All About Silver
What is Silver
Similar to gold, silver is a relatively soft, extremely ductile, and malleable metal. While it doesn't have the hardness of gold, it still has many uses, especially when alloyed with other metals to make it harder. One of the most common uses that Silver has due to its beautiful colour, like gold, is jewellery.
Silver is considerably less valuable than gold, which is rarer in nature and more difficult to mine in bulk. However, this also makes silver a more affordable option for some when looking for jewellery.
925 Silver Jewellery
Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver. In this form, the metal is beautiful and suffers from minimal tarnish, but it's generally too soft and malleable for many uses, including making most silver jewellery.
The most common and popular combination for silver jewellery is 92.5% pure silver alloyed with 7.5% copper. This is the reason why most silver jewellery is referred to as 925 silver, the same way that gold is referred to as 916 gold for 91.6% of gold and 999 gold for 99.9% pure gold.
The copper makes the silver harder and more durable, but will also cause it to be more prone to tarnishing, whereby the metal turns to a dark brown or black colour over time. However, tarnishing is different from rusting and can be easily cleaned to restore it back to its original beauty.
Silver Plated Jewellery
It is important to note the difference between real silver and silver plated jewellery. Much "silver jewellery" in the market is made of cheaper metals, such as copper or nickel, and has a thin layer of silver covering the base metal.
It is more common for people with skin allergies to be triggered and develop rashes when wearing such jewellery.
Also, as the layer of silver is very thin, silver-plated jewellery will wear off with time and usage. These wear-offs and tarnish on silver-plated jewellery are irreversible and cannot be restored by cleaning alone.
It is very hard to tell whether a jewellery is made of real 925 silver, or made of a completely different metal but plated with silver. One way to make sure is to check for hallmarks.
In Arthesdam Jewellery, all of our jewellery including our 925 silver jewellery will have a SAO hallmark (a diamond shape that bears the symbol of a lion head) from the Singapore Assay Office, which is the only independent body that tests and certifies the purity of gold and silver in Asia apart from Japan. This is the best way to guarantee you the purity of the precious metals that you are paying for, giving you a peace of mind.
Shop for new arrivals 925 Silver Jewellery with SAO Hallmark here.
References:
https://www.livescience.com/37040-silver.html
https://blog.centimegift.com/difference-between-silver-sterling-silver-and-silver-plated/
https://simonewalsh.com/blogs/handmade-jewellery/all-about-sterling-silver