[Jewelry making - Article 00139] - Re: [Orchid] Preventing Argentium Silver Tarnish

[James Binnion]

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Hi Trevor,

    I guess I was a little imprecise it is more about its strength at
    temperatures near the melting point that is an issue for me.
    Standard sterling is difficult enough for hot work and it seems that
    Argentium is more delicate at temperature. 

    I love experimenting with new materials and I am delighted with the
    wide variety of new alloys that are now available to us to
    experiment with. But for production work eventually the decision has
    to be made as to whether an alloy is suitable for production and if
    the all the costs associated with it can be covered by the finished
    product. Argentium seems to have some benefit in tarnish resistance
    when compared to standard sterling but the question is how much
    difference in the real world of product use and how much will the
    consumer care / be willing to pay for that difference. Argentium
    doesn't have a huge cost increase over standard sterling so I think
    it will be incorporated more and more into the designer goods and
    high end sterling product. But even a small cost difference in the
    lower end is too much and I doubt we will see the mass market turn to
    Argentium. To me the greatest thing about Argentium is the lack of
    fire stain. For the individual craftsman and small shop that is a
    great boon but larger manufacturers have already invested in ways of
    dealing with fire stain and will not care so much. 

Regards,

Jim

James Binnion
jbin AT mokume-gane.com
James Binnion Metal Arts
http://www.mokume-gane.com
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