About Silver

Pure silver is too soft to create durable jewelry, so it’s mixed with other metals to enhance it’s strength and endurance. One popular silver mixture (known as an alloy) is called sterling silver.

When creating a sterling silver alloy, the minimum silver content can also be stated as 925 parts per thousand of pure silver, so you might see the figures 925 or 92.5 used to designate silver content. Copper is the metal most commonly used to make up the remaining 7.5 percent content of a sterling silver mix. Copper makes the silver harder, but gives it a tendency to tarnish, a darkening that occurs when sterling silver reacts with gases in the air or with other substances that it comes in contact with.