Silver
With its sublime white shine, silver is one of the most widely used metals in the field of jewelry and decoration.
History of silver
The discovery of silver dates back to 3000 BC in Anatolia. Appreciated for its brilliance, silver gradually found its use in goldsmithing and in the manufacture of coins during Greco-Roman antiquity. Spain became the center of production, which later moved to Central Europe.
Between the 16th century and 19th century century, Latin America concentrated the majority of world production. The discovery of new mines in the United States, Asia and Africa contributed to a new situation of production centers.
Technological advances in silver mining during the 20th century increased global silver production, which was also deployed in emerging industries such as electronics and photography.
Characteristics of metal
Valued for its excellent malleability, silver is never used in its pure state due to its extreme softness. It is therefore combined with other metals to make it stronger. The most common alloy is sterling silver, which is made up of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper, essentially.
Properties
Chemical symbol: Ag
Atomic number: 47
Hardness: 2.5 on the Mohs scale
Original color: metallic white
The hallmark of silver
The hallmark is a mark affixed to jewelry to guarantee the metal content, here silver. Only houses accredited by the State can affix the guarantee hallmark. From 30 grams of silver, the hallmark is affixed by the State.
Only houses accredited by the State can affix the guarantee hallmark. From 30 grams of silver, the hallmark is affixed by the State.
999 thousandth silver is used for silver bars.
SILVER designation |
Content |
Symbol |
|
999 thousandth silver |
99.9% pure silver and 0.1% metal alloy |
Amphora (two-handled vase) |
|
925 thousandth silver |
92.5% pure silver and 7.5% metal alloy |
Head of Minerva |
|
800 thousandths silver |
80% pure silver and 20% metal alloy |
Head of Minerva |
