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925 Sterling Silver Jewelry
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925 Sterling Silver Jewelry has been quietly undergoing an evolution.|
People who say: 'You can't live with them. You can't live without them', are probably talking about 925 sterling silver jewelry. |
Our love-hate relationship with 925 sterling silver jewellery leads to research and awareness of different attempts to solve the problem of silver tarnish.
A revolution has materialized that may end all previous evolutions or redirect them.
A little background knowledge is helpful to understand this technological breakthrough.
The Silver Odyssey
Silver is the most common of the precious metals. Just like Gold, Silver in its pure form is seldom used for jewellery because it is too soft. And as with Gold, the way to harden Silver is to add in another metal or even a few metals to form an alloy.
In early years, silversmiths experimented with different metals and through trial and error discovered copper to be the best metal to alloy with silver.
By forming an alloy that is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper, the new breed of silver provides durability and strength while preserving a high precious metal content. It also enhances the bright sheen of natural silver.
This enhanced form of silver alloy was set as a standard by the British around 1300 A.D. and its association with the sterling pound led to the term 'Sterling Silver'.
Terminology wise, Sterling Silver is the same as 925 Silver or 925 Sterling Silver. They all refer to this established standard - 92.5% of the alloy is pure Silver.
Metal Chemistry
Chemically, silver is not very reactive. Silver does not tarnish or form a silver oxide in air or water easily. However, it does react with sulfur compounds in the air and our sweat to form black silver sulfide.
Copper, on the other hand, is a reactive element and tarnishes or form copper oxides easily.
When Sterling Silver tarnishes, it is mainly the copper portion that is
responsible.
If the purity of the silver decreases, the problem of tarnishing worsens.
For this reason, it is recommended that silver jewellery is sterling at a minimum - the silver content should be no less than 92.5%.
Lawfully, Sterling Silver or 925 Silver requires a 92.5% silver content. The other 7.5% metal content is at the discretion of the manufacturer.
In recent years, manufacturers have been 'playing around' with the other 7.5% content of Sterling Silver. Introducing various metal combinations to alter the traditional properties of Sterling Silver - in an attempt to improve it, of course.
Copper in Sterling Silver is gradually replaced with zinc, cadmium, magnesium, germanium, boron, silicon and platinum to end firescale, lower casting porosity and improve tarnish resistance.
This development has caused the familiar 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry to become non-standard in behavior and properties. Some are better than others.
A New Standard
A New Breed of 925 Sterling Silver Jewellery
I guess it has to happen.
Look at how Science and Technology advances and accelerates in all areas of life.
How could 925 Sterling Silver Jewelery simply stay problematic and irritating?
Well, someone did it!
Someone invented Non-tarnish Sterling Silver!
In this new breed of Sterling Silver, part of the new 7.5% alloy combo forms a colourless oxide on the surface and it acts as a barrier to further oxidation. The silver stays tarnish free.
This new invention - Non-tarnish Sterling Silver exhibits many improvements over traditional Sterling Silver but what matters most to you and me is that it stays beautiful and bright for years without polishing!
All that is required is light dusting and an occasional wipe with a soft cloth.
If tarnish does occur, it takes the form of a very light yellow film and all you need to do is rinse it with mild soap under tap water. No more stinky chemical baths!
This development is new but it will definitely impact 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry like never before. It is only a matter of how quickly this happens.
Agalil's Reaction
We are ecstatic over the discovery of Non-tarnish Sterling Silver. Agalil has taken the very extreme decision to end all past, current and future projects and designs of traditional 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry.
We shall fully embrace the new era of Non-Tarnish Sterling Silver. We will
only design 925 Sterling Silver Jewellery out of Non-Tarnish Sterling Silver and
nothing else.
However, we are sorry to announce that Non-Tarnish Sterling Silver comes in limited options at the moment.
The invention is patented and it is not widely popularized to encourage a widespread manufacturing activity of jewelery parts.
Agalil introduces Non-Tarnish Sterling Silver in two forms:
- solid silver
- as a plating
The plated form is no slouch. It is not like any silver plating we have come across. Not only is it non-tarnish, it withstands abrasion extraordinarily well.
Many customers told us they don't see the need to get the real thing. It is that good.
Description wise, please note the difference;
- Non-Tarnish Sterling Silver
- Non-Tarnish Sterling Silver (plated)
Yes, that is a risk of mistaken identity. We are going to further set them apart by teaming solid silver with semi-precious stones and plated silver with other kinds of beads. There will be differences in the prices too, naturally.
If you need more cues to tell them apart, let us know. We'll think of something.
At the moment, Non-Tarnish Sterling Silver (plated) jewelry is available as Agalil Rings and Agalil Toe Rings. (links)
Other Outstanding 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry
As Non-Tarnish Sterling Silver jewelry will only come in limited form for quite awhile, we can't just wait and stop wearing silver jewellery.
There are other outstanding ranges of 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry.
One of our favourite is a range of handcrafted sterling 925 silver Jewelry that offers protection from tarnish agents through a patented tough protective coating.
This very tough anti-tarnish material applied throughout the silver jewelry is able to prevent loss of shine for a very long time.
We call them 'Protected Sterling Silver Jewelry'. Currently, we have:
Protected Sterling Silver Rings
Protected Sterling Silver Earrings
Protected Sterling Silver Pendants
Protected Sterling Silver Charms
Protected Sterling Silver Toe Rings
Protected Sterling Silver Dolphin Bracelets and Others
Protected Sterling Silver Anklets
Besides the ability to offer a cutting edge solution to silver jewelry turning black, aren't the jewelry designs beautiful?
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Aren't you glad to be living in this age?
925 Sterling Silver Jewelry has come good and stopped being a pain!
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