Is 925 Silver Good Quality: Features that Make Silver so Popular

Is 925 silver good quality? If like me, you are a fan of white metals in jewelry, you will likely be a fan of stunning 925 silver due to its shine, durability, and value for money, being significantly lower value compared to gold.

The answer – is absolutely yes, it is fantastic quality.

925 silver is used in many beautiful pieces of jewelry. It is highly durable and offers a high-quality metal for precious jewelry, whether it be your rings, necklaces, earrings, or bracelets. Firstly, let’s look at what 925 silver means.

What does 925 silver mean?

925 silver essentially means that the metal is comprised of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% alloys – usually copper and other trace elements. The benefit of adding these alloys to the pure silver is that is actually makes the silver slightly firmer (while staying soft enough!) and more durable to work with jewelers and much more comfortable to wear than pure silver (99.9%). You may hear lots of people talk about Stirling silver in the jewelry industry, and you may be wondering what is the difference between Stirling silver and 925 silver?

Stirling silver vs 925 Silver

There is no difference between Stirling silver and 925 silver – they are the same thing and the terminology is used interchangeably. For the sake of this post, I will refer to it as 925 silver.

Is 925 silver better than silver?

So which is best? Pure silver or 925 silver? The answer is clear – 925 silver is by far better than pure silver for the purposes of jewelry. Pure silver is so soft that it makes it really hard to use for rings and other pieces. Through the simple addition of alloys (copper and other trace elements), 925 silver becomes hypoallergenic, comfortable, and safe to wear each and every day. 925 silver, however, is not without certain wear and tear, such as tarnishing.

Does 925 silver tarnish?

You may notice that your 925 silver ring is starting to turn black. This is very normal and due to a reaction from elements in the air. It should be noted that pure silver would not tarnish. It is actually the copper content in the ring that reacts with some of the elements in the air to make your 925 silver ring tarnish. The rate of tarnishing will increase due to other factors such as salt, sweat and even from chemicals in cosmetics.

The great news is that your tarnished ring or piece or jewelry can be cleaned up and made to look new with professional polish. If you are looking for a home remedy to clean your rings, check out this post.