Fine silver, Sterling silver and Argentium

Recently I've had several people ask me about the various types of silver I use in my work. Some of them thought sterling was just another name for silver and had no idea there was a difference between the two. There are many different mixtures of silver and other metals, called alloys, that are used in industry and the jewelry trade. I normally use two alloys, Sterling and Argentium, plus fine silver for my silversmithing projects. 

Sterling is the most common alloy of silver used in jewelry and silversmithing. Sterling is a mixture of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. Since pure silver is very soft and will wear away quickly, copper is added to improve toughness and abrasion resistance. Copper is used because it does not dull the bright shine of the silver. The copper does however cause the silver to tarnish over time. Hallmarks for sterling are the word "sterling" or ".925". These hallmarks are legal proof that the items are genuine sterling having 92.5% silver..

I use much more sterling than any other type of silver. I use it for most jewelry projects and for overlays on horse gear. Pictured to the right is hand engraved sterling overlayed (soldered) on a steel Salinas style horse bit. The sterling is shiny and bright and is tough enough to be worn by a horse.  


Fine silver is pure silver without any thing added to it. Although fine silver is soft it is still used in some applications where it is not expected to have much wear. The hallmark for fine silver is ".999". The item is legally required to be pure silver (at least 99.9% pure).

I use fine silver for inlays. In inlay work I cut a channel into steel (or other metal) and pound silver into the channel. Fine silver is easier to force into the steel because its softness. The surrounding steel  protects the silver from wear. Here is a photo of a snaffle bit I inlayed with fine silver stripes. This bit was done 15 years ago and the silver is still in good shape.

Argentium silver is an alloy of silver, copper and germanium. Like sterling it contains 92.5% silver. Germanium is added to greatly reduce the tendency of silver alloys to tarnish. Argentium actually tends to get whiter and brighter with age. The registered hallmark of Argentium is a flying unicorn. Since it is also a type of sterling containing 92.5% silver, some makers also add the "sterling" or ".925" marks. Some countries require the unicorn and a sterling hallmark on Argentium items.

I use Argentium for stone mountings on rings, when I want a contrast between types of silver, and when I want the item to be tarnish free. This mother's ring has the stones set in Argentium tubes.

There are other types of silver used in silversmithing that I do not use. I'll write a post another time outlining why I choose to use and not use the types of silver I do.