Silver Jewelry

Silver is a perennially popular metal for jewelry because of its rich lustre and versatility, as well as its affordability compared with platinum and gold. It tends to be used for more informal jewelry and with semiprecious or synthetic rather than natural precious stones. Silver cufflinks and signet rings are popular alternatives to gold for men.

Silver has been part of the human experience for thousands of years and has a time-honored place in myth and legend. It is the metal associated with the moon and is believed to resist enchantment and repel vampires. It has a long history of use in ethnic jewelry and is the most common metal used in Native American jewelry, where it is decorated with turquoise and coral and other semiprecious stones. It has been used for many years to make Celtic jewelry with the famous knotwork design, so beautifully demonstrated in rings and brooches and sometimes enhanced with enamel work. Ornate silver jewelry from India and the Middle East is available in stores specializing in imported goods.

Like gold, silver is a soft, malleable metal and is often mixed with other metals to increase hardness and durability. Pure silver can be used to create the most intricate and expensive jewelry, but most jewelry is made from sterling silver (92.5% silver and 7.5% other metal, usually copper). High-quality silver jewelry should be stamped with a fineness mark which states the percentage of silver in the metal and a maker's mark to identify the manufacturer.

Unlike gold, silver reacts chemically with many substances and with air. This can result in a black tarnish, usually caused by silver sulfide. To avoid tarnishing, it is advisable to store silver jewelry in special chemically treated bags when it is not being worn. Tarnish can be removed with a silver polish, which reacts with the black substance to remove it from the jewelry. However, a minor amount of tarnishing, which results in an antique-appearing finish to the jewelry, is often considered desirable.

Even though silver jewelry is quite affordable, silver-plated jewelry, consisting of a thin layer of silver bonded to a cheap base metal, is also available. While not as desirable as sterling, silver-plated jewelry brings silver within the budget of many more people. Silver-plated jewelry must be treated carefully to avoid having the thin silver layer peel away and expose the base metal underneath it. If silver-plated jewelry contains gemstones, they are almost certain to be synthetic or simulant stones, not genuine precious or even semiprecious stones.

The affordability of silver and silver-plated jewelry, as well as the availabilty of a wide variety of exotic ethnic jewelry, makes silver a popular choice for young people. However, sterling silver is a favorite metal for top jewelry designers, and the versatility of the metal makes it a perfect medium for designers to express their most creative instincts. Silver jewelry covers the spectrum from sophisticated to outrageous and is great fun to wear.