Learn About Purity in Silver Jewelry

There are many types of polished silver chains available on the market today. It's important to be familiar with the metals competing in the market so that you as customers can learn about the qualities of silver and the alternatives in the industry. Don't assume you're buying sterling silver (925) jewelry items when something is called "silver." Below you'll find definitions and comparisons of the different silver metals used to make jewelry around the world.

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Silver Alloys

First of all, you should understand that the silver used in jewelry is usually an alloy, which means a mixture of two or more elements from the periodic table.

Silver is an element. Other metallic elements are alloyed with silver for various reasons described below.

Quality Marks

Second, many finished silver jewelry pieces will have a quality stamp somewhere on the piece. This is the fastest way to identify quality. There are cases of fraudulent marking, but they are quite rare. These small marks may only be legible with magnification. However, jewelry items or components should only carry a stamp when there is surface area available. For that reason, small findings and components are often not stamped even though they are quality alloys. The standards for quality stamps are described in the sections below.

Silver Grades

1. Sterling Silver .925

Sterling Silver is what the jewelry quality standard is called in the United States and most world markets. It's a 92.5% silver alloy. In Mexico it's also called plata 925. The remaining 7.5% is usually copper, although sometimes it's other metals like nickel. The other metals in the alloy increase hardness, so the material will be more durable. The alloy additions also create the color and shine that consumers value so much.

At GOLD SHIELD we commonly plate the jewelry in rhodium to achieve extreme shine. Sterling silver (925) is the silver color we're most familiar with and the most common type of silver in jewelry stores in the USA. It's very bright and shiny, but it will tarnish. Tarnish is easy to clean with readily available polishing products. Sterling silver (925) is harder than fine silver, but it's still soft compared to other metals. Thin silver chain and thin metals can stretch or "draw out" under tension. And jewelry will scratch or be damaged if struck. SHOP STERLING SILVER (925) ACCESSORIES AT GOLD SHIELD >>

2. Fine Silver .999

Fine silver is the metal closest to the pure silver element. It's marked as .999, indicating 99.9% purity. The remaining 0.1% consists of trace elements in negligible amounts. Fine silver has a more glassy luster than the bright polish of sterling. It looks grayer and slightly matte. This type of silver is quite soft and scratches, dents, and changes shape fairly easily. For that reason, it's less common in jewelry because items don't wear well over time.

However, there are benefits to fine silver. It's easy to form, it fuses without solder, and it's highly tarnish-resistant. Fine silver is better for earrings or necklaces rather than rings or bracelets that get struck and scratched more often, because it's a very soft metal. Silver clay products fire down to fine silver and have increased demand for pure silver jewelry in the U.S. market. Hill tribe silver is also usually .999. The most common quality stamp on this metal is .999 FS or simply .999.

3. Coin Silver

Tarnish-resistant alloys are relatively new on the market. Argentium is a brand but there are others available that are similar. These alloys have a minimum of 92.5% silver, although some will have slightly higher silver content. The rest consists of copper and the addition of the element germanium. Germanium makes the alloy harder and more tarnish-resistant. Tarnish-resistant alloys can still tarnish under extreme conditions and after long periods of time. But generally, they'll require less maintenance than sterling. This tarnish resistance is the main benefit of the metal, although it's also notable that Argentium will fuse without solder. The trade-off is price. Argentium is significantly more expensive than sterling and less available. It's hard to distinguish from sterling once on the market because the quality stamp is still .925.

4. Argentium Silver and Tarnish-Resistant Alloys

Coin silver was once a more common alloy in the United States. Now it's quite rare and the name causes quite a bit of confusion. The technical "coin silver" alloy is .900 silver, or 90% silver and 10% copper. The name "coin silver" comes from the fact that silversmiths historically made items from melted-down scrap metal.

At the time the name was given, coins were made with more precious metals than today. Coins in our country, and in most others, no longer contain silver and are instead made of cheaper, more durable base metals. Some collectible coins or coin investment instruments have higher silver content. They're marked as such with a quality stamp and usually come with certificates of authenticity. Coin silver jewelry still on the market will carry a quality stamp of .900. Many of these pieces are antiques.

5. Silver

Jewelry sold simply as "silver" is a mystery. The term is used in the market as a color descriptor, especially in fashion. However, in the jewelry trade, items should be clearly identified as a specific standard quality. If not, the silver alloy is unlikely to be very high quality. Artists and jewelry makers are legally required to stamp pieces when space allows or label finished products with quality designations.

6. Balinese, Thai, or Mexican Silver

There's a great deal of quality silver coming out of Bali, Thailand, and Mexico; however, that silver should also be marked and identified with a quality stamp and/or a quality statement. There are also much lower-grade silver alloys from these nations that are described only by the nation of origin. The name of the country of origin is no guarantee of quality or silver content by itself. Learn more about the origin of your silver findings.

7. Silver-Filled

Silver-filled is a new layered metal that was introduced during the recent rise in silver prices during the recession. It's not an alloy because the metal content is not the same throughout the material. Instead, the sterling silver is all on the surface. Silver-filled has 5% or 10% sterling silver by weight fused with heat and pressure onto a brass core. This metal is fairly new, so it's not standardized in the U.S. Since silver-filled is a layered metal, it can't be cast. The silver layer is much thicker than silver plate, but it's still a much lower quality product than solid sterling silver jewelry supplies and alloys. It will tarnish and should only be soldered with precision equipment and special training. Now that the price of silver has come down from previous highs, the metal is less common on the market. There's no legally approved quality stamp standard for silver-filled at this time. However, some use the .925 SF stamp, which can be misleading.

8. Silver Plating

This is a type of base metal with an extremely thin layer of silver applied to the surface. Even when the jewelry is described as finely plated, the total silver content is a small fraction of a percent. Silver-plated jewelry is affordable costume jewelry. The plating can tarnish and will eventually wear away to expose the base metal underneath. Costume jewelry won't have a quality stamp, but it may carry the maker's logo or hallmark.

9. Nickel Silver or Alpaca

Alpaca is a bit of a misnomer because "silver" describes the color of the metal and not the content. This is a base metal alloy consisting mainly of copper with nickel and/or zinc. This type of silver is an inexpensive base metal that is similar in appearance to sterling but, again, contains no real silver at all. It's quite soft and is an excellent practice metal. Alpaca can be soldered, but it's sometimes hard to make solder seams that aren't obvious. Alpaca has many other names on the market such as alpaca silver or German silver. It's used in costume jewelry, but it should be clearly described as a nickel alloy, since many people are allergic to nickel. We also recommend selling alpaca as "base metal" because the term "alpaca" can be misleading to consumers.

10. Tibetan or Tribal Silver

Tibetan silver and many other types of silver described as "tribal" silver, etc., are base metal alloys that only have the appearance of silver. The content of the alloys varies enormously and many contain no silver content at all. Some of these imports from exotic lands contain dangerous metals like lead. Buyer beware. This jewelry should be bought with caution and should never be given to children. Tribal pieces can be quite beautiful, so buy them for the design value rather than the metal value.

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