March 20, 2019
KNOWING QUALITY SILVER JEWELRY
Many of your favorite accessories and jewelry are created by indigenous communities from around the world. Fair trade aims to help preserve their traditions and techniques and provide opportunity for sustainability of culture and life. When you purchase fair trade items, you are contributing to the success of these families. Your hand crafted accessories will help our artisans gain self-respect and dignity while making a living wage to afford the essentials such as nutritious food, education, and healthcare.
When you buy fair trade items, you are not only appreciating the skilled work of indigenous cultures that created your new purchase, but also giving opportunity for the marginalized men and women of these developing communities. Your purchase promotes improved living conditions and helps improve communities of our artisans.
When you are shopping for silver jewelry, how do you know you’re buying the finest quality silver? It’s easy to find a good-looking piece of jewelry, but is it quality that comes with the price tag? There are many sellers of silver jewelry, so it can be tough to assess if you are purchasing authentic products. A premium quality piece of silver jewelry is more than just jewelry but made of the finest grade sterling silver. Here are some of the indicators of good quality silver jewelry, so you will be a confident savvy shopper.
Sterling silver is a valuable precious metal, and it is going to reflect in the price of the product. Start by checking out the current market prices for sterling silver and comparison shop for prices. Silver grade and pricing can be a good indicator if the silver is authentic or high quality.
Look for the silver grade specifications or hallmarks. Discretely marked on the jewelry will be a small stamp that has a number. This defines the percentage of silver inside of the jewelry. Fine .999 Silver is the closest metal to the pure element silver. Pure silver is very malleable, meaning it is very soft and easy to bend and is not often used in jewelry. Sterling .925 Silver is the jewelry quality standard in the United States and most world markets. High-quality silver jewelry will have a small percentage of alloy, 7.5% in Sterling Silver .925 for greater durability. The best jewelry still has a small element of other metals such as copper to strengthen the jewelry.
Simple tests can be performed to find out the authenticity of silver, as well. Using a magnet, not just a refrigerator magnet which is weakly magnetized, will help determine this. Real silver is not a magnetic metal and will not react such as nickel or other commonly used metals. In addition, you can rub your silver piece with a clean cloth. If black marks appear, then you have real silver. When exposed to air, real silver oxidizes and creates black marks.
