If you’re venturing into the jewelry industry or wondering why your silver jewelry tarnishes after just a few days, take 5 minutes to read this article. It’s essential to have your own ideas in the jewelry business and not easily sway by others’ opinions.
Rinntin Jewelry places a high emphasis on electroplating, believing that customers come from quality and adhering to the principle of high cost-effectiveness.
During market research, it was found that many partners still have a vague understanding of electroplating. So, it felt necessary to share this knowledge with Rinntin Jewelry’s supporters to avoid any mishaps.
Why do we electroplate jewelry, and what exactly is plating?
Electroplating is a process used to prevent corrosion, enhance appearance, improve wear resistance, and reflectivity of metal products. Typically, a metal protective film is deposited on the surface of a metal product using an electrolytic method, and that’s electroplating. Sounds simple, but it’s quite a challenging process in practice.
Electroplating is a complex process. Taking gold plating as an example: the material to be electroplated is immersed in a solution of potassium gold cyanide as the cathode, and a gold metal plate as the anode. When a direct current power supply is connected, a gold layer will deposit on the material to be plated. The process of depositing a layer of metal using electrolysis is called electroplating, and in the jewelry industry, it’s often referred to as water plating. Nowadays, water plating technology is quite mature, and most silver jewelry on the market is water-plated.
Let’s not teach fish to swim in other industries. Rinntin Jewelry is very confident in its jewelry electroplating. The minimum standard for suppliers with whom Rinntin Jewelry cooperates is over 20 years of experience. Today, let’s dive into the scientific world of jewelry electroplating together.
What do electroplating manufacturers do when they receive jewelry?
- Hanging copper wire: Each piece of jewelry is hung on a silicone frame with copper wire to ensure complete and uniform electroplating.
- Wax removal and cleaning: The jewelry surface is electrolytically cleaned with purified water. Every step of electroplating is crucially dependent on professional craftsmanship. The quality of water rinsing has a significant impact on the stability of the electroplating process and the quality indicators such as appearance and corrosion resistance of the electroplated products. The purified water used by Rinntin Jewelry’s cooperating factories is even cleaner than drinking water and is kept in a continuous flow to maintain its purity.
- Silver plating: After the jewelry is thoroughly cleaned, it is placed in a silver tank for a layer of base silver plating. This is to enhance the adhesion between other metal materials and the base material. After the silver plating, it is washed again with purified water to avoid the chemical material in the silver tank affecting the next metal tank. After each metal layer is electroplated, there is always a fixed washing action to prevent contamination between different metal tanks. The thickness of the base silver layer is generally 3-5 microns.
- Palladium plating: After cleaning, the jewelry goes into a palladium tank for plating. Palladium layer enhances the jewelry’s wear resistance and oxidation resistance. The thickness of the palladium layer is generally about 0.02 microns.
- Rhodium plating: Rhodium is a precious metal used in electroplating to provide a bright and durable surface finish, increasing the jewelry’s brightness and making it look more beautiful and high-end. The thickness of the rhodium layer is generally 0.02-0.03 microns, with the thickest plating reaching 0.3 microns
Usually, when we talk about the thickness of electroplating in microns, we refer to the thickness of this layer of rhodium plating. Why do some rings tarnish after only a few days? A big reason is the thickness of this electroplating layer. Thicker electroplating reduces the likelihood of tarnishing, but the corresponding cost also increases.
Of course, if the electroplating is in gold or rose gold, the color of the electroplating also matters. The difference between gold and rose gold is due to the addition of copper. There are many color options for gold plating: 9K/14K/18K/22K, etc. The thickness is generally 0.03-0.05 microns, with the thickest reaching 5 microns.
- High-temperature ultrasonic cleaning: After rhodium plating, the jewelry undergoes another round of high-temperature ultrasonic cleaning to completely remove acids and alkalis from the surface, reducing the chance of discoloration of the finished product. Many ordinary electroplating factories either don’t know about this step or choose to ignore it to control costs.
- Electrolytic protection: For better color retention, a protective film is applied – a fusion of different materials. The final effect of this step varies, mainly depending on each manufacturer’s exclusive formula and technology.
(Sometimes, customers request electroplating with lacquer. This is a method of coating metal surfaces with organic lacquer using electricity, covering every corner and crevice of jewelry with a uniform protective layer. Basically, it’s a super fine layer of transparent plastic that protects both the silver and its plating, significantly extending the life and gloss of the jewelry. There may be some color difference compared to before, and the metal texture is reduced to the touch, depending on customer choice.)
- Baking dry: The final step, and also an easy step to make mistakes. Some manufacturers encounter short-term discoloration issues after finishing, which is actually due to absent-mindedness during baking.
Once baked dry, the process is complete. Each step directly affects the final product. Of course, some steps are adjusted based on customer requirements. For example, when dealing with customers who demand high-quality appearance, after completing the silver plating in step 3, the jewelry is polished again before silver plating, equivalent to double silver plating, which elevates the overall product quality. Rinntin Jewelry serves customers with various demands, aiming to create high cost-effective products.
Rinntin Jewelry manufacturers are well aware of quality control and international standards. The electroplating process is environmentally friendly.
The adjustment of light agent concentration during electroplating, the assurance of metal tank concentration, and the control of time and temperature by operators are all critical. If any step goes wrong, jewelry discoloration issues will arise, catching people off guard.
Rinntin——Your Trustworthy Jewelry Manufacturer
We hope this article can assist you. Rinntin aims to be your premier choice for jewelry manufacturing. Our team is here to offer you jewelry manufacturing consultations and address any inquiries you may have. From product development to production and shipping, we provide a one-stop solution for you.
