Argentium Silver Vs Sterling Silver Which one is Better?

What Is Argentium Silver?

Marked with the “flying unicorn” logo, Argentium Silver is the brand name patented and trademarked by the Argentium Silver Company in the United Kingdom. This modern version of sterling silver contains more pure silver than its traditional counterpart, and its unique combination of metals gives it a natural brightness that makes it outshine gold, platinum and traditional sterling silver. With a tarnish-resistant, durable finish that is free of any plating, argentium won’t chip or crack. It’s these qualities that make argentium an appealing choice for your jewelry items.

History

In 1990, Peter Johns and his team of researchers at the Art and Design Research Institute (ADRI) in the School of Art and Design at Middlesex University, started to investigate the effects of adding various amounts of Germanium to silver alloys. Through their research, the team discovered that the resulting sterling silver was more resistant to tarnish, exhibited an increased ductility, had an increased thermal and electrical resistance, and eliminated the need for firestain removal, making this re-vamped metal “environmentally-friendly.”

Purity

Traditional sterling silver combines 92.5% pure silver with 7.5% other metals (usually copper). Pieces of jewelry made from sterling are usually stamped with “.925” to indicate their purity. Argentium silver uses more pure silver and is available in two grades–.932 and .960. The number associated with each grade indicates the percentage of pure silver contained in the piece.

Prior to the introduction of Argentium Silver, the most highly-revered silver was the United Kingdom’s Britannia Silver which required a minimum pure silver content of 95.8%. While both grades of Argentium contain more pure silver than traditional sterling, only the 96.0% Argentium contains more pure silver than the UK’s Britannia Silver.

Durability and Versatility

Some sterling silver jewelry pieces are prone to scratches, dents, and deformation, especially if you wear them daily. Argentium Silver is stronger and more durable than traditional sterling, making it more resistant to these types of damages.

Ideally, you want a metal that is soft and malleable to work with when forming a piece of jewelry, but also hardens in its finished state. Argentium Silver is known for its superior hardness and durability, and unlike traditional sterling silver, it can be hardened effectively by heat treatments without any negative side effects. Easily manipulated in its softened state, Argentium is an ideal material to use to create various shapes and settings for jewelry.

Argentium silver lends itself to modern technologies because it has a unique property that allows it to be welded and fused. Four Argentium Silver alloys are available–two for mill products and two for casting applications–ensuring you get the perfect alloy for any manufacturing project.

Color and Tarnish Resistance

Brighter than white gold, sterling silver, and platinum, Argentium Silver is the whitest metal with the longest-lasting shine. With no plating to chip away or tarnish, Argentium’s natural white-silver color is the same throughout the entire piece.

Tests conducted using a colorimeter and the CIELAB color measurement system showed Argentium displayed superior brightness and whiteness compared to other precious metals. In fact, Argentium is approximately 4.5 times brighter and twice as white as traditional sterling silver.

Metals are regularly tested for “tarnish resistance” in the jewelry industry. These tests are designed to replicate the effects of exposing the metal to environmental elements such as sulphur, perspiration, and ultraviolet rays. Designed to test corrosion on precious metals, the sulphur test reproduces the gases found in the atmosphere and in other substances often used daily. To determine the effects of perspiration and skin contact with metal, the perspiration test is performed. Finally, the ultraviolet (UV) test checks metals for susceptibility to UV rays and photosensitivity. Results indicate that Argentium 935 is about 7 times more tarnish resistant to sterling silver, while Argentium 960 is nearly 8 times more resistant.

Firestain Resistance

Firestain (or firescale) appears as a dark stain on the surface of sterling silver objects when heated. A result of oxygen in the flame attacking the copper alloy found in sterling silver, the firestain is actually a copper oxide that penetrates the surface of the silver object. Prolonged heating and hammering cause the firestain to affect deeper layers of the silver, making it more difficult to remove.

While it may not sound like a big problem initially, abrasives and acid may be required to remove a deeply penetrating firestain. This labor-intensive process leads to an increase in labor and manufacturing costs, as well as environmental and workplace health concerns due to the toxic nature of the chemicals used in firestain removal.

Test results on Argentium Silver show excellent firestain resistance during heating, while both traditional sterling and standard deox silver alloy both showed deep layers of firestain. Since heating does not result in firestain on Argentium, acid and abrasives are not required to remove the staining during production, saving time, cost, and exposure to hazardous chemicals.

