Different Types of Silver
Because I make jewelry, I see a lot of handmade jewelry online. Silver is very popular, and for good reason. It's shiny. It's beautiful. It makes jewelry look great! And for the metalsmith, it is very mallable: easy to shape and work with.
There are so many different kinds of silver I see in handmade items that sometimes I wonder what they are. This can be very confusing to the buyer. When a piece of jewelry is described as "silver" that could mean a myriad of different things. So I have decided to describe a few of them here to help you make decisions when you are shopping for jewelry. Hopefully it will be handmade jewelry!
.925 SILVER - See Sterling Silver.
Dichroic glass rings with Argentium Silver shanks and fine silver bezels.
ARGENTIUM SILVER - Argentium silver is a relatively new alloy (a combination of metals). Very similar to sterling silver, with a couple of improvements for the end user. It has a slightly higher silver content than sterling, 93.5% compared to the .925 or 92.5% for sterling. The remaining 6.5% has something called Germanium added and less copper. The result is that Argentium silver is more hypoallergenic and tarnishes less than sterling. For the metalsmith, it can also fuse together like fine silver. Argentium is a trademarked name.
FINE SILVER - Almost pure silver, .999 or 99.9% silver. It is softer than sterling silver, which means it as not as sturdy. (The other metals added to sterling give it strength.) It won't tarnish as easily as sterling. It is slightly more expensive than sterling, due to the higher silver content. It is appropriate for pieces that won't take a lot of abuse. And for the metalsmith, you can fuse it to itself with no solder. Fine silver will normally be marked ".999".
Pendant of fine silver and dichroic glass on a sterling silver chain.
GERMAN SILVER - This is just another word for Nickel Silver, which is not real silver at all.
NICKEL SILVER - Not really silver at all, but an alloy made of copper, zinc and nickel. People who have allergies or sensitivities will most likely have a problem with this material. Also, I am not an expert on European Union laws, but to the best of my knowledge selling jewelry made of this material would not be allowed in the EU.
Dichroic glass pendant with a 1/10 silver filled bail.
SILVER FILLED - If you have read my previous post on the subject, you know that gold filled is 5% gold by weight. Silver filled can be 1/20 (5% silver) or 1/10 (10% silver). This is fine silver that is bonded to a core that is usually brass. If treated properly (without the use of abraisive cleaners) the silver coating should last a lifetime.
SILVER PLATE - This is a very thin coating of silver over some sort of base metal. There are no standards on how thick the coating must be, so the thickness varies. This coating is not thick enough to last, so it will eventually wear off. If you are considering buying a silver plated item, I would make sure it is an item that will get light wear (pendant or earrings) as opposed to something that will get heavy wear (bracelet or ring). These items may be marked "SP".
A dichroic glass pendant with a silver plated bail
SILVER TONE - This just means silver colored. It could be made out of anything. You can bet, though, that if it was made out of any real silver that that would probably be disclosed. So it's a safe bet it's not real silver, and probably not even silver plated.
STERLING SILVER - Also called .925 silver. The standard by which all silver jewelry is judged! This is an alloy (mixture) made of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals, including quite a bit of (or maybe all?) copper. The copper is added to give the metal strength. Because the metal is solid, even though it will tarnish, you can wipe the tarnish off and it will look as good as new. If you find you are allergic to sterling ear wires, you might try Argentium silver ear wires, or even niobium. Sterling will normally be marked as ".925".
TIBETAN SILVER - This is some sort of alloy (mixture), but it doesn't appear there are any standards for what it contains. It may be made of copper, zinc, and tin or nickel, perhaps with a small amount of silver. It may look similar to pewter. Sometimes this alloy is laid over a core that is made of iron, which causes problems because the outer layer is stronger than the core. If you have allergies or metal sensitivities, it is probably best to avoid this.
As you can see from the pictures, you can't tell by looking what kind of silver a piece is made of. you might look for a mark like .925 or .999. If you see a colon after the number, that would indicate that it is plated. The best advice to make sure you are getting what you pay for is to buy from a reputable source. Let me add though, when buying handmade, just because the shop is small, does not mean it is not reputable. Most artists I know would be happy to disclose what something is made of. If the item is not marked, don't be afraid to ask.
I hope this helps shed some light on all these different types of silver. Next time you shop on line, hopefully you will have a better idea of what you are looking at.
