Silver Alloys:
FINE
SILVER, straight from the refiners, is 99.9% pure silver and 0.1%
impurities left after the refining process. This is known as 'fine 999', as it
contains 999 parts per thousand pure silver. Fine silver is generally
considered to be
too soft for a jewellery metal. So, it is usually 'alloyed', or mixed, with
copper to make it more durable, ductile and malleable. The most well known standard of silver
alloy is
Sterling Silver, which has been the standard for jewellery in Europe and
particularly Britain since the 14th century. STERLING SILVER contains 925
parts of pure silver, and 75 parts copper in every 1000 parts of the metal.
Hence 'stg. 925'.
In some parts of the world though, the percentage of silver can be much
lower. Silver which comes from Mexico, Southern America and particularly India
often contains only 800 or 875 parts of pure silver per thousand. These grades
are alloyed with nickel rather that copper to preserve the white colour
in the finished product. There is nothing wrong with NICKEL-SILVER. It makes
little difference to the appearance, and it can mean the finished product is more
durable and less expensive.
Properties of Silver:
scientific symbol : Ag
atomic number : 47
atomic weight : 107.87
Silver is a very reflective metal.
When highly polished it
reflects 95% of all the light that falls on to its surface, making it the most
reflective of all metals. It is a 'noble' metal, which resists corrosion and is
not easily attacked by acids. However, it will react with sulphur, (in the air
and in our bodies) and can tarnish. These oxides, or tarnish can be easily
removed by using one of a range of proprietary silver cleaners and polishes.
Silver has a specific gravity is 10.49, which makes
it a light metal (in comparison with gold, for example). This, combined with it's
non-reactive properties, means silver is a particularly good metal to use to
make large domestic items such as trays, tea and coffee pots, tankards,
cutlery etc. When alloyed, silver is also very malleable and ductile. It can be beaten into
thin sheets or drawn into wires, which makes it ideal for use as jewellery.
Its ability to be bent, stretched and shaped without any tendency to crack
explains it's use in some of the most delicate pieces of jewellery.
Origins of Silver:
Silver was one of the first metals to be used by human beings. It is
thought that during the Stone Age little pieces of silver that had melted in
the campfire or in the forests in the path of a bush fire were found and used
for decoration and primitive jewellery. Early civilisations associated the
brilliant white of silver with the moon and the goddess Diana. But, by the
third century BC silver was being mined and refined in the East for extensive
use in artefacts and in some very beautiful jewellery indeed.
By classical Greek and Roman times silver had become an
important trading commodity. A large caravan trade developed with India for
the supply of silver to the aristocrats of Greece and Rome. Later the caravan
routes were replaced by sea routes around the Cape of Good Hope which were
much safer and less subject to plunder and robbery. Large amounts of silver
flowed into Europe over many centuries. However, when the Spanish occupied the
Americas in the 1500's huge deposits of silver were discovered in Bolivia,
Mexico and Peru and exported to Europe. Mexico and Peru are still the largest
producers of silver in the world.
Today Australia is also a large producer of silver. Broken Hill, in
particular, has a long and colourful history as a centre for silver mining and
in its hey-day was known as the 'Silver City'. Originally silver was found as
a by product of mining for other metals such as copper, lead and zinc and the
production of silver is often still a by-product of the bulk mining and
refining of these other metals.
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