Conservation and Environmentally-Friendly Practices

Argentium Silver prides itself on using only recycled silver for production and guarantees traceability of its raw silver. Due to the firestain-resistant nature of Argentium, the use of toxic chemicals used to remove firestain is eliminated, helping to protect the environment. Many properties of Argentium allow it to be manufactured more quickly and efficiently, decreasing labor and resource costs and cutting back on manufacturing time. All Argentium alloys are nickel-free, resulting in jewelry pieces that can be worn by individuals with nickel allergies.

Argentium is a low-maintenance metal, making it very easy to care for and keep clean. At Brilliance, we strive to provide you with the highest quality metals and offer several Argentium wedding rings including the Mens Diamond Wedding Ring in Silver, Black Diamond Mens Wedding Ring in Silver, and the Black Diamond Mens Silver Wedding Ring.

Differences Between Argentium Silver and Sterling Silver

When making ball-end head pins from Argentium silver vs sterling silver, there are small but important differences to consider. Sterling silver wire takes a second or two longer to ball up in the flame, and the result isn’t quite as nice as the Argentium. Regular sterling silver forms fire scale, which can be a real headache to remove. It also forms a reticulated or wrinkled surface, and a more teardrop-like shape instead of melting into a smooth, shiny ball.

Meanwhile, the Argentium sterling’s germanium reacts with oxygen to create germanium-oxide on the metal, which is bright, shiny and quite attractive. You will get some fire scale on the Argentium wire, but it will go away after pickling and tumbling. The result is a balled head pin that is smoother and shinier. It even has a nice round, circular shape instead of the teardrop-like shape you would get from using sterling silver. Overall, it’s easier to work with and produces more attractive results.

Is Argentium silver more expensive?

Yes, it is as you would expect, since the Argentium has a higher percentage of pure silver. It further has even better content for the remaining metals that creates the alloy. This is the reason why it’s more expensive than sterling silver.

Remember it’s shinier, whiter, more durable, and it won’t even tarnish. Since it doesn’t tarnish, therefore it’s much easier to manage.

I know it may be hard to understand why it will cost you more. But if you are into the technological aspect of everything, you will quickly see that it stands out.

Remember this when you are working with Argentium silver?
You will find the benefits of using this kind of silver if you will buy the authentic type. Don’t go for the other options that mix Argentium silver with other metals and expect it to be effective. It’s supposed to stand out on its.

Of course, it will take longer for any new type of jewel to flourish. But anyone who has used this kind of silver will know that you are hooked the moment you try it once. Don’t worry if you don’t hear about it as much; just try it today.

Is Argentium silver good?

By the time we finish this article, I’m sure I will not need to answer it. But to give you a quick answer, Yes it’s a great type of silver.

It contains a higher percentage of silver, and yet it’s shinier and white looking. You won’t even think about cleaning and polishing it every time you remove it since it never tarnishes.

Argentium vs. Sterling Silver

Tarnishing

For ages, people have associated silver with tarnishing because of the presence of copper in the alloy. But this Argentium silver comes to give you a different kind of silver tarnishing solution.

At first, the founder had a single intention, to make sure silver no longer tarnishing as sterling silver does. But when it was all done, they realized there’s more to offer since it’s more durable with other favorable features.

So for those asking whether Argentium silver will tarnish as the sterling silver does, then the answer is no it doesn’t. If you bought the real kind of silver, then you can be sure you won’t have such issues.

color

Did you know that its color is then even brighter than the regular sterling silver, white gold, and even platinum? The best part though is that it never loses its luster, not its shine. So it too is in the category of precious metals but with even better shine.

Argentium silver is whiter than sterling silver, but not only that it’s whiter than most other silver-hued metals. If you like to choose the rhodium plating and platinum for the bright colors or whiteness, you can comfortably use the Argentium silver.

Do you know what this then means, right? You won’t need to plate this silver as you sometimes need to do with sterling silver. It has the perfect shine and the perfect color too.

durability

If you used the authentic sterling silver, you could be sure it will last long. But if you didn’t choose the right quality, you will experience scratch and dents from time to time. If you know the sterling silver to be durable, you can be sure that the Argentium silver is even better.

This silver is the most durable kind of silver to use for your jewels. It was made to be better than the traditional sterling silver, you know. It won’t scratch easily, and the fact that it never tarnishes makes it just better.

Although it’s soft and manageable, when you are making your jewels, it will harden faster than most other types. Notice that its harder than sterling silver. Its, however, easy to mold when you are making the jewel.

