Did you know there are different types of silver that are used in jewelry? Sterling silver is by far the most common and most popular, but you might also see Fine silver, Argentium silver, or Nickle silver (aka German silver). So what's the difference and which one is best?
Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver (the other 0.1% being trace elements) and is the most pure type of silver used in jewelry. By contrast, sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper. So if fine silver has more pure silver it must be better than sterling silver right? Well not necessarily. Fine silver is also very soft and malleable. This means that it can be bent or deformed easily. Not great for most jewelry purposes. You'd hate for that beautiful ring you bought to get bent out of shape if it gets knocked around a little. It's the copper content of sterling silver that gives it strength and actually makes it better for use in jewelry in most cases. Fine silver can absolutely be used for some parts of jewelry though. I use fine silver for most of the bezels around the gemstones in my earrings, pendants, and rings. I also use some fine silver for some accents on larger jewelry pieces.
Argentium silver is 94% pure silver, 5% copper, and 1% germanium. Yep germanium. So the thing about copper is that although it makes the silver stronger and less likely to bend out of shape, it is also what causes sterling silver jewelry to tarnish. And tarnish is a super big bummer. So some clever folks in the UK came up with a way to have silver that is both strong (includes copper) but also tarnish resistant. The germanium creates a barrier between the copper and the air which helps prevent tarnish. I use Argentium silver in rings that will be worn frequently (like some of my inlay rings) to help combat tarnish. Argentium also has some other neat properties that allow it to fuse to itself (no solder needed) and to other metals (like gold) so I'll sometimes use Argentium for those purposes as well.
And then there's Nickle silver (also know as German silver) which isn't actually silver at all. It is copper, nickel, and zinc with no silver whatsoever. I don't use Nickle silver in my work. And for people with sensitivity to nickle this is definitely a metal to avoid in jewelry.
So know your silvers and always ask questions about what type of silver is used in a piece of jewelry