The Silver Stud Earring

Silver as a metal is too soft to make into jewelry. It must be mixed with other metals or alloyed to make it harder and an appropriate substance for creating solid shapes.

1) Fine Silver is 99.9% silver and .1% of another harder metal.

2) Sterling Silver is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper.

3) Argentium Silver is available in two different grades. One of 93.2% silver and the other of 96%. The balance of the metal composition is made up of copper and germanium.

4) Nickel Silver does not have any silver in it at all. It is composed of 60% copper, 20% nickel, and 20% zinc.

5) Silver Plated is simply a very thin layer of silver fused to the outer layer of some other less expensive metal. It’s not long lasting or durable.

6) Silver Filled is also a plating but it contains 5 to 10% of silver and it is bonded to the metal making up the jewelry’s composition.

7) Tribal Silver is made up of different alloys and may or may not actually contain any silver. It just has the look of silver.

8) Coin Silver is exceedingly rare today. It is similar in value with Sterling silver as it was once composed of silver coins melted down. Now, it simply means if you buy a pair of silver stud earrings made from it that the metal is 90% pure silver.