Know Your Silver

Jewellery Care

Silver Jewellery

Mon Dec 05 2022

Know Your Silver

Silver is a white to grey illuminating metal used majorly for jewellery, coins, silverware, and alike. Its usage dates back to 4000 B.C.E. period, when the royalty had silverware and exchanged it for trade. Speaking of its origins, America supplies around 46% of the silver, followed by Russia, which supplies 25%. Being a soft metal, it finds its uses in other industries as well. In the contemporary era, silver has shifted to more of a utensil base than jewellery. Even in jewellery, silver anklets are more prominent than any other form.

Not all that is grey is silver. Well, it is most likely that you were to believe any shiny grey- colored jewellery piece to be made up of real silver. With modern-day brands selling stylish pieces to make a statement in your work life, it can be challenging to differentiate between sterling silver and pure silver. While pure silver does not contain any other metal, sterling silver has around 92% pure silver. Other metals are added to it to add to its strength. Sterling silver looks similar to pure silver in its shine, though. Rest there is a couple of factors to check in before you make your silvery purchase. We have done the homework for you and have everything that you must know about the silver-in-brief.

How to distinguish sterling or fake silver and identify the real one?

Check for the marks: Every precious metal intended for public use has to have some authorised mark on it. You can find numbers such as 925, 825, and hallmark.
Lacking lustre: Pure silver jewellery is one that can lack its shine over a period of time. Once cleaned, it regains the lustre. This could also be another factor in identifying real silver.
The smell: Pure sterling jewellery lacks odour, while the ones that are mixed with other metals may be a bit smelly. This is an unconventional method to test its purity but one can try this out.

There are other tests, like the ice-cube test or the magnet test, but they just confirm the presence of iron as the base metal being used. You can always check with a certified jeweller to test its purity.

Once you know about purity, it is vital to know how to keep your silverware or silver jewellery clean and shining eternally. Here are a few tips:

Store in separate boxes since sterling silver can be reactive to other metals.
Clean with a piece of cloth rather than any other liquid.
Polish it regularly.

Speaking of types of silver, there are different grades of silver that are available in the market. The range is huge, ranging from Tibetan, Argentium, Nickel Silver, Bali or Thai silver, Mexican Silver, etc. There is no variation of colour, unlike gold. You must, however, be careful when buying your precious metals. A thorough examination of the above tests and ways to store your silverware can maintain its shine for a long time. Impress your guests and loved ones with shiny silverware and your ever-shining jewellery.

Know Your Silver

Help Desk