Silver is the most common precious metal in everyday life. Almost everyone has one or two pieces of silver jewelry, such as silver earrings, silver bracelets, etc. These silver ornaments can be purchased by themselves or gifted by elders. Silver has many good connotations, there is a saying: “gold locks wealth, silver keeps safe”. But when you are wearing it, did you find a secret: there are soft and hard silver.
Speaking of soft silver, one can’t help but think of four words, called “gold and silver soft” – refers to gold, silver, silk and other valuables. Moreover, with the heat of costume dramas in recent years, there are more and more scenes using silver for trading. Everyone will take a bite on the silver spindle. If it can bite a tooth print, it proves that the silver spindle is genuine. Don’t think this is a stupid move, this move is scientific! Because in ancient times, the softer the texture of silver, the higher its purity; the harder the texture, the more impurities it incorporates. All of these have invisibly deepened our impression that “silver is soft and soft silver is genuine.”
In fact, this criterion was reasonable in ancient times, but it is very ridiculous now because of the development of jewelry technology. Nowadays, silver gnn jewelry have both soft and hard! So now the “soft silver” we call is generally referred to sterling silver! As we all know, there is no silver in the world with 100% silver. Pure silver can be divided into three types:
S999 pure silver, refers to the silver content of 99.9% silver. The purest one, it is also the highest silver product standard in the current “Precious Metal Purity Standard”. Because it retains the properties of silver to the greatest extent, so its texture is soft, it is not suitable for making modern, exaggerated modern jewelry. The simple and atmospheric style is the fate of this silver. However, the shortcomings of the silver are also obvious, that is, wearing it for a long time, it is very easy to chemically react with the sulfur ions in the air, and the oxidation turns black.
S990 pure silver, before the S999 pure silver appeared, it has always been the holder of the high standard in sterling silver, with a silver content of 99%. Like S999 pure silver, S990 is also best suited for making small and exquisite silver jewelry, such as rings, glossy bracelets, etc.
S925 Silver is the fastest and most popular descendant of the sterling silver family. It is made of 92.5% silver + 7.5% copper and is also an internationally recognized sterling silver standard! Known as “standard silver”. Today, S925 sterling silver has occupied more than half of the silver jewelry! The silver jewelry sold in the market is basically S925 silver. Because it is doped with 7.5% copper, 925 sterling silver not only has higher ductility, but also has a slightly more stable nature than the former two. It can be made into a variety of silver ornaments.
The above three kinds of sterling silver are in line with the public’s perception of “silver”, but there are some “non-mainstream hard silver”, and everyone can not discriminate against them!
“Hard silver” is not a fake or defective product with a lot of impurities. This “hard” refers only to its texture, not to purity. In fact, the hard silver that people often say is just some complicate process silver. Silver needs to be tempered through multiple processes before it is processed into silver. Crushing large pieces of silver raw materials and melting them on the stove is the first step in silver processing, and is called “melting silver”. Then repeatedly hot forging, forming, cutting, welding … until the silver is baked. Don’t underestimate these links, each of the subtle changes in them may affect the final physical state of the silverware. The key step in determining the “soft and hard” of silver is called forging. The silver material with a lot of forgings has created a pair of “reinforced steel bones”, which will be solider than ordinary silver materials. The silver products made of hard silver can withstand very complicated processes, and it’s much more durable!
3D craft, the great savior of gold and silver!
Because the hardness of traditional pure silver jewelry is not hard enough, it not only will be deformed with the daily bump, but also different from the original if you use finger to break it. But 3D hard silver is different, it has a combination of strong stereoscopic effect and high hardness! Opened a new era of “silver is not soft”. 3D hard silver has also saved the appearance of silver jewelry to some extent. The most amazing thing about 3D hard silver is that it is big and light! Professionals explain that with the same quality of silver, 3D hard silver looks like four times the size of ordinary silver. Think about it this way, spending the least money and wearing the biggest jewelry is also a cost-effective thing.
“Ancient craft” is a hot word in the recent gold and silver circles. Ancient craft silver is not an old silver, it just using ancient craftsmanship! And all that carved and polished is new silver. In the market, there are many ancient silver ornaments that are draped in the “Ancient craft” to sell at high prices, but it’s actually of poor quality.
Only the ancient method silver with high purity and sufficient material is worth buying! They are not easily deformed, and are resistant to dirt and scratches, and are not prone to scratches, giving a full sense of security. Generally you can have a beautiful hard silver bracelet in just a few hundred yuan.