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Sndgems jewelry guides are easy to use, interesting and helpful guide to buying jewelry onle. Our jewelry guides are indispensable guide to judging jewelry characterstics, distinguishing genuine from imitation, making wise choices, useful to all type of consumers, from professional jewelry to online searchers. Our diamond guides help everyone in viewing diamonds as gemologists, diamond experts, diamond dealers, experienced lapidaries, diamond buyers and online customers. Our diamond guides dissects each aspect of diamond value in detail with a wealth of diamond grading information. Our gemstone guides help everyone in viewing colored gemstones as gemologists, gem dealers, experienced lapidaries, gem buyers and online customers. Our gemstone guides dissects each aspect of ruby, sapphire, ruby value in detail with a wealth of gemstone grading information. Our guides offers step-by-step instructions for how to examine and judge the quality and craftsmanship and materials even if you dont know anything about jewelry. If you're thinking of buying jewelry online this guide is a best place to start. Our guides will help you to know about jewelry details such as finishes, settings, flaws and fakes. Our guides cover diamonds, gemstones, jewelry craftsmanship, treatments, diamond and gems sources, appraisals. There is something for everyone.
Sterling Silver - A brief look into its
History & Buying Guide
Silver is the traditional gift for a 25th
anniversary and is called the Queen of Metals. It has been associated with the
moon in many cultures across the world as gold is associated with the sun. Both
these metals have symbolized nwealth and prosperity and are said to intensify
the spiritual and healing powers of a gemstone. Pure Silver like pure gold and
platinum is too soft for most jewelry use so it is often mixed with other
metals. Copper is generally preffered because it improves the metal`s hardness
and durability without detracting from the bright shine characteristics of
silver. Sterling silver is the alloy most commonly used in jewelry making and it
consists of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. It was adopted as a standard alloy in
England in the 12th century. Usually sterling silver is identified
with its fineness marking of 925. Other acceptable markings are “Ster”, “
Sterling ”, and Sterling Silver”. Another common alloy that contains 10% to
20% copper is called coin Silver. In Europe alloys with 80%, 83%
and 87.5% are also used and is called the European or continental Silver. In the
Far East popular alloy is 90% silver and 10% zinc.
Today Peru , Mexico , Australia , China , Poland ,
Canada , former USSR and United States are the leading producers of Silver. The
primary sources of silver are its recovery as a by product from lead, copper,
gold or zinc production. Some of the world`s top designers still use silver to
design their prestigious jewelry. Most craft jewelry is made from Silver. Many
jewelers prefer silver over gold due to a number of reasons like. Silver is the
most reflective metal; it even outshines gold. It is incredibly affordable, and
there are no karats to consider. Silver's white color is flattering to all skin
tones and it enjoys a greater flexibility than gold, moving from casual wear to
chic glamour easily. The major disadvantage of silver is that it tarnishes.
Tarnish resistant silver is available but is its supply is limited and is very
expensive. Almost ten percent more than sterling silver. In 1990
Peter Johns, a silversmith discovered that the addition of germanium to silver
could make it resistant to tarnish and fire stain. The tarnish free silver is
patented and sold under the name” Argentium”. Other tarnish resistant alloys
have been created by replacing the 7.5 % copper in sterling silver with
materials such as platinum, silicon or nickel. Another way to make silver
tarnish free is to plate it with rhodium. This plated silver costs less but
plating can wear away. The resulting exposed metal can tarnish.
The beginnings of silver is unknown in History. No
one knows exactly when it began to be used in jewelry designing or for the
construction of household items. Around 3000 BC there are records of intense
efforts to mine silver. By 3100 BC, ambassadors from Crete brought gifts of
silver vases to the pharaohs of Egypt , where the metal was closely tied to the
goddess Isis. The Chinese are said to have improved on refining the silver
around 2500 BC. Greece had rich silver mines and was one of the major producer
of silver. In Greek mythology, both Apollo and his twin sister Artemis carried
silver bows they had been given at birth. Later Spain emerged as the leading
producer of silver.
During the 19th century due to
development of new technologies Silver Jewelry became more affordable.
Electroplating was invented. Tiffany and Company began producing Silverware in
New York in the mid 1850s. In England , Queen Victoria ’s fashion styles
dictated fashion in almost every aspect. She started the revival of ancient
Celtic motifs in jewelry design that began in the middle of the century and at
the end of the 19th Century, she started the aesthetic period, wherein fashions
in Silver jewelry began to move away from the mass produced pieces that were
prevalent at the beginning of the industrial revolution. This trend lasted till
her death in 1901. During the time of Queen Victoria sterling silver rings were
used with precious stones and emblems and are very rare and their designs mimic
Greek and Egyptian designs. Japanese royalty began wearing Shibuichi jewelry
during this period. Nevada ’s Virginia City enjoyed the boom days of the
Comstock Lode in the 1860s and 1870s, during which the mine produced millions of
dollars worth of Silver. The Mayflower Silver mine in Nevada was discovered in
the 1890s. During the 19th century many more mines were discovered in
Australia , Central America , Europe , Canada , Africa , Mexico , Chile and
Japan . Mining techniques too saw a lot of advancement making it easy to exploit
larger volume of ores that contained silver.
Nineteenth-century silver manufacturers had placed
great emphasis on industrialization and modern manufacturing techniques, but the
early years of the 20th century saw a move to widen the gulf between artist and
industrialist. The Arts & Crafts Movement, which saw its beginnings in
Europe spread quickly across the Atlantic putting emphasis on the individual
craftsman. The movement saw the important role that craft can play in the
“humanizing” of society. The workers in this tradition inspired taking the
silversmith back to role of artisan. The period between the World Wars brought
about great stylistic changes, with the introduction of “Modernism”, later
termed the “Art Deco” style. With the beginning of the 21st century, these
objects too are finding their place in museums and private collections.
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