Sterling Silver

Elegant jewelry does not go out of fashion and is appreciated not only for its beauty, but also for its high durability. At all times, people believed that buying silver alloy items was a good investment of free money, since precious metals are constantly increasing in price. Master jewelers know that metal Ag physically it is a very plastic material, therefore, for the manufacture of jewelry alloys are used, thanks to which precious metals receive a certain proportion of hardness, and products from them are able to maintain a given shape.

To indicate the proportion of impurities in precious metals, a specially developed probing system is used... Thanks to the test applied in the form of a hallmark to a silver product, it is possible to understand how many grams of pure silver are present in 1 kilogram of the alloy.

It is known for certain that 925 silver alloy contains at least 7.5% Cu metal and 92.5% Ag metal, i.e., copper and silver. Copper gives strength to silver, allowing high quality products to be smelted. Today, 925 standard means that this is silver, the quality of which is the highest of all possible. The metal, the fineness of which is s925, has the following features:

• this silver alloy is easily processed into jewelry;
• the metal is ductile, thanks to which any elements of an increased level of complexity can be made from it;
• silver alloy can be covered with a thin layer of gold plating on top.

Making a 925-test alloy, copper is added to pure silver, but as a result, the appearance of the products loses its luster over time and may darken upon contact with water. To improve the properties of the jewelry alloy, zinc, platinum, as well as germanium or silicon are added. Such additives can improve the color range of finished products and their characteristics. In the world of jewelers, 925 sterling silver material can be denoted as follows:

• sterling or sterling silver;
• standard silver or silver standard.

In addition to the 925 test, there is also 999 standard, which has more excellent qualities and a higher value among jewelers. However, you are unlikely to find items made of such metal on the free sale, because expensive masterpieces are made of 999 silver.

Pure silver, free from impurities, looks like a bright shiny metal with a whitish tint... It has increased reflectivity, since its entire surface is mirrored and reflects approximately 95-97% of the color spectrum. For its mirror properties, silver alloy is used not only in the jewelry industry, but also in the production of mirrors.

Pure silver has a density of 10.4 g / cc. cm, this is half the density of gold, but slightly less than the density of lead. In addition, silver is denser and weighs more than, for example, iron or copper.

Silver has certain physical and chemical properties:

• the highest thermal conductivity in comparison with other metals;
• high ability to conduct electric current;
• the lowest melting point in comparison with other precious metals - 960 ° С;
• the Ag metal is inert, it does not interact with other metals in the natural environment, but it is most capable of chemical reactions among other valuable metals;
• Ag metal dissolves in mercury, nitric acid and concentrated sulfuric acid when heated to a hot state, but is insoluble in hydrochloric acid.

Quite often you come across jewelry that has 875 sample, indicating that the alloy contains metals - 12.5% ​​Cu and 87.5% Ag. Comparing samples 925 and 875, we will see that 875 is not considered a high quality sample due to the high level of copper additions... Alloy 825 objects may have reddish or straw undertones, and may darken on contact with a damp surface. Silver alloy 825, in addition to copper, can contain silicon, germanium or platinum, which improves the characteristics of the material and the appearance of the finished product. However, if the material contains platinum, the cost of the jewelry will be much higher than if it was made only on the basis of the metals Cu and Ag.

Due to the low price, silver alloy 875 is in great demand and is used for the production of jewelry, decorative crafts, and tableware. As for jewelers, they secretly classify 925 sterling silver as a high-quality alloy, and metal 875 as a second-class material. Therefore, expensive jewelry will always be made of 925 sterling silver alloy, and silverware will have a stamp with the number 875 - this is all the difference.

Making a combined composition of the material, jewelers noticed that the look of the metal depends on its ingredients. Through experiments, not only various types of alloys have appeared, but also methods for their decorative processing. The most popular are the following types of silver.

The method of blackening appeared in the days of Ancient Russia., when silverware was decorated with patterns of deep black color.If you combine sulfur, lead, copper and pure silver in certain proportions, you get a substance that in the old days was called "rabble". The finished product was subjected to artistic engraving, after which it had to be heated until the blackening compound dissolved. The result of this work was a product that combines light silvery and deep dark shades.

