver rhodium plating
Now that you have learned about what irradiated silver means, you can take a closer look at the process itself. Almost any jewelry workshop these days can offer rhodium plating services for silver items. This service is not considered complex and is carried out in a short time. The protective layer is applied using the galvanic method. The principle of the method is that electrical charges evenly distribute rhodium over the surface of the metal being processed.
It may seem that this process is so simple that you can irradiate silver at home and without outside help, but this is far from the case. The fact is that mistakes made in this process can ruin it irrevocably. In this regard, it is recommended to entrust this matter to professionals.
Advantages of rhodium plating
This technology has quite a lot of advantages. First of all, it is the preservation of its original appearance for a long time.
It is important to remember that only the experience of a master can guarantee that all the subtleties of the technology will be observed. Therefore, it is important to take a responsible approach to choosing a workshop. It is also recommended to carry out rhodium plating immediately after purchasing the product. All the reviews about irradiated silver speak about this.
Flaws
- The process of rhodium plating silver is more labor intensive than rhodium plating gold or other metals. Therefore, the cost of this procedure will be quite high;
- Rhodium plating removes silver from its natural shine and some shades, which many connoisseurs do not like;
- Restoring a broken product involves removing the old protective layer and applying a new one after restoration.
It is also worth noting that rhodium-plated silver is difficult to distinguish from rhodium-plated platinum. Even a professional jeweler will have difficulty identifying the metal.
Caring for Radiant Silver
Rhodium is distinguished by its longevity: with careful care, a ring and chain last from 1 to 3 years, earrings and pendants - up to 10 years.
In order for the jewelry to last for many years, it should be removed at night, wrapped in flannel or suede and stored in a tightly closed box.
Radiant silver should be cleaned at home without using ammonia-containing products. Mechanical cleaning is prohibited, so we strictly forget about the toothbrush.
Cleaning process
What are the features of cleaning rhodium-plated silver? How to clean radiated silver? Many owners of such silver ask these questions. This is due to the fact that such products are usually not made of pure silver, but of an alloy of silver and copper. This copper is the reason for the gradual change in the appearance of the product. Cleaning is required to prevent these changes.
To clean such products, there are special powders or “folk” methods are suitable. However, if the product has a layer of rhodium on it, then it does not deteriorate over time, which allows you to not bother with cleaning it. You just need to remember the storage conditions of such products and wipe them occasionally.
The rhodium layer may wear off after a few years. In this case, it can be updated without any problems in any workshop. They will also tell you how to clean radiated silver.
Traditional methods of cleaning irradiated silver
1. The easiest way to care for and easily clean radiated silver is to rinse it under warm running water, dry it with a velvet cloth and then polish it with special wipes for cleaning jewelry.
2. Take regular hand soap, lightly rub the shavings into the bath and fill it with water. The prepared soap solution should be warm. Then, using a regular cotton swab, very carefully wipe the jewelry with this cleaning mixture and wipe it with a soft material, or a flannel napkin. If the product is heavily soiled, then completely immerse it in the prepared solution for 1-2 minutes.
3. We stock up on regular glycerin and, using a cotton swab, gently clean the radiated silver and polish it with suede or any other soft-touch cloth.
These methods do an excellent job of removing light stains, degreasing the product and returning the natural shine to silver.
Gold cleaning
When worn frequently, gold jewelry becomes dull and becomes covered with dust and greasy stains. Then it is necessary to clean the products; for this, the following available means are used:
- To remove minimal contamination, use a soap solution. To do this, warm water is mixed with soap shavings or shampoo. The decoration is placed in the liquid for 2 hours. Then the dirt should be cleaned with a soft bristle brush and polished with velvet.
- To remove stubborn stains, ammonia is used. A clean rag is dipped in ammonia and the metal is wiped, and then the product is rinsed with soapy water and polished.
- Mix crushed chalk, Vaseline, soap shavings in a 1:1 ratio to obtain a homogeneous mass. Apply the product to dirty areas with a napkin and wipe. Rinse the product with water and dry.
