Understanding

All about 925 silver

925 is the number struck on almost all our jewellery. Here is what it means, and how to check that it tells the truth.

What 925 means

Pure silver is too soft for jewellery: it deforms at the first knock. It is therefore alloyed with another metal, almost always copper.

925 means 92.5% pure silver to 7.5% copper. It is the reference standard worldwide, the level below which a piece can no longer be called "silver". It is also known as sterling silver, after the English coinage struck in this alloy.

The copper provides hardness. It also causes the darkening: it is the copper, not the silver, that reacts with the air. Silver that darkens is therefore rather a good sign.

Recognising real silver

The hallmark. That is the first thing to look for. Under a loupe, look for "925", "S925", ".925", "STER" or "STERLING". In Morocco, assayed pieces also carry an official mark. On our jewellery the hallmark is visible — we list nothing without one.

A magnet. Silver is not magnetic. If your piece sticks to a magnet it contains iron or steel: it is not 925 silver.

Darkening. Paradoxically reassuring. A white metal that stays for ever bright is most often stainless steel or nickel silver.

Weight. Silver is dense. For the same size, a silver piece is noticeably heavier than one in a white alloy.

An ice cube. Silver is one of the best heat conductors there is. An ice cube placed on it melts visibly faster than on another metal.

These checks are clues, not proof. Only analysis by a professional — touchstone acid or X-ray fluorescence — gives certainty. A jeweller does it in a few minutes.

Filigree

Many of our pieces are worked in filigree: a lace made by soldering very fine silver wires into arabesques and rosettes. It is long, entirely handmade work, and no two pieces are ever identical.

Filigree is fragile by nature. A filigree piece should never be forced or bent: the solder gives way before the metal does.

Why silver rather than gold

For three reasons, and none of them is a compromise.

Price. Weight for weight, silver costs a fraction of gold. That is what makes generous pieces possible — wide cuffs, heavy necklaces, massive crosses — which gold would put out of reach.

Freedom of working. Its malleability allows filigree, fine engraving, repoussé work. Berber and Tuareg techniques were built on this metal.

Colour. The cool grey of silver sets off dark stones and coloured enamels where gold overwhelms them.

925 silver and solid silver

"Solid silver" simply means the piece is silver all the way through, as opposed to plated or rolled metal. It says nothing about the standard.

925 silver is therefore always solid silver — but not everything called solid silver is necessarily 925 parts per thousand. The number matters more than the word.