Ruthenium Plating
As a member of the platinum group, Ruthenium (Ru) is the latest addition to the plating choices we offer to our customers.
Ruthenium is an extremely hard shiny gray metal that is used as a premier alloy for palladium and platinum to make them more wear resistant. Objects plated with ruthenium have exceptional resistance to scratching and abrasion. Our ruthenium plated finishes are “chemically stable” and are the hardest and toughest of all the plating choices we offer!
Used as a decorative alternative to black nickel, ruthenium plated surfaces can be modified from a light gray-white to medium-dark gray in color. When combined with different types of surface treatments (i.e. glass bead blast, photoetching) ruthenium plating provides a highly decorative and pleasing surface.
Currently, our primary customers are utilizing ruthenium as a plated finish for watches. If you are looking for a new and very unique type of finish, or an alternative for traditional black nickel plating, this would be an excellent choice.
At this time we are one of the few plating services offering ruthenium as a primary finish for decorative applications. We can provide (on a limited basis), actual samples of ruthenium plated finishes for your evaluation.
Ruthenium Data Sheet
| From the Latin word "Ruthenia" (Russia), ruthenium was discovered in 1844 by Karl Klaus. As a member of the platinum family, it is used industry wide in numerous applications as alloy and as a coating to prevent corrosion and to increase mechanical wear when exposed to high temperatures. It occurs native in ores from other members of the platinum group. Ruthenium plated surfaces varies from light gray to gray-black in color. | |
|---|---|
| Melting Temperature | 3570.8°F |
| Finish Appearance | Light gray to gray - black |
| Typical Plating Thickness | 0.25 microns–1.0 microns |
| Plating hardness Vickers 1200 | Hard - excellent resistance to incidental abrasion and handling. |
| Corrosion Resistance | Excellent |
| Cost per Troy oz. | Ranges from $80 - $120 |
If you have an item that you would like to have plated with ruthenium, please navigate to the pricing page. We have provided a price estimate on our most frequently plated items. Of course the pricing estimates serve only as a guide. We will be happy to provide you with firm pricing after we have examined the actual piece.
[fblock title=”For additional Information…” icon=” fa-book fa-fw”]For additional information regarding electroplating and metal refinishing, be sure to visit our faqs section located on this site. If we can assist you in your custom plating and metal refinishing needs, please contact us.[/fblock]
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