Sterling Silver- how can you tell its quality??

Question

I want to buy my boyfriend a nice silver chain for christmas but I want to make sure its not cheap. I notice there are different "grades" and I am wondering what I should look out for.
One I was looking at sais "925 Sterling sliver" what does that mean??

Thanks

Answer 1

Sterling silver is an alloy of 92.5% silver and 7% some other metal, usually copper, although there are some newer alloys available, such as argentium silver (it has germanium, so it doesn't tarnish). I also read about another new alloy in Lapidary Journal that has a small percentage of platinum. Some pieces are also made from fine silver, which is pure silver. Sterling is required to be marked in order for it to be sold as sterling--these markings are usually some variation on "sterling" or "925." As long as it's makred you should be okay, just watch out for silver plated pieces, because plating will wear off over time(Usually a couple years).

Answer 2

"925 sterling silver jewellery is actually a combination of 92.5% silver and usually 7.5% copper. Sometimes the craftsman replaces copper with another material, or even a combination of materials. Over the last decade lower copper prices and an abundance of copper due to improved refining techniques have made it the first choice of many designers and jewellery stylists."

Here's the site I found to help you out.

Answer 3

the different one. it is going to be stamped ninety seven.5 on the returned or it quite is not sterling silver. 595 could be copper plated, this implies silver dipped over copper metallic. This makes the silver greater versatile, yet in time the silver will positioned on off.

Answer 4

Silver is almost as gold, gold has written in small letters if its 10k 14k, 18k. Silver has the number 925