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Sterling Silver Information
When you think about buying jewelry, you probably imagine that buying something nice that doesn’t turn your skin green is going to set you back a pretty penny. It doesn’t have to be that way. Consider sterling silver jewelry. It’s the most-popular precious metal for creating jewelry because it is so affordable. Unlike gold and platinum, which were sold in the $900 to $1200 per ounce range in July 2009 (just for the metal itself), silver sold for around $13 an ounce.
Being less costly doesn’t mean silver is any less beautiful than other precious metals. In fact, platinum is often mistaken for silver, so why pay $1200 an ounce for platinum when $13 an ounce sterling silver has the same effect on people?
What Sterling Silver Is
Sterling silver may sound like some special type of silver, but it really is not. It is simply a way of identifying the grade of silver just as 14 karats, 18 karats and 24 karats are used to identify grades of gold.
Sterling silver is an alloy made of 92.5 percent silver with the other 7.5 percent usually being copper. Pure silver is too soft to create durable jewelry. Adding the copper to the silver gives it strength and durability while keeping the beautiful silver color. The drawback is that the added copper gives the silver a tendency to tarnish.
Other silver grades include Britannia silver that is 95.8 percent silver and fine silver that is 99.9 percent pure.
Where the Sterling Comes From
So if sterling silver is, in essence, silver, why is it called sterling? No one is quite sure. Sterling silver has been used to create beautiful jewelry for centuries and during much of that time, silver alloys that are 92.5 percent silver have been called sterling silver. The origins of the name have been lost over the years, though there are a few theories.
The name was being used regularly in England by the 13th Century to describe an alloy that was 92.5 percent silver. The name would have developed over the years leading up to that century.
One explanation of the word came from an old Oxford English Dictionary that said the word was derived from the Middle English word for the small stars on early Norman pennies. The Old English word for this was steorling.
One of the earliest explanations for the word is that it is derived from Easterling Silver. Easterling Silver is believed to have referred to a grade of silver from the Easterling area of Germany. The currency in this region was 92.5 percent silver.
Some have suggested that sterling is derivative of starling since some coinage in 12th and 13th century England had bird marks on them. This theory is usually considered unlikely since the word for starling at the time was staer, thus many believe that it is unlikely someone turned that word into sterling.
Silver’s Appeal to Jewelers
Because silver is affordable, jeweler’s can buy the raw materials to work with relatively cheaply. Then depending on his or her ability, a silver piece can be marked up with a far greater percentage than gold or platinum while still being cheaper overall than either one. This creates a greater profit margin for a jeweler.
Silver is also a versatile material to work with. The alloy is very malleable and it has a lower melting point than pure silver. Jewelers have created chains, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pendants, and more with sterling silver. A jeweler who wants to express his or creativity will be able to do so using silver.
Silver’s Appeal to Customers
Sterling silver is eye catching. Its white luster stands out from other metals and jewels. Since most everyone has a skin tone that is darker than silver, the metal stands out beautifully when worn against the skin.
Sterling silver can also develop a patina, which has been described as a glow with a darkened area. This develops with well-worn jewelry and many people enjoy this look. For those who don’t, sterling silver can be polished to return it to its original luster.
Expensive metals like gold and platinum tend to be worn only on formal occasions. There also tends not to be a lot of the metal in the designs unless the wearer is quite wealthy. However, silver has developed into jewelry that is appropriate for formal and casual occasions. The jewelry designs also tend to focus more on making a visual impact that will attract attention.
Probably the most-important factor is that sterling silver is highly affordable. You don’t need to be wealthy to be able to purchase an attractive silver piece.
Sell Silver For Cash
Why Cash4Gold Buys Silver
From a company with a name like Cash4Gold, you wouldn’t expect that we buy silver and silver jewelry, but we do. We aren’t buying it for its beauty, though. We buy sterling silver jewelry for the “melt value” or the value of the metals once the piece is melted down.
We buy silver jewelry and then separate the silver from the other metals at our own refinery. We are one of the largest refiners of precious metals in the country. It also means we don’t have to pay a middleman to refine the metals like many other companies do. At our refinery, we separate the silver from the other metals and sell the pure silver.
At Cash4Gold, we are committed to making the sale of your broken jewelry as easy as possible. The process is done through mail and e-mail with a customer service staff who are committed to not only buying your sterling silver, but helping you understand how we use it. Our website gives you 24/7 access to information and resources for selling your broken jewelry.
Sell Silver For Cash
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