| Silver jewellery is one of the most stunning and | | | | start work on creating the jewellery. Unlike many |
| versatile types of jewellery available. Silversmiths | | | | other metals, silver can be worked on at room |
| have been around for thousands of years - but | | | | temperature. Saws can be used to cut sheet |
| what is their secret? | | | | pieces of silver to cut out patterns for silver |
| Silver has been used for thousands of years as | | | | jewellery, for items such as bracelets. In order to |
| jewellery, tableware, ornaments, and even | | | | make silver wrap around a wrist or a finger in the |
| currency. Over the past millennium, silversmiths | | | | case of rings, silversmiths hammer the silver so |
| have managed to produce sterling silver, which is | | | | that it fits around set shapes smoothly. To |
| the best material for creating jewellery. Sterling | | | | embed jewels or diamonds, the silver is heated to |
| silver is a mixture of silver and another metal, so | | | | make the decoration stay in place. |
| that the material has qualities of both metals. The | | | | For small scale silversmiths, in order to produce |
| most common metal to be combined with silver is | | | | items such as sterling silver charms and other |
| copper. | | | | silver objects, wax models using sheets and strips |
| Sterling silver is generally 92.5% silver and 7.5% | | | | of wax are carved to produce the desired design. |
| usually copper. This has advantages and | | | | The next stage is to cast the silver. This is where |
| disadvantages. Pure silver itself is very soft and | | | | the wax model is placed into a flask. This |
| malleable - but is incredibly useful in other fields | | | | procedure involves pouring into the flask a solution |
| including medicine due to its un-reactive properties. | | | | similar to plaster of Paris, which sets very quickly |
| The alloy of sterling silver means that it is | | | | around the wax model. The next stage involves |
| stronger and more manageable, but the | | | | heating the flask up in a kiln to a high |
| combination of metals means that sterling silver | | | | temperature. This burns away the wax, and this |
| can be tarnished, unlike pure silver. Fortunately the | | | | is where molten silver is poured into the flask to |
| tarnishing on sterling silver, which most silver | | | | fill the space previously occupied by the wax |
| jewellery is made of, can be easily cleaned. | | | | model. The flask is finally plunged into a bucket of |
| Silver itself is a precious metal that is mined and is | | | | cold water. The change in temperature is too |
| mostly gathered as a by product of refining other | | | | much for the plaster cast causing it to shatter, |
| metals including zinc, lead and gold. The majority | | | | leaving the silver casting behind. The piece of |
| of silver is currently extracted from Peru and | | | | silver must then be polished to ensure its shine, |
| Mexico, who are the world's largest producers of | | | | and it is ready to be worn. Recent technological |
| the precious metal. In order to extract the silver | | | | advancements mean that casts can be re-used |
| from other metals, electrolysis is used to | | | | so that several identical pieces can be created |
| separate the metals. | | | | simultaneously. |
| Once the silver has been refined, silversmiths can | | | | |