Silver is the commonest of the precious metals. Fine silver is pure silver, which is seldom used for jewelry because it is too soft. Sterling silver is 925 parts silver to 75 of copper, the alloy most often used. Silver weighs about half as much as gold, has greater flexibility, but is not as malleable, it has always been less expensive as well. A comparable piece of gold jewelry might cost four or five times that of a piece of sterling silver jewelry.
The current fashion trend toward black clothing has made silver jewelry more popular than ever. Silver likes to be worn; it stays cleaner & shinier through movement and friction. So sterling silver is a perfect accessory for today's fast paced lifestyles. Much like gold, sterling silver needs to be cleaned.
The popularity for silver jewelry is still growing. There are several reasons for this. First, the price. Compared to gold or platinum, silver is a fraction of the price. For young people without a lot of money to spend, this gives them a variety of choices without sacrificing style.
Because sterling silver is so popular to all types of people, there is a huge market for it. Owning a silver jewelry business can be very profitable because silver is something that will never go out of style. Even better is the fact that you can find wholesale silver retailers that will sell you the jewelry in bulk for extremely affordable prices.
Silver is a very versatile metal and can be used in many creative ways in silver jewelry design. Silver is a popular material for jewelry because it can durable and can be finished in many different ways. It can have a shiny finish and almost made to sparkle. Or it can have a mat finish with dark tones. The actual color of the metal varies dependant on the alloys used when it is produced. Rarely is jewelry made from pure silver. Silver jewelry is commonly made with a percentage of other material added to the silver. This will affect the value of the piece. Some alloys used may even cause skin discoloration if the percentage is too high.
Silver has been used since ancient times, but has not survived as well as ancient gold because it tarnished and decomposes. There have been times, however, when silver was "in"; we are going through such a vogue today.
Sterling silver is used to make everything from engagement rings to men's watches. You can find it combined with precious and semi-precious stones or just by itself. It is a higher quality silver and that means that it will last a much longer time.
