Question About Making Soldered Ring

by Andrea
(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

What's the difference between fine silver and sterling silver wire? I want to make some soldered silver rings and I'm not sure what to buy. Someone told me that fine silver is better - is it?

Answer:
Submitted by Vanessa

Fine silver wire or sheet is 99.9% pure silver and is soft. Sterling is 92.5% pure silver and the 7.5% is another metal, (most times copper). With the copper in the silver it helps to make the sterling harder and to hold the shape made. Fine silver can't do the same thing.

You can make jump rings from fine silver, nothing says you can't. The lower the gauge of wire the better.

Anti-Tarnish Silver

Question: Where can I buy sterling silver and silver plated findings and chain that will not tarnish?

I'm tired of my silver turning yellow in a year.

Answer:

Sterling silver will always tarnish eventually if left to the open air. You can prevent your sterling from tarnishing by keeping it in a zip-lock bag. If it still seems to tarnish, you can buy anti-tarnish paper from a jeweler's supply.

Silver-plate- I don't recommend silver plate- it can wear off and all your hard work will look like crap (pardon the potty-talk).

Another alternative is to buy argentium silver instead of sterling. Argentium silver is a new silver alloy that is being marketed as anti-tarnish silver.

Some Background

Sterling silver is an alloy - It is 92.5% silver, and 7.5% copper. The copper gives the silver strength but all makes it more susceptible to tarnish.

Argentium silver is an alloy as well. It is 92.5% silver, and 7.5% germanium. It is said to be highly tarnish resistant.

Here is some more info about Argentium silver from Argentium Silver Findings

Argentium® Sterling Silver is highly tarnish-resistant.

Since it is made to a higher standard than traditional sterling silver, Argentium® Sterling Silver is guaranteed to be not less than 92.5% pure.

Through the heat treatment process Argentium® Sterling Silver can be made nearly twice as hard as annealed standard sterling.

The tarnish resistance is obtained through the alloying of Germanium with the silver. The result is a highly tarnish resistant material that does not require harsh chemicals to clean. If it needs cleaning it can be wiped with a soft cloth to restore the original sparkling white color. Do not use a cloth that has tarnish from conventional sterling silver as the tarnish might contaminate the Argentium® Silver.

Argentium® Silver Findings works directly with the manufacturer to provide designers and artisans with the highest quality Argentium® silver findings to create your beautiful designs that will stay beautiful for many years to come.

Argentium® Silver has been tested extensively and has been found to be highly tarnish-resistant. However, some individuals' body chemistry may react to copper. Since Argentium® Silver does contain copper, as does conventional sterling silver, individuals whose body chemistry reacts to copper can cause the Argentium® Silver to tarnish. Individuals who react to copper should understand that there is a possibility that their body chemistry may cause Argentium® Silver to tarnish.

If you are interested in buying argentium silver wire and findings, here are some sources:

(disclaimer- I haven't purchased from any of these suppliers personally so I can't vouch for them. I'm just adding them in as possibilities to check out.)

Argentium Silver Findings

Cool Tools has Argentium wire in 22 and 24 gauge.

Attaching Silk Cord to Semi-Precious Stones by May (Tucson, AZ)

Question:

I want to attach small briolette pear shaped beads to a black silk cord. How do I do it??

Answer:

Briolettes are beautiful aren't they? They are a little tricky to work with though.

I'm assuming you mean the top drilled ones (hole is at the top of the bead)?

Here's what I would do:

To attach briolettes to silk cord, I would make a wrapped loop on the briolette, then I could string the cord through the loop.

Here's how to make a wrapped loop on a briolette like the gorgeous crystal briolettes pictured above.

First thread some wire through the bead, then using your fingers, fold the wire up so that the two ends cross each other.

Grasp one end of wire with your chain or flat nosed pliers at the point where the two wires cross. Bend it slightly so that it points straight up.

With the other end of the wire, carefully make a wire wrap. Trim.

Now make a loop with the remaining end, and wrap around your first wrap. Trim and tuck the end down using your chain-nosed pliers (or your crimp pliers if you have them - my secret tip for making nice neat wraps)

You should now have a briolette topped with a nice wrapped loop. You can string your briolette onto your cord now.

I'm not sure if that's what you had in mind - if it isn't, maybe you have a picture of what you'd like to achieve?

Christine
How-to-Make-Jewelry.com

(the photo above is by Jewelry Artist Helmetti , and is reprinted under creative commons license share and share alike.