Currently, many sterling silvers are available on the market for use in jewelry manufacturing. The focus for development of many of these alloys was primarily improved tarnish resistance. They are either sterling silvers containing deoxidants like germanium or silicon, or they contain platinum group metals to impart tarnish resistance. Though many of these hybrid silver alloys have improved tarnish resistance, they appear to exhibit mechanical properties similar to standard 92.5% silver, 7.5% copper sterling silver.A research project was undertaken aimed at creating a harder sterling silver in both the as-cast and wrought state. This presentation will share the evolution of this project. It will show how a particular composition of sterling silver produced unique characteristics, the most important of which is significantly higher as-cast hardness. The paper will also explore the possibility for using this new hard alloy as a silver alternative to karat gold for stone-set jewelry.

Author: Shankar Aithal