What Kind Of Silver Is This?

A question I often hear when I sell my jewelry goes something like this: "Is this stuff real silver?" Sterling silver is not actually that expensive when you compare it to gold or platinum. So the price can be much less by comparison. You can see the gold and silver prices for today here: www.kitco.com.

When I make jewelry from silver, I price it according to what I feel is a fair price for my creativity, time, and materials. This results in very reasonable prices. So much so, that sometimes people question the authenticity of the materials. This questioning is understandable, given the fact that there are other items of jewelry available that are 'silver' but not sterling silver.

This brings us to a brief definition guide of the types of silver available.

We will start with "Sterling Silver". This is the most accepted form of silver for the jewelry industry. It is used in fine jewelry all over the world. The formula is 92.5% pure silver and the balance is copper. The copper is added to give the metal strength because pure silver is too soft to use in jewelry.

Sterling silver is the most beautiful of all the silver alloys (a mixture of two or more metals). The luster and color is unsurpassed.

Sterling silver has always stood alone in quality, intrinsic value and of course beauty. The formula for sterling silver has gone unchanged for centuries. I am sure the reason for this is that something so perfect needs no change.

Fine Silver: This is a very pure form of Silver (99.9% pure). Fine Silver is sometimes used in jewelry to take advantage of its soft and malleable characteristics. The most common use is a bezel. Bezel is usually the part in jewelry that holds the stones in place. Being softer than Sterling Silver, Fine Silver Bezel can be easily shaped and burnished to conform to the shape of the stone being set.

The term Silver can have several meanings, however, in most cases it is referring to sterling silver. The reason being that the most common form of silver used in fine jewelry is sterling silver.

The alloy "German Silver" is actually not silver at all. The only silver in German silver is the color and that is not that close. It is a yellow white metal used in the frames of eyeglasses and costume jewelry. It consists of 12% Nickel, 23% Zinc, and the rest is copper.

Nickel Silver: The composition of this particular nickel alloy is 65% Copper, 18% Nickel, and 17% Zinc. This is a very popular nickel alloy with a pleasant silvery blue white color. It is the most popular alloy used for costume jewelry and as a base for silver plated items.

As the term implies, Coin Silver is used in the making of coins. In the United States, the most common formula is 90% pure silver and the balance is made up of other metals. Today this formula is still used in jewelry but no longer in the manufacture of coins in the United States.

Did you know that the nickels in the USA are actually just 25% nickel? The remainder 75% is copper.