In the 1930’s some silverware makers began to use rhodium plating to produce sterling flatware that would not require frequent polishing. The use of rhodium plating spread to white gold and sterling silver jewelry as a means of creating a highly durable, tarnish resistant surface.
The most frequently used method of applying rhodium finishes is the electroplating process. Sterling silver jewelry rhodium plating involves submerging sterling silver jewelry in a heated bath of rhodium-based plating solution and running an electric current through the bath using the recipient as a cathode or negative electrode. This process causes rhodium from the solution to permanently bond to the surface of sterling silver jewelry.