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Silver Jewelry

Silver jewelry makes use of a soft transition metal which is white and lustrous. A transition metal, like all other metals, conducts heat and electricity and is both ductile and malleable. However, they electrons which they use to combine with other elements are present in more than one shell.

Traditionally, silver jewelry is created as an alloy of 7.5% copper and 92.5% silver. This is referred to as sterling or standard silver. The United States requires the use of at least 92.5% fine silver for an alloy to be marketed as silver. The sterling type is harder than pure silver with a lower melting point.

To give sterling silver jewelry a shiny finish, it is often plated with a thin coat of .999 fine silver. The term for this is flashing. For a bright and shiny look, it may be plated with rhodium. It is also coated with gold for that type of appearance.

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