Sterling Silver is in Fact an Alloy

The dust has officially settled from the gold jewelry era we called the 90s. The entire country was decorated with everything gold. From jewelry to gold plated musical instruments, people were swimming in a sea of yellow! Thankfully, some new metals started trending. One of these such metals is sterling silver. Being an alloy of silver, it is usually 92.5% silver. It is mixed with other metals (like other alloys) to make it more durable and functional. Pure silver is too soft to be used for everyday objects.

You have probably seen and may even own some fine silver from generations past. These beautiful items are usually tea pots, cups and the liking. You may have even noticed that these vintage sets sometimes turn black, or tarnish. Silver does not react with oxygen or water, so if you kept your silver in a pure environment you would not have to polish it. Unfortunately, our world is polluted with byproducts of factories and industrial processes. There is a direct correlation with the purity of the silver and its inclination to tarnish. The other metals used to make the silver durable also react to these environmental components to create a black haze over the beautiful silver.