Silver pendant

One woman, buying a silver pendant on our website, complained about the color change of the product. In her recall, she even put the word "silver" in quotes. It was unpleasant. And although such cases are rare and the problem, as a rule, is solved by one call to our manager, we thought about this. Do they all know why gold, silver and platinum are called precious metals? And why, if they are such "noble", products from them can change their original appearance?

Silver and other precious metals

So ... Gold, silver and platinum (as well as platinum group metals: ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium) are called noble metals because they do not oxidize. As we know from the school curriculum, the oxidation of metals (alloys) is the process of their interaction with oxygen. In short, the products made of metals and alloys under the influence of the environment are subjected to gradual oxidation - corrosion (a word which is unpleasant). But precious metals are called so precisely because they retain their shape and color for thousands of years. Why then is jewelry made from alloys, and not from "purity"? The fact is that all precious metals are soft, with everyday wear they would undergo deformation and quickly lose their shape. The problem of increasing the mechanical strength of products is solved by adding to the alloy other, non-precious metals, the so-called ligatures. This increases the wear resistance of jewelry, but also leads to the fact that they lose their resistance to the effects of the environment, being exposed to its influence (oxidation, corrosion) and changing its appearance.

By the way, besides giving strength, ligatures allow you to get the desired color of the alloy. For example, red gold is obtained by adding copper to the alloy, white is silver, nickel, palladium or platinum, and yellow is silver or nickel.

Sample and its designation system

The amount of pure noble metal in the alloy is called “breakdown”. In jewelry, several different sample designation systems are used. For example, for silver and platinum, a metric sample system is mainly used. The basis of the sample system in Ukraine is the number of milligrams of the main noble metal in 1 gram of the alloy being tested. In the Metric System of Measures and Weights, the value of the sample can also be considered as the number of parts by weight of the base noble metal per 1000 parts by weight (parts) of the alloy being tested. For example, "silver 925" means that the alloy contains at least 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, i.e. ligatures.

For precious metals in Ukraine, the following samples were set:

Gold - 375, 500, 585, 750, 958, 999

Silver - 800, 830, 875, 925, 960

Platinum - 900, 950

Palladium - 500, 850

In the back you can sometimes find products with stamps "333" and "583" for gold, "750" and "916" for silver. Such samples of products from precious metals were used before.

In addition to Ukraine, the metric sampling system is used in Russia, France, Germany, as well as the countries that have signed the Convention on the Control of Marital Precious Metals: Austria, Great Britain, Hungary, Denmark, Israel, Ireland, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden.

Carats and other systems

In the US and Canada (and earlier, before the introduction of the metric system, and in Western Europe), a gold carat purity determination system is used for gold. The basis of the carat system of samples is the number of carats of the main noble metal in 24 carats of the alloy being tested. You may know that a carat (from the Italian carato is a carob bean pod) is a non-sys tem unit of mass, equal to 0.2 grams. Used in jewelry to express the mass of gems and pearls. Remember the song "She has eyes - two diamonds of three carats ..."? Here are piggy eyes! - you will say, and you will be absolutely right. The author of the lines and performers probably did not think about the true meaning of such a “compliment”.

Let's continue ... Pure gold corresponds to 24 carats. The conversion from the karat system to the metric system is achieved by dividing the sample in carats by 24 and multiplying by 1000. Thus, 24K gold corresponds to the 999 standard, 23K - 958, 22K - 916, 18K - 750. There are 14K - 583 or 585, 10K - 417, 9K - 375. 9K gold is found in Ukraine, Russia, Great Britain, and Turkey.

In addition to the above, the longitudinal, lot and spool systems were also used in the determination of precious metals samples.

The fractional unit used earlier in the UK and Spain - 1 share = ¼ carat. Also 1 share was equal to one zolotnik.

The spool test was introduced in Russia since the beginning of the probing of precious metals and operated until 1927. The system was built on the basis of the Russian pound, containing 96 spools, and corresponded to the number of precious metal spools in the 96 spools of the alloy being tested. To recalculate the spool sample into carat, it is enough to divide by 4 the value of the spool test. And to convert to metric - the value of the spool sample should be divided by 96 and multiplied by 1000.

The lot system operated in Germany for silver, was built on the basis of a marketable brand containing 16 lots, and corresponded to the number of lots of the precious metal in 16 lots (1 mark) of the alloy being tested. To recalculate this sample into carat one needs to divide the value of the lot sample by 2 and multiply by 3. To convert to metric, divide by 16 and multiply by 1000.

If you are not yet tired of arithmetic, then we add that in the UK for the silver used the troy system: indicate the number of troy ounces and pennyweight (1/20 ounce) in 12 troy ounces of silver. 

Assay marks and names

In Ukraine, at present, for stamping jewelry, they use stamps depicting a trident (in Russia, by the way, they depict a lady in a kokoshnik). Testing and marking of jewelry made of precious metals is carried out by the State Assay Service of Ukraine. The state assay mark is a sign of the established sample, which testifies to the value of the product and its compliance with the declared characteristics (precious metal content).

So, if you see the manufacturer’s name on the product (and without it, the assay service will not take the product for testing) and the sample, then the characteristics declared by the seller correspond to the content of the product. If there is either a nominal, a sample, or a nominal and a sample is missing - this is an occasion to think about what you are holding.

Sterling silver

There is another nuance. The assay service is concerned only with the content of the noble metal in the product. The composition of the ligature of controllers is not interested. And for us it should be important. After all, iron, lead, antimony, bismuth, zinc, and nickel can be used in ligatures, even in small quantities. And some of them can cause allergies. Therefore, advice: do not purchase jewelry in "dubious places." For the production of our products we use only pure silver and oxygen-free copper. This alloy is called "sterling silver."

Stylish things made with love from real sterling silver is a reputation and we value it very much.

Now, we hope, it has become clear why products made of noble metals under the influence of the environment lose their outer gloss. And why when wearing jewelry and storing it is necessary to follow a number of simple rules. But if you really wanted to shine with your silver ear rings on the crest of the sea wave, and after a while you were horrified to find that the jewelery turned black - read on our website materials about how to restore the original look of the product using simple techniques.