If you have silver jewelry, it is very likely that more than once you have noticed the inscription "925" somewhere on it. The truth is that 925 silver is increasingly used in jewelry. That's why we at Planderful will tell you everything you need to know about one of the most popular materials for jewelry.
What is 925 silver?
925 Silver is a precious metal widely used in jewelry manufacturing. Pure silver is a fairly malleable material that needs the alloying of other secondary materials to make jewelry pieces strong and suitable for use. It is practically impossible to buy a 100% silver jewelry piece, as it is too soft to be used in jewelry.
In the case of 925 silver, it is composed of 925 thousandths of silver and 75 thousandths of copper, which is the same as saying that 92.5% of the piece is pure silver and 7.5% copper. The pieces with this proportion are considered sterling silver for their quality and characteristics and are among the best in the market.
We can also find 950, 900, and 800 silver jewelry, but the best known is 925 silver, the most used in jewelry. Other examples are 999 silver, used in the manufacture of coins.
Why is pure silver not good for our jewelry?
Silver is a metal found in nature, it is quite malleable, soft, and shiny once polished. It is a metal that allows alloying (combining with other metals), which makes it easy to work with and create objects and jewelry with it. In order to use silver in handcrafts, it is necessary to combine it (alloy) with other metals.
Silver is a soft, white, lustrous, precious transition metal. Silver has the best and highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. This metal is found in the earth's crust in pure elemental form. While more abundant than gold, silver is much less abundant as a native metal.
The main use of silver, other than coinage, is for the manufacture of jewelry and other general-purpose items, which remains one of the most important uses today. Pure silver is not used in jewelry. If we were to use pure silver to create jewelry, it would be deformed and at the slightest touch, it would be marked. That is why pure silver is mixed with other metals, such as copper, to give it hardness, while maintaining a high degree of silver.
The silver considered the purest is also the one that can be more easily damaged, and this is due to its composition. Mixing it with other materials guarantees silver a good resistance since its purest state is too malleable. In fact, silver pieces in their finest or purest state are not composed entirely of silver but have 99.9% silver and a portion of copper.
Copper is silver's best ally
As we have already mentioned, copper is the right material to mix with silver and achieve those jewels that we like so much. Although other metals have been used to mix 925 silver, copper has proved to be the best combination component, as it improves the resistance and increases the durability of the piece.
In addition, a very important factor of copper is that it does not affect or change the original color of the silver. However, it can minimally affect the value of the piece but increases its composition and strength.
This type of composition is the reason why it is so common in jewelry and so important, but be aware that fake 925 silver can be sold. To find out if it is a fake product, read on and find out how to detect that your jewelry is 925 silver.
Source: https://aide-memoire-jewelry.helpscoutdocs.com/article/38-gold-alloys
The 925 silver hallmark
When a piece of jewelry is manufactured, the master jeweler has the possibility to go to a certified laboratory that will be in charge of certifying that the manufactured piece meets the requirements to be considered 925 silver. This means that it has the right proportion of pure silver and copper. When a laboratory tests the piece, it punches the piece indicating the degree of purity of the piece.
You will find the contrast stamp in two ways: either on the piece itself if the surface of the piece allows it, or on a small plate with the contrast. In addition, all pieces are also stamped with the DM mark indicating that they are originals of the corresponding brand. Therefore, you will be certified that your jewelry is made of 925 sterling silver.
Source: https://www.full-silver.com/product/925-sterling-silver-necklace-flat-square-link
How to recognize sterling silver
At first glance, it is difficult to know if the jewelry you have bought really has a percentage of silver that indicates 925 sterling silver or if it is a fake. Here are some tips to find out if you got it right:
- Look for the 925 hallmarks. If the jewelry has been hallmarked, the lab stamps the piece or attaches a plate if the piece does not have enough surface area to stamp.
- Be wary of very low prices. Silver is a precious metal. Nobody is going to offer you a 925 sterling silver ring for 2€, because the material alone is worth more than that, and nobody sells to lose money.
- The smell of silver. You can smell your jewel to know if you are in front of a genuine silver jewel. Silver does not emit any odor, so if your jewelry smells like metal, be suspicious.
- The magnet test on silver. Bring a magnet close to your jewelry, if it sticks to the magnet strongly it means that it has a large amount of metal. Silver has a very weak magnetism, therefore, it hardly has to stick to the magnet.
- Do the nitric acid test. If you throw a drop of nitric acid on a real 925 silver jewelry, nothing will happen to it. On the other hand, if nitric acid touches a piece made of another material, it will leave a mark.
If this article interested you, feel free to visit Planderful's website and discover our jewelry.
