The malleability of Silver
As Silver is extremely malleable it has helped manufacturers and craftsmen create some stunning pieces of art and jewellery throughout the ages. An illustration of this property is displayed by the incredible detail of this silver bowl outlining the entire history of Cambodia. The bowl is on display in our Drake Circus, Plymouth shop. The uses of silver need not however be confined to jewellery.
The Chemical Composition of Silver jewellery
We stock a wide range of silver jewellery including rings, bangles, necklaces, ear-rings and lockets. In addition our plymouth shops exhibit a large variety of silver pendants, crosses, cuff-links and bracelets.
The silver we use for our jewellery is composed of the purest silver, alloyed with copper in order to strengthen it. The proportion of silver to copper is 92.5% to 7.5% copper. Some items, particularly the gemstone set rings are coated with a layer of rhodium which gives the silver an extra shine reducing the amount of polishing. There are no other metals involved except for very small amounts of iron solder used for welding joints on the larger pieces. No zinc, nickel or other allergy sensitive metals are used.
More about silver jewellery
One of the problems in manufacturing silver jewellery is fire scale or as it sometimes known fire stain. This is a red stain that you can see once copper is mixed with the silver. Coppers melting point is 100C above Silver, so once the temperature during soldering etc is close to silver's melting point the oxygen reacts with the copper to form cuprous oxide and then cupric oxide. Another problem is Porosity in which tiny air bubbles are trapped in the silver as it cools down. To prevent these issues, the temperature is controlled to precise degrees and maintained with a consistency that prevents the formation of air bubbles or fire stain.
The obvious method of identifying an item of jewellery or ornament is by its markings, stamp or hallmark. The silver bowl is marked by its maker which often also indicates the purity of the metal used as well as its age.
The costume jewellery is made from real gemstones. It can be worn as a stand-alone feature or with any item from our range of silver jewellery.
We also stock watches and body jewellery. The body jewellery includes banana bars and navel piercing.
Visit our shops in Plymouth, UK to see our collection of jewellery. For detailed information on how to look after silver jewellery see our section on silver-care.
