Bright Polished / High Polished
High polish finished rings are the most common finish on rings and jewelry. This type of finish is very shiny and reflective. You should be able to clearly see your reflection in the ring. For those who like their ring to be noticed, this finish is an excellent option. The drawback to this style is that scratches are easily noticed on high polished finish rings.
Satin Finish
Satin finished rings are smooth to the touch like like polished finish rings. However, you will not be able to see your reflection on the surface of the ring. It is kind of like a mirror that is fogged up. For example, a bathroom mirror after you take a shower. This type of finish is best for those who like the smoothness of a polished finish ring, but do not want the shininess of that finish.
Brushed Finish
A brushed finish is similar to a satin finish. Both, the satin finish and the brush finish are not shiny. The difference is that a brushed finish has a texture to it. It looks as if the texture was made with a wire brush. You can see tiny brush-like marks on the finish , hence the name brushed finish.
Bead Blast / Sand Blast / Matte Finish
Sandblasted is a very noticeable and coarse finish. You can definitely feel this finish at the tip of your fingers. Sandblasted rings have a slight grainy feel and is the perfect fit for anyone interested in textured finishes.
Hammered Finish
This type of finish is quite popular with men who prefer a non-shiny finish and want something unique. The texture of this finish is a dimpled look, that looks like a hammer was used to pound each dimple on the surface of the ring, thus the name of this finish. This finish is usually two finishes in one. First, it is hammered, then a satin finish is applied to the hammered finish so it will not be reflective.
Rhodium Plating
Rhodium plating is a standard process in the jewelry industry and is done to bring a bleached white appearance to white gold jewelry. Rhodium is applied to white gold by an electroplatingprocedure when a microscopic layer of rhodium is plated over the original 14k or 18k white gold.
Gold Plating
Plating is used to protect silver from oxidation, but is also used to bring an expected color on the market (chromium look on silver and white gold), or to change the color of metal base, (like on gold plated brass jewelry, on gold plated silver jewelry), and another use of plating is to even the color (used sometimes on pink gold jewelry when the chain and the main parts are show a variation of tone, and it will hide the welding points)