This method was used to decorate silver jewelry, household items, dishes, engravings and so on. The demand for blackened silver was especially great in the 17th century. Products made of blackened silver alloy were particularly durable and did not need constant cleaning.

Another type of blackening, which was achieved by combining the metal Ag and the mineral S. Unlike blackened silver, oxidized blackening was not as persistent, since blackening was achieved by obtaining a special oxide film, which quickly became unusable after cleaning the product. The cost of oxidized silver is the same as that of blackened, but when buying it it was important not to confuse them with each other, since the durability of the coating is different for them.

Thanks to the manufacturing technology, oxidized silver could give shades of blackening from dark purple to black, and when the product was polished, the convex parts became shiny and light, and the concave parts of the pattern had the effect of blackening of a certain shade.

It is obtained by eliminating the natural metallic luster of the product, which gives it a certain sophistication and resistance to darkening. Achieve this effect by processing the product on a sandblasting machine or etching silver in special chemical solutions.

It is obtained by applying the thinnest layer of gold to a silver alloy... This treatment adds value to the finished product, gives it a sophisticated look and enhances its natural resistance to oxidation. Not only jewelry is processed with gilding, but also cutlery.that can withstand placing them in an acidic and salty environment and do not lose their original appearance, while an item made of ordinary silver would react with a color change.

In pre-revolutionary Russia, the stamp on silver items was made of two digits, and after the revolution it already looks like a three-digit number.

• After the revolution 875 sample was designated, in addition to numbers, with a letter and a sign of the state inspection for probing, which looked like a female kokoshnik. In Soviet times, the sample number and the imprint of a star were put on the products. Now such items are in high demand - they are being bought up by collectors.
• Marking 925 sterling often accompanied by the inscription sterling silver, since this metal was called sterling silver after the name of the English silver coin of the same name, which could be used to purchase luxury items made of 925 sterling silver. When labeling high quality 925 silver, you can also find such additions as ster, sterling. Silver 925, in addition to this inscription and a three-digit number, can also be marked with any image adopted in the country where the product was made.
• On gold plated silverware you can see the fineness 5925, which means that the product uses 925 silver and 5 microns of gold on top.

In jewelry stores, silver can be marked with a hallmark with samples officially recognized throughout the world - 999, 960, 925, 875, 830, 800. The rest of the three-digit codes, for example, 923, 926, 929, 952 are not generally accepted.

The 925 sterling silver alloy is used to make jewelry and bijouterie, which are not inferior in beauty to gold models. Also made of silver make paintings, household items, cutlery, various types of accessories and stationery. Silver items were in demand at all times and were considered an excellent gift.

Determination of the cost of 1 g of silver is carried out as follows:

• find out the cost of 1 g of silver, according to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation for the date we need;
• by the sample, we determine the level of silver content in the product.

For example, let's determine the cost of 1 g of 925 sterling silver on 01/23/2020: 36.71 / 1000x925 = 52.44 rubles. /G. It remains only to multiply this number by the weight of the product to determine its market value.

To make silver items look attractive, behind them you need to be able to look after at home. Care consists in the fact that the product is regularly cleaned using certain formulations and wipes - you can buy them in any jewelry store.

The silver product is placed in a cleaning composition, kept there for some time, washed with water and dried using polishing napkins. In this way, silver items are cleaned that do not have inlay. In addition to cleaning, solutions form a thin film on top of the alloy that protects the metal from oxidative reactions.

There are other methods of cleaning silver jewelry:

• ammonia is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 10 and the product is washed in a solution or wiped with a napkin soaked in this composition;
• strong dirt is cleaned with tooth powder or paste using a soft bristled brush;
• soda is dissolved in water in a ratio of 2: 10, the product is washed with the resulting solution;
• soap solution (20 g of soap per 1000 ml of water) also cleans silver items well.

Silver care is carried out carefully and make sure that concentrated acid solutions do not get on the metal, from which the silver can darken, reacting with them.

For the meaning of the test on jewelry, see the following video.