Sterling silver is an excellent choice in estate jewelry. Long lasting,
easy to care for, and so beautiful. Buying estate jewelry sterling
silver can be a lot of fun but it can also be confusing.
Whether you are looking at sterling silver for a gift for that special
someone or looking to add to your own jewelry to make that fashion
statement, it’s important you understand the terms that are used
throughout the industry. Once you understand the terminology you will
be better equipped to choose quality pieces of sterling silver jewelry
and you’ll be able to complete your purchases with a lot more
confidence.
It doesn’t matter whether you are buying on line or at your local
store. It doesn’t matter if you are buying in the USA or Canada or in
Europe or China. The terminology used to describe silver are the same
around the world.
Sterling silver jewelry has always been popular and remains so today.
Sterling silver estate jewelry has also shared it’s time in the
limelight but in recent years its popularity has exploded. That’s
because buyers are looking for something a little more unique than
modern sterling silver can offer. Everyone knows how beautiful sterling
silver is and how durable it is, that’s one of the reasons it’s such a
popular choice. And of course let’s not forget how affordable it is!
Silver has it history into ancient times, but has not survived as well
as gold. Unlike gold which has no ill effects from age and exposure
sterling silver does. It deteriorates over time. Throughout history
sterling silver has experienced bursts of popularity where it was far
more vogue than wearing gold jewelry. Today is one of those periods in
time!
Silver is the most common of all the precious metals. Fine silver is
pure silver but it not commonly used for jewelry because it is way too
soft and bends and breaks far too easily. Instead fine silver is mixed
with copper. 925 parts of silver are mixed with 75 parts of copper
which is just enough copper to firm up the silver to make beautiful
jewelry. This 925 grade is called sterling silver throughout the world
and is recognized as the purest form of silver available for jewelry.
This is the mark you are looking for. Either that or the actual
sterling mark. Both will guarantee you that what you are buying is
sterling silver and not some cheap base metal like nickel which will
wear and look awful very quickly.
Silver has many benefits over gold. It is much lighter weighing about
half as much as gold. It is much more flexible but not as malleable so
it allows for beautiful jewelry creations. Lastly it is much less
expensive yet it will last you your lifetime and probably those of a
couple of more generations. Two exact pieces one in silver and one in
gold. The gold piece will cost 5 to 6 times more than the sterling
silver piece.
Current fashion trends which include a lot of black or dark materials
have added to the popularity of sterling silver as it looks very well
with black. In fact it has much more of a dramatic impact than gold
does.
Silver likes to be worn. It helps keep it shiny and beautiful. Left
hanging for any length of time means you’ll need to polish it to remove
the tarnish. In our fast paced world silver is an excellent choice.
Just as we have wash and wear clothing silver is an excellent grab and
wear style of jewelry.
So the next time you are in the market for some quality sterling silver jewelry be sure to check out estate silver jewelry!
