An Interesting Overview of Silver Jewellery

1. An Interesting Overview of Silver Jewellery

2. Introduction Many times throughout history, people have valued silver more highly than gold. Long used as an exchange medium as well as for jewelry, silver has also found many new uses. Today, these include photography, batteries, auto glass defogger, and magnetic strips, just to name a few. Several factors make silver one of the most popular jewelry metals. Its luster ranks as its most outstanding visual feature. Silver is also more abundant and much less expensive than gold or platinum. However, because silver conducts heat so well, it’s more difficult to work than gold.

3. Drawbacks of Noble Metal This noble metal does have some drawbacks, though. Most notably, silver tarnishes. The term “tarnish” denotes a layer of corrosion that forms over some metals, including silver, when they undergo chemical reactions. The chemical reaction that causes silver to tarnish requires a compound called hydrogen sulfide. Since this compound can occur in our air, silver items left out exposed will tend to tarnish over time.

4. Silver Alloys similar to gold, pure silver is soft and easily damaged. Therefore, jewelry makers often alloy silver with harder metals to improve its durability. With silver alloys, they can make beautiful, strong pieces suitable for daily wear. Sterling Silver The commonly used silver alloy is sterling silver. Sterling silver is made of 92.5% silver. One or more metals comprise the other 7.5%. Often, copper makes up a substantial portion of that 7.5%, because it increases the alloy’s hardness.

5. Mexican Silver The term “Mexican silver” refers to the silver used as currency in Mexico, typically comprised of 95% silver and 5% copper. This alloy sees more use as a currency than in jewelry. Even silver jewelry made in Mexico is more commonly crafted from sterling silver. Coin Silver In the United States, coin silver contains 90% silver and 10% copper. You don’t usually see coin silver used in jewelry.

6. Britannia Silver Britannia silver contains a minimum of 95.84% silver, making it a more valuable alloy than sterling. This alloy does, rarely, see some jewelry use. Other Silver Alloys You’ll find a variety of silver alloys used worldwide. For example, a South American alloy, made of 80% silver, doesn’t tarnish.

7. Silver Jewellery Use Jewellery makers stamp silver pieces with a code for the alloy used. For example, 925 indicates sterling silver; 958 indicates Britannia silver, etc. When shopping for silver jewelry, inspect the piece carefully for this code.

8. Conclusion Storing silver items in protective pouches or containers will reduce the amount of tarnish. This means you’ll spend less time removing tarnish from your silver jewellery. Yes, silver does require more care than some other precious jewelry metals. Sri Saravana Silvers, the Best Silver Jewellery Showroom in Madurai is well-known for its incredible collections of silver pooja articles in Madurai.