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However there is more to silver than one would imagine, as there is a choice of finishes and different colours that silver can be treated to give different effects, i.e. bright, naturally tarnished, controlled oxidization and vermeil.
Sterling silver will tarnish and it is up to you whether you polish it to keep it bright and shiny or let it tarnish naturally (and usually unevenly). Sterling silver tarnishes because of the 7.5% copper part of the alloy, which also strengthens it as 'all' silver (fine silver) is softer. Fine silver takes longer to tarnish and might be something to look out for if you prefer less work as long as it is treated gently it will be fine for necklaces and earrings but not heavy duty jewellery such as rings and bracelets.
The new argentium silver is clever as it is heavily tarnish resistant - it might need a polish on occasion but generally speaking the addition of germanium into the alloy means that the germanium gives it a tarnish resistant quality. So argentium silver is extremely useful to place next to items which cannot be cleaned easily as they may be too small, or get damaged with a silver dip - i.e. pearls and porous gemstones like turquoise etc and for anyone who leads a busy lifestyle this new type of silver is going to be very popular.
This the end of - Silver jewellery
