Silver has been used for thousands of years as jewellery, tableware, ornaments, and even currency. In the periodic table, silver has the symbol Ag for argentums, which originates from the Indo-European "arg" for 'white' or 'shining'. The jewellery is a mixture of silver and another metal, so that the material has qualities of both metals. The practice of producing this alloy is thought to have started in Germany around the 13th century. Recently, the most common metal to be combined with silver is copper.
The jewellery is generally 92.5% silver and 7.5% another metal, normally copper. This has advantages and disadvantages. The problem with pure silver is that it is quite soft and malleable - but it is incredibly useful in other fields including medicine due to its antibacterial properties. The alloy of sterling silver means that it is stronger and more manageable, but the combination of metals means that sterling silver can be tarnished, unlike pure silver. Fortunately the tarnishing on sterling silver, which a lot of jewellery is made of, is easily cleaned.
The word "sterling" is thought to have originated from Norman coins which had stars printed on them in the 14th century. The "ster" part of the word comes from the description of the star on the coin, with the added suffix on "ling". The phrase "sterling silver" is most likely to come from the description of the new material, as it would shine "like a star".
Silver, unlike gold, is rarely found in metallic form. It is found as mineral ores that miners and refiners have to pass through various processes to extract the silver. The first mining of lead ores dates back to 6000 BC and the earliest silver jewellery dates back to 3000 BC. The origins of the mainstream creation of sterling silver comes from the early 1300s, when King Edward I ordered that all silver objects must meet the sterling standard of 92.5% pure silver, or sterling 925 (925 parts of silver per thousand). This is known as the sterling standard, and pieces that were then certified under this new rule would be stamped, or hallmarked to show their fineness.
As well as being used to make jewellery, sterling silver is also incredibly versatile. Sterling silver has been and still is used for tablewear, including cutlery, pots and during the height of silver's popularity in the early 20th century, shoehorns. Musicians have also used the material to produce instruments including saxophones and flutes have been made using sterling silver, giving them a unique timbre.
Sterling silver is now mainly used for jewellery. Peru is currently the world's largest silver producer, closely followed by Mexico, although silver is not confined to one continent, as it is also mined from as far afield as Russia and Australia. Silver is still a relatively cheap precious metal, based on current prices, silver is sold at around $18 per oz (May 2010), whereas gold sells at around $1140 per oz (May 2010).
Sterling silver remains one of the most beautiful and versatile materials for jewellery, a timeless and elegant metal that is also widely available mean that after thousands of years, silver will never go out of fashion.
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