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When it comes to wedding bands the most common metal used is 14K white gold. It has a gorgeous silver-white color, is highly reflective and durable. However, it is not as lustrous as pure platinum or palladium which are also noble metals. To increase the durability of a white gold ring, it is often plated with rhodium. This is a very expensive process because rhodium is one of the rarest and most expensive precious metals in the world. Unfortunately, this plating will wear down over time and will need to be re-plated. This can become a very expensive ongoing cost for couples who choose to have their white gold rings re-plated throughout the course of their marriage.
So why isn’t there a solid rhodium wedding band out there? Solid rhodium is utterly unworkable in its pure form. Trying to take a hammer to it would produce an explosion – and not a good one at that. Rhodium also melts at a temperature higher than pure platinum and can only be worked by jewelers using special tools in a well ventilated area because it emits toxic fumes that can cause permanent lung damage.
These reasons and more are why a solid rhodium wedding ring is only available in the jewelry industry as a plate on other metals like silver and white gold. Even a solid rhodium ring will eventually need to be re-plated due to the wear and tear of a lifetime of daily wear, but the re-plating is much less costly than constantly re-plating a white gold ring with no rhodium on it.