[Jewelry making - Article 00546] - Re: [Orchid] Sterling Silver Definition

[Peter W . Rowe]

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>     ... Several writers there insist that Sterling Silver is 92.5 Fine
>     Silver and the rest can be any other metal. 

    They are correct. At least, in the U.S. Not sure of some other
    countries define it differently.

>     So, my question is: Does the above definition apply to Hollow Ware
>     rather than Jewelry grade Sterling Silver? 

    The definition applies to the type of metal. Whether you make hollow
    ware, jewelry, or automobile bumpers out of it has no bearing on the
    issue. 

>     I know that in Europe the use of Nickel is not allowed in
>     Sterling. But what about in the USA? Some manufacturers insist that
>     their product is "nickel compliant." What about sheet and wire
>     products; are they also "nickel compliant?" 

    See above. The form of the metal is not an issue. With Nickel, the
    issue is that no jewelry metal is allowed nickel content if the item
    made from it will contact skin and can leach nickel. In practice,
    this means that jewelry simply is not made with metals containing
    nickel, even though this total avoidance is a bit of an over reaction
    in many cases. But, you could still, if you wish to mix 92.5 percent
    silver with 7.5 percent nickel, and call the result sterling silver.
    You might not like the alloy much, but it would meet the definition
    of sterling in the U.S. 

Peter

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