Coin silver was once a more common alloy in the United States. It is now fairly rare and the name causes quite a bit of confusion. The technical “coin silver” alloy is .900 prata, ou 90% prata e 10% cobre. The name “coin silver” is because metalsmiths historically made items from melted down scrap […]
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Non-tarnish alloys are fairly new to the market. Argentium is one brand but there are others available that are similar. These alloys are a minimum of 92.5% silver though some will be slightly higher in silver content. The remainder consists of copper and the addition of the element germanium. The germanium makes the alloy […]
Sterling is the jewelry quality standard in the United States and most world markets. It is an alloy of 92.5% prata. The remaining 7.5% is usually copper though it is sometimes other metals such as nickel. The other metals in the alloy increase hardness so the material will be more durable. Alloy additions also […]
1. Multar .999 Silver Fine silver is the closest metal to the pure element silver. It is marked .999 which indicates 99.9% purity. O 0.1% remainder consists of trace elements of insignificant quantity. Fine silver has a more vitreous luster than the bright polish of sterling. It appears grayer and slightly dull. This type […]
The reason sterling silver requires the mixture of other metals is because naturally, pure silver is soft. Adding other metals to the silver increases the hardness, making it more suitable and durable for use in jewelry and housewares like silverware. The result of this process also produces that signature silver color: bright, shiny and […]
You might be wondering what is sterling silver? Sterling silver is an alloy made from 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent alloy. An alloy is essentially the mixture of two (or more) elements taken from the periodic table. Regarding sterling silver, the alloys can include zinc, copper or nickel. While the United States, Europe […]
#1. Rub the jewelry using a soft white cloth. If you find any black marks on the cloth, then you can be sure that it is made of real sterling silver. This is because any air exposure causes real sterling silver to oxidize. This causes them to deteriorate with time, and the reason why […]
You could imagine very easily that if there’s a 20% price jump from a 0.99ct diamond to a 1.00ct diamond, the cutter who loses that 0.01ct trying to make a prettier stone will lose his job. Perhaps with the nicer cut it will only be worth 15% less instead of 20%, but either way, […]
I stress categories, because you might mistakenly believe that prices per carat increase continuously as weight is increased, but this is not the case. Since diamonds are a retail product driven more by emotion than reason, a 0.99ct diamond is worth only about 1% more than a similar diamond weighing 0.98ct. But a 1.00ct […]
Diamonds are all priced per carat. Lets say a 0.50 carat diamond has a price of $1400 per carat. That diamond’s price for the stone would be $1400 * 0.50, ou $700. Or, let’s say that a 1 carat diamond has a price of $4,100 per carat. This one is easy to calculate — […]