All about 925 standard

Jewelry has not lost its relevance for many centuries. Nowadays, these are not just spectacular and stylish accessories, but also pretty good objects for investing money - gold, as well as platinum and silver only grow in price over time.

In stores, you can often see cutlery and jewelry 925, some believe that it is nothing more than white gold. Let's find out if this is so.

In accordance with the approved state standards, 925 assay value refers exclusively to argentum products, including gold-plated ones. There is no gold with such a stigma in nature.

The officially recognized tests for the yellow precious metal are 375, 500, 585, 750, as well as 95 and 999. Silver items may bear the following hallmarks - 800, 830, 875, 960, 999. Despite this, in jewelry boutiques you can often find samples with numbers 926, 923, 929, as well as 952 - none of them are official.

Some ordinary people believe that white gold is hidden under the numbers s928. In practice, this is not at all the case - such jewelry is made of silver, coated with a layer of rhodium. This combination gives the jewelry a specific shimmer and prevents oxidation. Even a very experienced jeweler sometimes finds it difficult to immediately determine which alloy is in front of him.

Marking 925 means that the product is 92.5% precious metal and 7.5% impurities. The finished jewelry is characterized by exceptional elegance and beauty, as well as high quality.

At the very beginning of the last century, when developing an alloy of 925 argentum, impurities of nickel or manganese were added. But numerous studies conducted later showed that the addition of nickel is dangerous to humans, and manganese does not provide the desired decorative effect. After that, new experiments were carried out with a wide variety of ligatures. So, such common metals as zinc, platinum, and germanium were used as additional components. The composition of 925 sterling silver with copper was recognized as classic. The fact is that various additives have a significant effect on the color of argentum and its operational parameters. So, an alloy with copper and cadmium is not covered with a black coating, while the introduction of any other metals will inevitably cause problems with darkening of the silver surface. Over time, copper has become the main component for the preparation of alloy s925. - this metal not only successfully solves problems with the color of products, but also represents a very economical additive. Moreover, with the addition of copper, the metal becomes strong, dense and reliably protected from any chips, scratches and other types of mechanical damage - this is especially important when making jewelry, coins and cutlery from an alloy.

Argentum 925 has undoubted advantages that distinguish it from other alloys:

• ease of processing;
• high plasticity, thanks to which the most complex elements can be manufactured;
• the ability to cover finished products with gold.

The main technical and operational characteristics are directly determined by the properties of the silver itself. The density of this metal is 10.5 g / m3, which is almost 2 times lower than the density of gold, several units lower than the density of lead, but at the same time heavier than iron.

Argentum is characterized by the highest thermal conductivity in comparison with all other metals, while it has a unique electrical conductivity. TO

The main chemical characteristics include:

• biological and chemical inertness - in its natural form, it does not interact with any other substances;
• among other raw materials, argentum is more prone to reactions of precious metal;
• Argentum can dissolve in nitric acid, heated sulfuric acid, and, in addition, in mercury;
• unlike gold and platinum, it cannot dissolve in aqua regia.

Argentum s925 marking certainly includes the definition of "sterling" and the official badge, and the way it is displayed directly depends on the state of manufacture.

When branding sterling silver, one of the following word forms is used:

• sterling;
• ster;
• sterling silver;
• 925.

The history of the use of silver s925 dates back to the middle of the 12th century. Exactly then in Great Britain, a silver coin called sterling was introduced into the circulation of money. For money from such metal, one could purchase jewelry, valuable household items and many other attributes of luxury. 240 coins of this metal weighed the same as 1 foot - if this amount of metal was less weight, then this gave every reason to believe that the sterling was counterfeit. Times go by, but today, as before, this particular alloy is considered one of the best for the issue of coins.

However, the scope of its use does not end there. Metal of this quality is commonly used to create bracelets and many other jewelry. It is used to make interior decor items, as well as dishes, other cutlery, cufflinks.

Unfortunately, such widespread use of silver has led to the emergence of a large number of counterfeits. However, it is quite easy to see the deception. The very first guideline will be cost. Products made of noble metal will not be cheap - the price will be much higher than similar ones made of 585 alloy. Therefore, when the seller gives you a product at a low price, then most likely you are in front of an ordinary low-quality product. The final cost of the finished jewelry product is based on a large number of factors, first of all it is the work of the master himself. If the alloy is purchased abroad, then the final price additionally includes import costs, as well as taxes and the required profit of the seller. As a result, finished jewelry will cost a lot. And if, moreover, they are produced under a certain promoted brand, this will have an impact on the price increase.

For a cheap craft, the following features are characteristic:

• the rapid appearance of a black or dark gray bloom;
• tarnishing.

Sometimes it is not noble metals that are given out for Argentum. Keep in mind: in this case, you do not need to rely solely on your external judgment.

If you purchase a 925 sterling silver product from your hands and cannot turn to the services of professionals, then you can use several rapid tests, which can be performed using the available tools at hand.

• You can distinguish real silver from fake silver using ordinary sulfuric ointment, which is sold in every pharmacy. The composition is applied to the products in the thinnest layer and left for a couple of hours. If the jewelry acquires a dark color, then with a high degree of probability you have real silver in front of you.
• Another effective test method is associated with the use of a magnet. Genuine Argentum is never magnetized and therefore does not attract.

It also happens that the s925 silver alloy is passed off as white gold. There are also several recommendations for this case.

• As you know, Argentum is sensitive to iodine and some other acids, therefore their use makes it possible to establish the quality of the alloy. To do this, a thin strip of iodine should be applied to the decoration offered to you. It cannot be absorbed into gold and cannot damage the appearance of the product, but when it comes into contact with a silver object, a chemical reaction will begin - its surface will acquire a brown tint.
• Another experiment involves the use of vinegar. A couple of tablespoons of the indicated composition are dissolved in a cup of ordinary water, and jewelry is dipped into this solution. If they are made of real gold, then the color does not change, since this noble metal will not react with acids.

The rules for caring for silver items are largely determined by the specifics of those factors that can have a negative impact on this precious metal. So, blackening of Argentum can be caused by:

• high level of air humidity;
• placing products near preparations containing sulfur;
• when worn underneath - a deterioration in the health of the owner of the product or intense physical exertion;
• frequent contact with perfumery and cosmetic products.

Here are the basic rules for caring for silver jewelry.

• For cleaning jewelry made of this alloy, it is by no means recommended to use abrasive products and hard brushes.
• Regular care of products involves soaking them in soapy water, further rinsing, removing excess water and thoroughly polishing with a suede cloth.
• For proper metal care, the best option would be to use drugs specially created for this.

Caring for silver sample s925 has its own subtleties.

• Firstly, it is advisable to take care of such things using a special composition - silbertuschbader. Nowadays, there are many different alternatives to this tool on sale, but it is he who is considered the most effective.
• Secondly, to purify the silver of the sample in question, it is not allowed to use either lemon juice or an acid based on it, which are often used to purify the metal of lower samples.
• But 925 silver is cleaned with ammonia-based products. For this, ammonia is added to the water at the rate of 1 ml of substance per 10 ml of water, then the silver items are loaded into the resulting composition for 30-40 minutes, removed, washed thoroughly under running cool water and wiped dry with a soft cloth.

See the next video for how 925 is.