Glossary - Silver

GLOSSARY/DICTIONARY

This small jewelry dictionary will help you understand terms about silver jewelry like silver types and mixes. Thanks to it you will know how to choose silver products and how to safely buy silver in internet.

Silver standards - standards of silver that guarantee the minimum content of silver in various silver alloys. The most international silver standards accepted by most UE countries and many others are:

 - 925 silver - also called sterling silver
 - 800 silver - also called jewellery silver

What are these number for?

These numbers establish how much pure silver contains 1000 grams of a finished product. For example '925 silver' means that pure silver makes up at least 925 grams of each 1000 grams of finished product (the alloy contains 92.5% of pure silver).


Hallmark silver - Hallmark is a symbol or series of symbols stamped on a silver article to denote that it conforms to legal standards that define the maximum proportion of base metals that may be alloyed with pure  silver for hardening or other purposes.


Sterling silver - silver alloy which has fineness of at least 925. The alloy contains al least 925 grams of silver and up to 75 grams of other metals (normally copper) in 1000 grams of finished product (silver makes up at least 92.5% of the content). One of the most popular alloys in jewelry because of its hardness.


Fineness - the proportion of silver in silver alloys. Parts of silver per thousand of the alloy. For example sterling silver has fineness of 925.


Jewelry silver - is an alloy containing 80 percent of silver and 20 percent of copper (800 fine). Fine silver  or pure silver or 999 silver (sometimes also called 1000 silver). Silver not mixed with other metals. There is no 1000 silver in the world, even pure silver always contains particles of other metals.


Coin silver - Alloy of silver which has a fineness of at least 900. The alloy contains 900 grams of silver and 100 grams of other metals (normally copper) in 1000 grams of made product.


Britannia silver - alloy of silver which has a fineness of at least 958, which means the alloy contains 958 grams of silver and 42grams of other metals (normally copper) in 1000grams of finished product.


Mexican silver - Alloy of silver which has fineness of at least 950. The alloy contains 950 grams of pure silver and 50 grams of other metals (normally copper) in 1000 grams of finished product (silver makes up at least 95% of total content).


German silver - there is often confusion about German silver. Two different metal alloys are referred to as German silver. The first one is also called nickel silver - an alloy of metals with appearence similar to silver but  it does NOT contain any silver, widely used in jewellery making in South America.
The second one is a silver alloy also called Egyptian silver or 800 silver -  the alloy of silver which has fineness of at least 800  (the silver makes up at least 80% of the product).


Tibetan silver - also know as Tibetan alloy. Traditional Tibetan alloy of copper, zinc and other metals (does not contain any nickel nor lead). In the past, Tibetan alloy contained more or less 30% of silver but nowadays it does not contain any silver or it contains minimum percentage of silver. That's why on our site we prefer to use Tibetan alloy term instead of Tibetan silver - to avoid confusion and to make clear that it does not contain silver. Normally Tibetan alloy does not produce allergy, except in people allergic to zinc.



Bali silver, Indian silver - this term is used for three different things:

1. Metal alloy which contains small percentage of silver in total product, for example 70% or 60% or less, depending on the producer.
2. Typical jewellery style and design from Bali island. But in this case normally the "Bali motifs" or "Bali style jewellery" term is used.
3. The place in which the product was made. The place of origin. Normally the jewellery made from 925 silver on Bali island or in India and not always decorated with typical Bali motifs.
When buying Bali silver you should always make sure that the product is made of sterling silver to avoid confusions.