Custom Jewelry Plating Process: Steel and .925 Silver

Apr 23, 2024

Stainless steel and .925 silver have become the most common metals used by jewelry brands because of their affordability, durability, and resistance to tarnishing. However, due to their composition and properties, the plating techniques are different.

Steel Jewelry Plating Process

For steel, any silver color items are high polished and not plated. For any other colors, the plating technique is known as electroplating. Electroplating involves immersing the metal in a solution containing ions of the desired plating metal. For example, gold electroplating involves using 14k gold ions. The electric current passed through the solution is what causes the ions to adhere to the metal

.925 Silver Plating Process

Unlike steel which when silver color it doesn’t need to be plated, .925 silver is almost always plated to improve appearance and prevent tarnishing. The tarnishing of silver is not like metal rusting, but it is the darkening of the metal due to sulfur containing gases in the air.

Like steel, silver is also plated using electroplating but with more precautions due to the durability of silver. The most common silver plating is rhodium which is a silver white metal (also known as white gold).