Silver In Its Many Forms

Silver In Its Many FormsIf you find this guide useful please be sure to vote for YES at the bottom of the page.STERLING SILVERis 92.5% pure silver and will generally be stamped with 925 as a sign that it is sterling silver. Sterling silver may also bear the makers mark and be stamped with the country of origin, for instance ITALY. Theremaining 7.5% of metal in sterling silveris generally made up of copper to give the silver its strength because silver in its pure form is soft. When buying any sterling silver it is a good idea to check that it doesn't contain any nickel as it can cause irritations to anyone withsensitive skin, just because something is sterling silver does not necessarily mean your skin will not react to it. Silver will almost definitely tarnish how quickly depends on the enviroment the silver is in, for instance salt can cause silver to tarnish quickly so swimming in the surf or being present in salty air can speed up the tarnishingprocess as well as the the acids and fats released from your skin through perspiration.There are many ways to clean silver including toothpaste, baking soda and a good srcubbing with a fine cloth.Theeasiest and one of the bestoptions is a silver cloth with anti-tarnish chemicals in it, so when you clean your silveritwill alsostayclean for longer.If you want to go all out you can also have your silver rhodium plated which will stop tarnishing for as long the plating remains. It also combatsirritations some people may get from silververy effectively.All thesterling silveritems I sell are completely nickel free and are great for those people with sensitive skin.FINE SILVERis 99.9% pure silverand is normally only found in jewellery in the form of a plating - for instance I sell sterling silver jewellery and findings which have a fine silver plating. Fine silver is used because it has a great lustrous shine andreally brightensup the sterling silveras well as fixing any scratches or marks left from the construction process. SILVER PLATINGrefers to a pure silvercoating and unless the coating is pure silver then it shouldn't becalled silver plated instead it is just silver coloured - even though this isn't always the case. The base metals used under a silver platingwill vary greatly in quality with the better options being brass, copper, bronze and sterling silver. Metals such as iron are cheaper metals which are of a lower quality, it is also a good idea to check if the items you are buyingare nickel free to help prevent potentialallergic reactions.TIBETAN