Jewelers usually don't use pure silver for crafting ornaments. This is because the purest form of this metal is extremely soft, ductile and malleable. It's true that giving soft metals different shapes is much easier than shaping a hard metal, but softer metals get scratched easily. So, they are never the first choice when it comes to picking raw materials of ornaments. Jewelries made from pure silver although very expensive, wear fast. You will see them turning black only after using them once or twice. Thus jewelers had to find a way that would allow them to make jewelries from this precious metal more durable and resistant to wear and tear.
This quest of the jewelers resulted in discovery of a material called '925' silver. It is basically an alloy containing 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper. The other name used for this alloy is sterling silver. Read on to know more about the alloy. Besides being used for crafting ornaments, this alloy is also used for making coins, household accessories and flatware.
How will you know that you are buying a '925' jewelry? Identifying items made from this sturdy alloy is extremely easy. Every piece made from it will have either 'ster', 'sterling' or '925' engraved on it. However, still you should test the product well before purchasing it. This is because there are some retailers who claim to sell 925 jewelries, but actually provide customers with pieces made from alloys containing less than 92.5% pure silver. For testing the metal, first you will have to scuff an inconspicuous area of the piece.
Now, put 1 or two drops of nitric acid to the scuffed area; if it is not a '925' jewelry, the treated area will turn black or green. On the other hand, if the piece is made from sterling silver, the scuffed area will get a cream color. You will never need to carry out such tests if the items are purchased form reliable and esteemed jewelers or stores.
One question that must surely be bothering you is how to take care of these ornaments, particularly if you have no prior experience of using any such piece. As these jewelries contain a combination of pure silver and copper, they get tarnished easily. The only way of preventing tarnishing of these attractive pieces is by keeping them in specially treated containers/bags; these bags are instrumental in delaying tarnishing of '925' ornaments. Almost every top retailer offering these pieces provides buyers with such bags.
Are you wondering what you should do with ornaments that have already been tarnished? Making these pieces tarnish free will not make you work hard. You will only need to have the cloth specially made for cleaning sterling silver (most stores selling jewelries will have it in their collection). Rub the tarnished areas of the ornament gently with the cloth to get rid of stains. Resources: http://925silvers.net/ http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Is-925-SilverJewelry?&id=8103444
Thank you for reading my presentation, I hope it's been helpful to you!