Using Silver in Artisan Jewelry

“Butterflies Are Free” Silver Pendent made with fine and sterling silver.

Silver jewelry today is more popular than ever, even though rising costs in silver has increased substantially over the last several years. Investors today are grabbing silver to protect their portfolios. For jewelry owners, this means increased value. For those in the market to purchase silver jewelry, expect the increase in silver to be reflected in prices. Still, silver enjoys a very affordable price point when compared to gold. To illustrate this point, (as of this writing) a troy ounce of silver costs $33 as compared to a troy ounce of gold that costs $1,694. Silver enjoys being the “go to” metal for Artisan and Fine Jewelers.

Note, do not confuse metal market prices with silver that is made into ingots and or fabricated into wire which increases the value of the metals.

Ancient Silver

Silver, known in the ancient world as argentum, was at one time thought to be more precious than gold because it appeared less commonly in nature. Pure silver, like pure gold, is soft and is therefore often alloyed. Though many metals may be used to alloy, copper is preferred because it greatly toughens the silver without distracting from the bright shine of silver. When we speak of pure silver in jewelry, it is 99.9% pure. The mineral usually obtained contains traces of gold, copper, and often some of the rarer metals, depending upon its associations. Because 100% silver is unknown, we have devised a system to measure the purity of silver and other metals.

Native silver

Millesimal fineness is a system of denoting the purity of platinum, gold and silver alloys by parts per thousand of pure metal by mass in the alloy. For example, an alloy containing 75% gold is denoted as “750”. Many European countries use decimal hallmark stamps (i.e. ‘585’, ‘750’, etc.) rather than ’14K’, ’18K’, etc., which is used in the United Kingdom and United States.

Several different silver alloys are used in silver for jewelry fabrication. The most popular are Fine Silver, Sterling Silver, and Argentium Silver.

Fine Silver

100 Ounce Silver Bar

Fine silver is denoted and hallmarked with the numbers 999. This is the purest form of silver used in jewelry making, but it is also very soft and malleable. Sometimes fine silver is used as a plate over sterling silver to add more luster and shine to the metal. All of my silver jewelry pieces are made with fine silver. I may use a small amount sterling silver for a frame, that is often covered with fine silver wire. The use of fine silver in my jewelry increases the value of the finished silver jewelry.

Sterling Silver

Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by mass of silver and 7.5% by mass of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925. Because sterling silver has an added metal in its composition, the silver is harder and more suited to jewelry making that requires a harder metal in the fabrication or technique of the design.

Argentium Silver

Argentium Sterling silver is a modern sterling silver alloy which modifies the traditional alloy (92.5% silver + 7.5% copper) by replacing some of the copper with the metalloid germanium. As it retains the 92.5% silver content of the traditional alloy, it is still referred to as sterling silver. The significant difference is Argentium Sterling is that it is somewhat tarnish resistant.

Silver Jewelry Wired For You

Silver wire, coiled and spooled

I create my artisan jewelry using silver wire with different gauges. I love working with silver as my techniques require a soft metal and great malleability to execute my designs. All my silver jewelry uses sterling silver, fine silver and occasionally, argentium silver wire in the design fabrication. The fine silver is used to produce tiny balls or beads. I also use the fine silver to ‘wrap’ over another sterling silver wire that acts as a mandrel. Finally, those heavy wire swirls and interlocking designs are all created with fine silver because I can manipulate the wire into intricate bends and shapes.

Wired For You by Janice M Wolfe

Unique, hand crafted artisan jewelry in silver, copper and gemstones.

Silver Jewelry: Wired For You