We are here in California and we do not get much winters here in Sunny Southern California.

For the rest of the country, you have been locked up in your homes for almost a year...

So here are my thoughts on Winter and Jewelry


Let's start with how one knows Sterling Silver is really Sterling Silver.

Manufacturers are made to stamp Sterling Silver with the stamp(s) 92.5 or .925 or just 925. Why is that? Anyone?

It is because Sterling Silver is 92.5% PURE Silver. Since Silver is so soft (like lead) it makes really BAD Jewelry by itself.

Back in the "old" days, manufacturers would add Nickel to the Silver making it really shiny. However many people have allergies to Nickel, so it has fallen out of use for many years.

Now manufacturers add copper to the Silver to make Sterling Silver.

It is interesting to note that although Copper is copper in color, it does not add or subtract from the silver color of the Jewelry, and frankly, I do not know why that is...

Care of Silver

One factor of Silver is Tarnishing. We have several Blog posts on our website www.designersterlingsilver.com/blog where we discuss how to care for and keep Sterling Silver Jewelry bright like new. Go see this if you are interested in that.

HOW DOES STERLING SILVER COMPARE TO OTHER METALS?

The three most common precious metals used in the making of Jewelry are Gold, Silver, and Platinum. Gold and Platinum are very costly to obtain and the Jewelry made from them is reflective of those costs. But how does Silver hold up?

1. Sterling Silver can be easily compared to Platinum and White Gold as they look similar, however, Silver is actually brighter in tone than the other two.

2. Platinum scratches and damages easily, both while gold and silver are hardier metals, white gold is slightly more scratch-resistant than Silver however when silver is plated with rhodium, it is also just as if not more scratch-resistant, again, however, the brightness of rhodium plated silver is less than that of Sterling Silver alone.

3. Because it's vulnerable to tarnishing, sterling silver requires more care to maintain than other precious metals. While tarnishing is easy to prevent and clean, this characteristic of silver makes it less popular for pieces like engagement rings. Again Wedding rings made with Sterling Silver Plated with Rhodium and set with simple CZ stones can fool anyone who is not a Jeweler.



Well, that is about it for this one, I don't want to bore you with too many facts...

I would LOVE to hear from you about ideas on subjects for future newsletters and possibly even blog posts for the future. Please just go to our site and send us an email or just hit reply and let us know.

Don't forget to visit us!

For Speed, Come see us at Amazon and order. If you are a Prime Member (who isn't), you will get it lickety split quick!

https://www.amazon.com/designersterlingsilver

However, for SELECTION and SAVINGS, Stop by our website. We still offer free shipping, but we send every order off From Monday to Friday. And discount- wise use the below code for a discount!

www.designersterlingsilver.com/collections

JEWELRYNUT



Mary Elizabeth Glosup

The Jewelry Lady

About Us
Designer Sterling Silver was born sometime in the 1990’s. Prior to this time, there was "The Gold Mine". This predecessor of Designer Sterling Silver was in the business of selling both Sterling Silver Jewelry AND 14k Gold. This was a small business enterprise with just two people. Mary Elizabeth, the Founder, and Vera, our head salesperson. At that time the co-owners of the Brand and Company were selling Gold and Silver Jewelry at small shows within the various Telephone Companies and sponsored by their "Pioneer Organizations", which were and are volunteer organizations made up of Telephone Company employees. Check out their websites for more information on these great organizations. We also sold at Hospitals and Large Corporations in the same manner, always helping one organization or another of volunteers.