Silver is one of the most popular precious metals to be made into high quality, fashionable jewelry. Beautiful, durable, and affordable, silver jewelry is made and produced around the world. Sterling silver hoop earrings are a classic, yet affordable style of accessory that we often encounter. But there is a lot more to silver than people realize.
Most of the time when we think of silver, we think of the processed metal that makes up most common items like jewelry or silverware. But did you know that silver at its most pure form is can be reduced to a single atom? Look on the periodic table and you’ll see silver listed there, as Ag.
As an element, silver has a lot of special qualities. Out of all of the pure metals, it has the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity. That means silver is one of the shiniest metals you can find! As a result, silver is used for a lot of different things, including solar panels, water purification, photography, electronics, and more. One of its most common uses is for jewelry, coins, and other ornaments.
In fact, silver has been a sought after precious metal throughout history. There’s evidence that silver has been acquired through surface mining as early as 4000 B.C. Since then, silver has long been used as a form of currency alongside gold. Nearly every established nation has used some form of silver coin, with the Chinese empire using it almost exclusively for decades. In Europe and later the US, an obvious status symbol was to use silverware eating utensils to show off your wealth. Silver has always been an important metal. Though its price has decreased quite dramatically in the past century, silver is still considered a precious metal that is often used in making quality jewelry.
Pure silver is very malleable (though not quite as soft as gold), so for most purposes it needs to be mixed in with other metals to strengthen it. These are called silver alloys, and while there are many different kinds, the most common one is sterling silver. This is what is used in most jewelry and coins. Sterling silver is always characterized by the fact that it is 92.5% silver. The other metals mixed in can vary, but as long as the silver content remains the same it is sterling silver. The other 7.5% is usually largely copper, but can also contain varying quantities of germanium, zinc and platinum, silicon or boron. While historically nickel may have been used in sterling silver, these days all authentic sterling silver should contain no nickel. So if you have a nickel allergy, sterling q jewelry is great for you! You can easily verify that your sterling silver is true to its name by looking for a 925 stamp on it. The 925 stamp refers to the 92.5% of silver, just like in 14k yellow gold, it is 58.5% pure gold and is marked 585.
Chemically, silver does not react with oxygen like iron or other metals would. It does react with some other chemicals that are airborne, namely sulfur. So while your silver items may tarnish, it will be slow and steady. It’s easy to keep them in good shape by giving them a quick polish with a soft cloth every now and then. Regularly polished silver will always stay bright and shining.
All of our sterling silver hoop earrings are made from authentic sterling silver. Silver jewelry will always be in style, so buying a quality pair of sterling silver hoop earrings can last you a lifetime! Whether big or small, plan or fancy, we have the perfect pair of silver hoops for you.
