[Jewelry making - Article 00172] - Re: [Orchid] Sterling

[Allan Heywood]

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>       Al, your wrong about the copper.  The sterling standard says
>     92.5 percent silver.  It does NOT specify what the remaining 7.5
>     should be. 

    Aaaaaah Peter ! I assume you are in the USA ? Mate, here's the crux
    of the matter - what constitutes Sterling silver is a matter of 
    legal and metallurgical definition in the great outside world - not
    opinion, surmise or marketing terminology .  Below is the gist of an
    offline reply I gave this morning to another doubter. 

    " The composition of the binary silver-copper alloy that's been
    known as Sterling silver for around 700 years was first quantified and
    specified by law in England in the Twelfth Century during the reign
    of Henry II.  Henry imported refiners from "an area in Germany known
    as ESTERLING.  The product they made was of consistent quality and
    came into usage as currency by 1300 when it was known as Esterling
    Silver." 

    Most of the world outside the continental US, and any manufacturer
    IN the continental US who wishes to legally supply Sterling silver
    goods to the world market must use this particular binary
    silver-copper alloy - no other. 

    I'm going to put together an article with a brief description of and
    introduction to phase diagrams as they are used by metallurgists and
    post it on my site as soon as I get some time. 

    It is irrelevant what marketing description or terminology a
    particular supplier of alloys might choose to use in the US  -  the
    fact that it's not illegal in the US as it is in the European
    Community, Australia, et al doesn't make it correct." 

cheers
Al Heywood




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