Sterling silver jewelry is bound to tarnish over time if it is exposed to air. Sterling silver is composed of 92.5% silver and 7.5% hardening alloys such as copper. These other metals react to moisture and sulfur in the air, causing the sterling silver tarnish. For this reason, sterling silver tarnishes faster in areas [...]
Category Archives: Jewelry News
There are two common tests to determine the silver content in an alloy. X- ray testing is non-destructive but requires expensive equipment. Jewelry must be sent to a lab for x-ray testing. This test is relatively accurate on most silver items. The machine can be fooled by layered metals and some types of plating, [...]
Like nickel silver, Tibetan and/or tribal silver are base metal alloys that are only silver in appearance. Contents of the alloys vary tremendously and may not even contain any silver. Some imports from exotic areas contain dangerous metals such as lead; buyer beware. This jewelry should be purchased with caution and never given to [...]
In the case of nickel silver, the term “silver” describes the color of the metal, not the content. Nickel silver is a base metal alloy consisting of mostly copper combined with nickel and/or zinc. It is an inexpensive base metal that is similar in appearance to sterling silver. Nickel silver is used in costume [...]
Silver plated is a base metal product with a very thin silver plating applied to the surface. Even when jewelry is described as fine silver-plated, the overall silver content is a small fraction of a percent. Silver-plated jewelry makes affordable costume jewelry. Plating can tarnish and will eventually wear off to expose the base [...]
Silver-filled is a new layered metal, introduced during the surge of silver prices during the recession. It is not an alloy because the metal content is not the same throughout the material. Silver filled is either 5% or 10% sterling silver by weight, fused with heat and pressure to a brass core. Since silver-filled [...]
Coin silver was once a common alloy in the United States. It is now relatively rare and the name causes some confusion. The technical “coin silver” alloy is .900 silver, or 90% silver and 10% copper. It was not used to make coins, but at one point in time it was made from refined [...]
Non-tarnish alloys are relatively new to the market. Argentium is one brand of these alloys, but there are others available that are similar. These alloys contain a minimum of 92.5% silver, with some slightly higher in silver content. The remainder consists of copper and the addition of the element germanium. The germanium makes the [...]
Sterling silver is the jewelry quality standard in the United States and most world markets, making it the most common of the types of silver used in jewelry. Sterling silver is an alloy of 92.5% silver. The remaining 7.5% is usually copper, although other metals such as nickel are sometimes used as well. The [...]
Fine silver is the closest metal to the pure silver element. It is described as .999, indicating 99.9% purity. The remaining 0.1% consists of trace elements of insignificant quantity. Fine silver appears more dull compared to the bright polish of sterling. Fine silver is soft and will scratch, dent and change shape relatively easily. [...]