Fashion Jewelry

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What About Sterling Silver?

Although we can’t ascertain the origins of the word ’sterling’, when referring to silver, it only means one thing: an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver. This means that sterling includes other metals. Since 92.5% is silver, 7.5% is something else, usually copper.

Like Gold, Silver in its 100% pure form is generally considered too soft for making large or functional items. Silver is usually mixed with copper to make it stronger. Mixing with copper also allows silver to maintain its flexibility without breaking as well as its beauty. One drawback, though, is that adding copper or other metals often cause silver to tarnish. Pure silver does not easily tarnish, but when mixed with copper, silver is found to tarnish much more easily. When silver is mixed or ‘alloyed’ with copper, it is also vulnerable to turning purple in some spots. This is called firestain or firescale. So, some people choose to alloy their silver with germanium, zinc and platinum. Silicon and boron are also used to mix with silver. The most successful, and therefore, the most popular alloy of recent years is called Argentium sterling. It is named after a company in the U.K. that created it. It has been found to be extremely effective in eliminating firescale and the necessity to coat the silver with something to prevent tarnishing.

Oddly enough, the silver itself is not the problem with tarnishing. As the purity of the silver decreases, the tendency to tarnish becomes worse. Chemically, silver is not very reactive—it does not react with oxygen or water at ordinary temperatures, so does not easily tarnish. However, other metals in the alloy, usually copper, may react with oxygen in the air. This reaction has caused the copper Statue of Liberty to turn green. Salt water doesn’t help. Sodium chloride (common table salt) is known to corrode silver-copper alloy, typically seen in silver salt shakers where corrosion appears around the holes in the top.

What about silver jewelry? Nowadays, much silver jewelry is plated or coated with something to prevent and almost completely eliminate tarnish. Beautiful bracelets, rings, necklaces and many other items are available that keep their beautiful silver shine without tarnishing. Sterling silver jewelry is also modestly priced and many pieces can be found that most budgets will allow. So, if you’re looking to own silver jewelry but are concerned about tarnish or firestain, there’s no need for concern. It’s easy to find a large selection of fine jewelry that will maintain their luster for many, many years to come.

Setting Types & Functions

Rings typically come to mind when settings are mentioned. While the prong setting is most frequently used to set gems into rings, jewelers use numerous other methods to set stones into precious metals. In fact, any holder for a gemstone is a setting (mounting).

Precious stones can be mounted into a setting that hangs from a chain to create a pendant, or as a chain to create a necklace. They can be set into a single mounting to create a post earring or alternatively in dangling earrings the gem and its mounting dangle from the earring base. In addition, gemstones can be set into bracelets, brooches, and body jewelry

In fact, every piece of jewelry that contains a gemstone has a setting and the importance of choosing the proper setting for a stone is crucial in fine jewelry design. Along with securely holding the stone in place, the setting is the primary factor in displaying a gemstone’s cut, clarity, and color(s).

Prong Setting

Prong settings gain much of their popularity as the easiest methods of setting a gemstone as well as one of the least expensive. Yet, an additional benefit is that the prong setting allows an optimal amount of light to pass through the stone, displaying the gem at maximum brilliance.

In a prong setting (or “claw” setting) usually four to six talons of precious metal reach around the girdle (side) of the gemstone and arch over its crown (top), snuggly holding the stone in place. Although the visible part of the prongs may be shaped into decorative shapes, more often they’re rounded to avoid catching on other objects and causing damage to either the objects or the prongs.

Bezel Setting

The bezel setting is precisely crafted to embrace a gemstone and hold it securely in place. The bezel is one of the oldest techniques used in gem setting and remains an excellent method to protect both the girdle (middle) and the pavilion (bottom) of a gemstone from chips and scratches.

Old-fashioned bezels generally surround the entire circumference of a stone, but contemporary bezel settings may be split into a variation called the “half bezel”, which only partly encircles the stone. The bezel setting may be straight-edged or shaped to accommodate the cut of the stone and overall design of the jewelry.

Bezel settings are the setting of choice for fragile gemstones such as opal.

Channel Setting

The tennis bracelet is a prime example of the channel setting. In the channel setting, two long bands of precious metal hold multiple gemstones in place, giving them the appearance of floating in the setting since no metal can be seen between the stones.