What are the pros and cons of platinum plated rings versus sterling silver?
All rhodium plated finishes will wear off. They are not permanent. Even white gold is rhodium plated finish that will wear off. You have to have it replated.
There is no such thing as ‘white gold’. L'oro puro è giallo. (Clarification, I am not stating the plated metal underneath ‘white gold’ is pure gold or yellow in color. It’s an alloy. Gold in it’s pure form only comes in yellow.) 14k white and 18k white gold have just as much gold in them as yellow, but are plated with another metal to make them bright white.
As Greg Weiss pointed out, “normally platinum plated, (means) actually Rhodium, a Platinum family metal.”
Rhodium plating is a jewelry manufacturing process that is incredibly toxic. When Rhodium solution wears out (the chemicals start to lose their potency) it more than likely, especially in the third world and even here in North America to a smaller degree, to be poured down the drain. This solution, with sulfuric acid, is nasty especially when it gets into the water table. Sulfuric acid is a known cancer causing agent.
Sterling silver is a solid metal and will not require plating or replating. Sterling silver is 92.5% argento e 7.5% Altri metalli. It’s the other metals, primarily copper, that make sterling silver to tarnish. There is also usually a very small trace amount of nickel, usually not enough for an allergic reaction. (Circa 10% of the population is allergic to nickel. It is the most common metal allergen.)
It is very rare for someone to be allergic to fine silver, 100% argento puro. Tuttavia, sure silver is very soft and rings made of pure silver scratch and wear out much more easily than a sterling one will. Fine silver is a perfect choice for ceremonial Jewish wedding bands.
Non-tarnish silver or argentium silver 935 is a modern form of sterling, containing 93.5% argento, in which the traditional alloy and is modified by removing some of the copper and replacing it with the metalloid germanium. This form of sterling will show no or little tarnish and is a brighter white than regular sterling. It’s a beautiful replacement for other fine metal rings that are more expensive, unfriendly to the environmentally, or even toxic to the wearer. And it is an easy metal to work with, I use it often when making custom settings.