An English chemist named William Hyde Wollaston was the first person to isolate rhodium. He received some ore from South America and extracted platinum and palladium from it. That left a dark red residue. The residue consisted of sodium rhodium chloride. Wollaston treated the red residue with hydrogen creating a chemical reaction which separated out sodium chloride leaving a bright silver color residue of the element rhodium. Today rhodium is used in jewelry as well as an electical conductor and an alloy in other precious metals.
The intricate metal beads featured in the necklace in the picture are made of rhodium. The blue glass beads are lampwork. You can click on the picture to enlarge it and get a better view of the rhodium beads.
YOU CAN VISIT THE BEADSHAPER WEB SITE AT www.beadshaper.com
YOU CAN VISIT THE BEADSHAPER WEB SITE AT www.beadshaper.com
