Is Rhodium worth the extra cost. It is a tad brighter than chrome, not quite as bright as white gold made with palladium. It has good hardness but it bears up well under frictiion which make it well suited for pens. The plating is very thin because it tends to be brittle if plated very thick. It will crack and separate from the base metal. It is a tricky plating process because the baths must be kept so pure. But....it is plated so thin that the cost of the actual Rhodium in minimal....a troy ounce processed for plating at 20 to 30 micro inches would go a long way.
For looks - side by side you might notice it to be brighter than chrome, not as bright as white gold made with paladium and probably not quite as bright as sliver..it is sometimes plated over silver but it is to increase the wearability not the brightness.
Since I don't hear about or see much wear on chrome pens, I think it is a matter of taste on low and middle range pens. I'd go with it on the high end myself - it doesn't change the cost at that end enough to worry about it.
For looks - side by side you might notice it to be brighter than chrome, not as bright as white gold made with paladium and probably not quite as bright as sliver..it is sometimes plated over silver but it is to increase the wearability not the brightness.
Since I don't hear about or see much wear on chrome pens, I think it is a matter of taste on low and middle range pens. I'd go with it on the high end myself - it doesn't change the cost at that end enough to worry about it.