Is Rhodium Hypoallergenic? What about Black Rhodium and Rhodium-Plated Jewelry?

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Is rhodium hypoallergenic or allergenic?

What about rhodium-plated jewelry? Is it hypoallergenic and safe?

And what about black and blue rhodium?

Are these dangerous?

Learn it all right below!

TLDR- Is Rhodium Hypoallergenic or Allergenic?

Rhodium is hypoallergenic.

Rhodium allergies are extremely rare, with the scientific community previously believing they didn’t exist. However, recent studies have identified rare individuals with sensitivity to pure rhodium.

Rhodium-plated jewelry is generally hypoallergenic, including rhodium-plated brass and sterling silver, provided the plating remains intact and sufficiently thick.

Damaged or thin rhodium plating exposes underlying allergenic metals like nickel or copper, causing reactions in sensitive people.

Pure rhodium bullion is hypoallergenic, as are black and blue rhodium coatings when undamaged.

Skin rash on a finger caused by a rhodium-plated ring- source

Here an awesome quiz about rhodium’s allergenic properties. Take it after you’ve read my guide.

Is Rhodium Hypoallergenic? What about Black Rhodium and Rhodium-Plated Jewelry?

Table of Contents

Can You Be Allergic to Rhodium?

Yes, it’s possible to be allergic to rhodium, though it’s very rare.

Rhodium allergies are so rare that the prevalent thought in the scientific community was they don’t exist.

However, recent study showed that there’re rare individuals who have notable sensitivity to pure rhodium without any other metal present.

Rhodium allergies are rare, but possible- source

Is Rhodium-Plated Jewelry Hypoallergenic?

Yes, rhodium-plated jewelry is hypoallergenic.

You won’t get an allergic reaction from your rhodium-plated ring or necklace provided the plating is undamaged and sufficiently thick.

Damaged rhodium-plating over an allergic metal like nickel or copper will cause an allergic reaction in sensitive people.

Rhodium-plating that’s too thin (thin as a veneer) will also cause skin allergies in sensitive individuals.

Here’s an example of someone who were gifted a rhodium-plated necklace with nickel as base. The rhodium plating was too thin and they’ve developed a rash from this necklace.

Rhodium-plated necklace caused a skin rash because the rhodium plating over nickel was too thin- source

Is Rhodium-Plated Brass Hypoallergenic?

Yes, rhodium-plated brass is hypoallergenic as long as rhodium plating is undamaged and sufficiently thick.

Brass is allergenic but you’ll never get in touch with it because rhodium plating will be covering the surface of your jewelry item.

Brass is allergenic as it’s an alloy of copper, zinc and small amounts of nickel. These metals are allergenic, with copper being least allergenic and nickel being the most (~20% of people in the US are allergic to nickel, and it doesn’t take a lot of nickel to trigger an attack).

Nickel is a common metal allergen- source

Is Rhodium-Plated Sterling Silver Hypoallergenic?

Yes, rhodium plated silver is hypoallergenic. Sterling silver (925 silver) is hypoallergenic and so is rhodium.

Remember that sterling silver is made of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper. Copper is a common allergenic metal and in one study 3.8% of people had a positive patch test reaction to copper.

This means it’s possible to have a reaction to copper within the sterling silver alloy and without the protective rhodium plating.

Rhodium-plated sterling silver is allergenic to some people

Is Rhodium Bullion Hypoallergenic?

Yes, rhodium bullion is hypoallergenic.

Pure rhodium-made coins and bars are hypoallergenic because rhodium is a hypoallergenic noble metal.

Things change when rhodium is plated onto coins made of silver and gold. Good examples are black and blue rhodium coins.

Is Black Rhodium Hypoallergenic?

Yes, black rhodium is hypoallergenic as long as the black rhodium coating is intact and undamaged.

The black rhodium plating is a barrier between the skin and the underlying metal, reducing the risk of allergic reactions from the base metal.

Furthermore, black rhodium coins usually consist of yellow gold and sterling silver as base with black rhodium on top. Yellow gold isn’t allergenic and neither is silver.

Maple Leaves in Motion - 5 oz. Pure Silver Coin with Black Rhodium Plating — Maple Leaves in Motion – 5 oz. Pure Silver Coin with Black Rhodium Plating- source

Blue rhodium also exists.

Blue rhodium is hypoallergenic as long as the blue rhodium coating is intact and undamaged.