Interesting facts about silver
Silver is a soft, malleable, shiny white precious metal, slightly cheaper than gold or platinum, for example, and therefore perfect for costume jewelry that you like to have more of in stock to change.
In Austria, the legal fineness for silver jewelry is 925/000 fine.
This means that jewelry must consist of 92.5% fine silver .
The rest is made up of alloy metals, which influence the strength and color of the material as desired.
The world's largest deposits are in Mexico, Canada, the USA, Bolivia and Peru. In 2015, Mexico produced the most silver in the world, with 5,370 tonnes, followed by Peru with 3,850 tonnes. Most of the material is extracted from ores, which often occur together with lead, copper and zinc ores as sulphides or oxides.
Silver has been processed by humans since around the 5th millennium BC and was already extremely popular with the Assyrians, Greeks, Goths, Romans and Egyptians, in some cases even before the rise of the ever-popular gold. Initially more valuable than gold, it was not until 1870 that it was replaced by gold as the currency metal and thus surpassed it in value.
You hear it again and again: maybe you inherited it, maybe you found it in the attic, maybe you forgot it in a box somewhere, it has 'tarnished'. It oxidizes in the air - it reacts with sulphur compounds and the dark sulphide forms. It is therefore important to store the silver correctly: it should be cool and dry, then you can avoid the annoying task of cleaning the good pieces.
This is why silver is often rhodium plated: this is a chemical or galvanic coating with the platinum metal rhodium, which is extremely robust and abrasion-resistant and thus protects the silver.
Silver is often considered a safe choice for people with different skin types, it is versatile, suits different styles and occasions.
Silver jewelry was popular in ancient times and experienced various peaks in popularity, including during the Renaissance and in the 1960s and 1970s during the hippie movement. Today, the jewelry remains a trend due to its versatility and affordability, appealing to people of all ages and worn for both everyday wear and special occasions. The trend may vary by region and time period, but overall it remains in vogue due to its timeless beauty.
