Do You — or Don’t You: Do You Offer Free Rhodium Plating to Customers?
BY INSTORE TEAM
Published in the June2012 issue
29% YES, I DO
Anything purchased from us gets free rhodium for life. — Jeff Dennis, Jeff Dennis Jewelers, Gardendale, AL
If a person buys a ring from us we offer free rhodium for life, and we do a five-point spa treatment while they wait! If they didn’t buy it from us, many times we refinish while they wait and rhodium free to earn their business and show them we are different from other jewelers. — Tom Duma, Thom Duma Fine Jewelers, Warren, OH
Items we make and sell, lifetime no charge for rhodium plating. Items we did not sell, we charge $25. — David Schowalter, Miners Den, Royal Oak, MI
We rhodium our custom pieces for the life of the ring. Better jewelers have been offering rhodium plating for fine jewelry for the main reason that if your customers look good, people ask, “Where did you get that?” Enough said. — Denise Oros, Linnea Jewelers, La Grange, IL
71% NO, I DON’T
We treat it like any other shop or repair service. Prices start at $40. — Erik Mauter, Hudson Jewelers, St. Marys, OH
I fully disclose rhodium-plated pieces as such and explain the process and why it is necessary. I keep a white gold ring in stock that is not rhodium-plated for a visual example of the difference in color. Plating a woman’s ring ranges from $20 to $40 for a heavy plating. I use a lab because of the toxicity of the chemicals. — Elizabeth Breon, Coast Jewelers, Florence, OR
We do not rhodium-plate, but rather sell our clients on palladium white gold. — Deric Metzger, DeMer Jewelry, Oceanside, CA
A “permanent” at the salon is billed each time …. We charge $35-$75 per ring depending on the job. — Eileen Eichhorn, Eichhorn Jewelry, Decatur, IN
Doing a proper rhodium finish is much more than just a dipping and plating. It requires polishing, stone checking, etc., and we treat it in the same way as a ring sizing. Customers appreciate it much more when we charge for it and they get a good job. — Alex Weil, Martin’s Jewelry, Manhattan Beach, CA
I don’t do it in-house and I’m charged for it, so the customer pays. I get $45 per piece. — Daniel Spirer, Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, Cambridge, MA
We charge for it because David Geller said to, of course! We have a special $65 deep cleaning, buffing, tightening and rhodium plating package for white gold rings. Customers love getting back rings that look like new. — Dorothy Vodicka, The Gem Collection, Tallahassee, FL
Plating is time consuming, and rhodium is not cheap. — Bill Elliott, Ross Elliott Jewelers, Terre Haute, IN