925 sterling silver – quality matters
Posted on August 2, 2011
925 sterling silver is the name of the quality of silver which contains 92.5 percent silver and the remaining part is a combination of other metals. This quality of metal is ideal for making jewelry pieces and ornaments. The reason for this is that silver in its purest form is extremely soft and is not strong enough to be molded into jewelry. However, when silver is mixed with other metals, sterling silver is obtained and this silver is not only the highest kind in purity but is also possess enough strength to make jewelry out of it.
The metal used to strengthen 925 sterling silver ranges from copper, germanium, zinc, platinum, silicon etc. Varied metals give different levels of strength and the manufacturer can choose the type of metal according to the quality of strength that is required for the jewelry. This kind of silver is used not only in making silver jewelry but is also used in making silver accessories, show pieces, small items of furniture etc. what makes this metal so versatile is its purity. If the purity of silver is low then it corrodes easily and adopts a black appearance. Since the purity of sterling silver is 92.5 percent, its shine is maintained over a long period of time and the items made out of sterling silver are highly demanded.
There are a lot of speculations about how 925 sterling silver got its name. 925 stands for the percentage of silver’s purity. Many people believe that the word sterling was attached after deriving from the French word ‘esterlin’ which means a little star or from the English word ‘stiere’ meaning strong. A lot of other people believe the word sterling was derived from the name of the German currency which was called ‘Easterling’. Photos courtesy of www.mall4men.com and www.designertiffanyjewelry.org
» Filed Under silver rings jewelry, silver sterling jewelry, sterling silver jewelry
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