- Add 2 tbsp to 100 ml of boiled cooled water. spoons of salt, stir. Immerse gold items in a salt bath for 12 hours, then rinse under the tap and wipe.
- Mix 25 g of white clothes powder and 200 ml of water. Place the jewelry in the liquid, after 60 minutes, rinse and wipe with a flannel napkin.
- To clean white gold, use a solution consisting of ammonia and water (1:1 ratio). It is recommended to add 2-3 drops of shampoo to the liquid. The jewelry is dipped into the liquid, after half an hour, rinsed with water, and wiped.
To ensure that gold does not lose its shine for as long as possible, it is important to properly care for it. To do this, do not forget to take off your bracelet, ring or other item while cleaning or cooking. Protect your jewelry from chemicals that discolor the metal.
To store gold jewelry, prepare a separate box; separate each piece of jewelry with soft napkins to prevent scratches from appearing on their surface. When cleaning, it is strictly forbidden to use hard brushes and aggressive chemicals.
“Eternal” rhodium plated silver
Lovers of silver jewelry probably know how sensitive this metal is to external factors. Detergents, cosmetics, certain medications, dust and sweat - this is an incomplete list of what silver is not friendly with - it oxidizes and darkens. And if in some jewelry blackening is appropriate and applied artificially, you often want to preserve the whiteness and shine of the metal. Rhodium is the best helper here. The coating is applied in the same way as on gold products. At the same time, silver jewelry sparkles no worse, and the whiteness and shine remain with you for decades.
Rhodium plated silver looks bright and luxurious
Unlike silver, rhodium does not oxidize in air or water, and does not react with acids, fluorine, sulfur or chlorine. The thin rhodium plating provides your silver with a mirror-like shine and protection from oxidation for many years.
Home Remedies for Cleaning Silver
Foam bath . Dissolve a teaspoon of liquid soap (shampoo) in a glass of warm water. Place the jewelry in the solution for an hour. Carved and openwork parts can be additionally rubbed with a soft brush or cotton swab. After taking a foam bath, rinse the jewelry thoroughly with running water and dry with flannel or velvet cloth.
Salt + water . Place the pearl jewelry on a white linen or cotton napkin and sprinkle thickly with salt. Tie the ends of the fabric together to make a tight pouch. Rinse it in water until the salt dissolves. Contact with salt particles cleanses the silver and acquires shine, and the delicate shimmer returns to the pearl, because it is a sea mineral and loves salt.
Silver jewelry parts can be cleaned:
- a slurry of soda, chalk or potato starch;
- an ordinary stationery eraser;
- toothpaste;
- ammonia (5 drops per 200 ml).
But such procedures are contraindicated for pearls - during friction, fine abrasive particles will damage the mother-of-pearl surface of the beads, and alcohol turns the pearls yellow.
Methods for cleaning silver items
Silver items tarnish from time to time and become covered with dark spots. To clean silver, use the following methods:
- Place the decorations in a bowl with a foil-lined bottom. Sprinkle the rings with soda until it covers them. Then cover them with a second piece of foil, fill them with hot water, and rinse after 10 minutes.
- Cover the bottom of the bowl with a sheet of foil, place the silver on it, cover the jewelry with baking soda, salt, and add 5 drops of dishwashing liquid. Then pour boiling water into a bowl, and after 15 minutes, rinse and dry the products.
- A regular eraser removes dirt and blackness from the surface of silver. This method is only suitable for smooth products without indentations.
- Mix crushed chalk with ammonia until a creamy consistency is formed. Apply the mixture to a soft-bristled brush, wipe off the dirt, and rinse the jewelry.
- Chop the potatoes, add 100 ml of water and put silver in there. After 5 minutes, the jewelry is taken out and polished with velvet.
- Mix toothpaste with baking soda and ammonia in equal quantities. Apply the mixture to the jewelry, rub, and then rinse thoroughly. This is an aggressive method that allows you to remove stubborn stains.
If you are going to clean blackened silver, be careful not to scratch its surface. It is recommended to rinse silver with a matte surface with soapy water; hard brushes and abrasives are prohibited.
