What is Sterling Silver & how is it marked on jewelry?
First, let me say that all of the work shown on my website is made of sterling silver. Sterling Silver is made of an alloy of fine silver and (usually) copper. There is a new generation of sterling silver that offers a different alloy combination, but I still use the traditional alloy of fine silver and copper. When jewelry is made from at least 925 parts out of 1000 of fine silver, it is Sterling Silver. You will sometimes see sterling silver jewelry stamped with the numbers 925. This again is referring to the piece of jewelry containing at least 925/1000 parts of fine silver. I prefer to stamp my work with “925” because it takes up less space than “Sterling Silver.” Very occasionally when there is detailed carving all around a design, I may not stamp the piece to preserve the integrity of the detail. Items made from less than 925/1000 but more than 900/1000 of fine silver, is called coin silver. If the item is less than 900/1000 fine silver it cannot be represented as silver in the U
