Sterling silver jewelry, Bracelets, and Charms

Sterling silver is a product born of the desire for excellence. Pure silver, like gold, is a very soft metal; it is ductile but can easily be bent or scratched. This made pure silver a less than ideal medium for large scale pieces. Jewelry items such as linked necklaces, rings, or earrings were about as large as silver could be reliably worked. Then the process of alloying was invented.

The process of alloying is simple and elegant. By mixing a metal with another substance, you enhance it. To accomplish this, the metal is melted and mixed with the other material. For instance to form steel, iron metal is mixed with carbon, a non metal. In the process the strength and resistance to corrosion of iron are greatly increased. A similar concept brought about the birth of sterling silver.

Sterling silver is a mixture of ninety-two and a half percent silver, and seven and a half percent copper. The addition of copper retains the beautiful color of silver, but allows pieces to have greater strength, as well as better resistance to tarnishing. The latter is a major factor in the widespread popularity of silver. Unlike gold, silver will slowly oxidize in the atmosphere, which will turn it black.

With the advent of a stronger, more tarnish resistant silver, new options opened up to the precious metal. Silver coins could now be minted at a far cheaper cost than gold coins, and because of the alloy they were strong enough to withstand use. Silverware, or eating utensils made of sterling silver, became popular. Prior to sterling silver, a knife or fork would not have been able to stand up to the wear and tear of use if they were made of silver. In fact, chalices, serving platters, plates, pitchers, and all manner of eating accessories became en vogue immediately following the production of sterling silver.

These plates and cups were gorgeous due to their being made of silver. They would feature ornate traceries on the surfaces. It became a status symbol to own sterling silver dinnerware. Coincidentally, during this time the three course meal ballooned into the Victorian 10 course dinner for the rich, making the market for silver serving and eating utensils that much greater.

The silver craze lasted nearly a century, and was only stopped by the production demands of World War II. Since that time, silver has still been popular for such applications as charms, pendants, and bracelets, as well as the other jewelry items, but it has become less of a must have item for the who’s who of the world.

Silver jewelry is often considered more practical than gold. Silver goes well with almost any colors, and compliments many complexions better than gold does. On top of that, silver jewelry is much more affordable than gold. This is reflected in their market prices, as of this publishing the market price on gold is 965 US dollars per ounce. Silver is a much more reasonable 15 US dollars per ounce. That means you could make a four pound bowling pin out of silver for the same price as a one ounce gold ring!

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