So, you like shiny things … well you will love silver jewelry!

Silver is a highly reflective metal that can be polished into a higher sheen than other white metals. Since ancient history, silver has been used worldwide, by nearly all cultures for breathtaking personal adornment. “Fine” or pure silver is quite soft and very malleable. For jewelry use, silver is combined with other metals to make it more durable.

Sterling silver, which contains 92.5 % silver and 7.5% copper is the most popular because of it’s durability and ability to be highly polished. Most top quality silver pieces are stamped with a mark which designates the precious metal content and a maker’s mark or registered trademark. Trade recognized marks include:

Sterling

Sterling silver

925

.925

Silver, unlike other metals, has a tendency to tarnish. To avoid this, clean your silver regularly and avoid exposing it to chemicals such as bleach, ammonia or chlorinated water. Silver is easily scratched, so store your silver jewelry in a soft pouch away from other jewelry.

Take care of your silver and enjoy a lifetime of shiny things!

Tags: 925, copper, maker’s mark, polished, precious metal, registered trademark, silver, silver jewelry, Sterling, Sterling silver

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 30th, 2008 at 12:56 pm and is filed under Precious Metals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.