The Journey of Silver
Jewellery Care | Silver Jewellery
Know Your Silver
From a royal trade commodity in 4000 B.C.E. to an essential modern metal—silver has a long history. This lustrous white-to-grey metal, historically used primarily in jewellery and coinage, has now found its place in cutlery and industrial sectors. A large portion of its global supply comes from America (46%) and Russia (25%). Today, although it is utilised more for making utensils, silver rings and anklets are still the most popular form of silver jewellery. Its soft nature makes it a versatile metal for various industries.
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 authorized mark on it. You can find numbers such as 925, and hallmark.
- Lacking luster: Pure silver jewellery is one that can lack its shine over a period of time. Once cleaned, it regains the luster. 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 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 than any other liquid.
- Polish it regularly.