The hypoallergenic feature

One outstanding characteristic of sterling silver is that sometimes it will contain nickel, which is known to cause a skin reaction. In most cases, the alloy is made using copper and pure silver; sometimes, the sterling silver will contain nickel because it’s cheaper and easily accessible.

On the other hand, the Argentium silver is simply hypoallergenic and antibacterial.

It has been in existence since 1991, and we are yet to receive reports of it causing any form of skin reactions. This is for the skin-sensitive. As long as you pick the real and authentic Argentium silver, you are sure it’s safe for your skin.

Fire stain resistance

When you take the sterling silver through the heating, often, it will form black spots. This can be hard to get rid of, though. Remember, this is the result of the oxidation between the copper and the oxygen to form copper oxide. Sometimes the spots will stick to the surface, making the work hard for the jewelers.

Celebrate because this isn’t the same story for the Argentium silver. Both research and experience have shown that nothing like this will ever happen for your Argentium silver as it’s resistant. As such, you won’t need acids and abrasive to remove the stains.

Notice that one standing feature about the Argentium silver is that it’s non-reactive.

Benefits Of Argentium Silver

Argentium Silver comes with a number of benefits, all of which help it to stand out in the market:

Brighter and shinier than sterling silver
High tarnish resistance
Fire stain elimination
More ductile than sterling silver
Precipitation hardening and simple heat-hardening properties
Increased electrical and thermal resistance (making it much more suitable for welding and laser forming)
Stronger than sterling silver
Environmental advantages (not having to remove or plate over firescale makes it environmentally-friendly)

5 Reasons Why Argentium Is Better Than Sterling Silver

CARE

My favorite thing about Argentium is that it is highly tarnish resistant. I won’t go so far as to say it’s tarnish free, as this isn’t an ideal world, but I’ve had customers reporting that they’ve gone 2 -3 years before having to think about polishing their pieces. And this is no joke – when I was using traditional sterling silver I’d have to polish every piece after every show. But once I switched to Argentium I rarely had to re-polish any of my pieces which made me a very happy camper! Like you, I have way more important things to spend my time on than polishing my silver.

But why is Argentium so tarnish resistant? The secret is in it’s construction. Traditional sterling silver is usually 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper (hence the .925 designation for sterling silver). Argentium is 93.5% silver, 5.5% copper and 1% germanium. When a sterling silver piece tarnishes, it’s because the copper in the alloy is reacting to the air and turning colors. But the germanium creates a thin barrier between the copper and the air either dramatically slowing down the tarnishing process.

DURABILITY

At this point you might be wondering, “If putting copper and silver together create the tarnishing problem, then why not just use pure silver and be done with it?” This is a good question, and the answer is durability. Pure silver is very, very soft and any jewelry made from it wouldn’t last past a few wearings. Since my goal is to create jewelry you’ll be happy wearing for decades, using pure silver is not an option for my designs.

When copper was added to silver it became much stronger. But that strength was magnified by the addition of that little bit of germanium. Argentium sterling silver defies expectations by being closer to pure silver in makeup, yet much more durable than even sterling silver. This makes it the perfect alloy to stand up to the daily wear and tear that a favorite piece of jewelry experiences.

THE LOOK

Because a piece made from Argentium has a higher silver content than traditional sterling silver, the resulting jewelry has a much whiter, much brighter look that is almost more platinum in appearance. When tested using the CEILAB standard color measurement system, Argentium was rated as a “whiter” metal than rhodium, which is used to give white gold its white color. This means that when you wear jewelry made from Argentium, it looks much more like you are wearing platinum or white gold instead of sterling silver.

COMFORT

Allergies are a part of daily life for many people. Fortunately, as you can see in the graphic above, Argentium is 100% nickel-free which makes it the perfect alloy to wear without fear on a daily basis. Plus, germanium is also an inert metal, which makes Argentium even more hypo-allergenic than traditional sterling silver. This makes Argentium jewelry a thoughtful gift for anyone.

SUSTAINABILITY

Lastly, Argentium is a sustainable alloy. It’s made from 100% recycled silver and the creators of Argentium guarantee the tracability of all the silver it uses. Using recycled silver sounds like such a small thing – but it has very large impacts on the environment. Not only does recycling silver use just 5% of the energy it would take to refine silver from ore, it also eliminates the need for mining, mining waste and mining groundwater pollution.