Sterling silver is an alloy made of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metal. The
sterling silver that I sell uses pure copper for that 7.5%, which is the standard
in the United States, but other metals are sometimes used. Silver is alloyed in this
way to give better strength to the metal.
Care and Feeding of Sterling Silver
To clean the everyday dirt off your sterling pieces, mix a little non-lotion soap
in ½ cup of water and soak jewelry for several minutes. Then gently
but briskly rub the jewelry between your hands. Rinse the silver and let it air dry. When not wearing
your jewelry, store each piece in a Ziploc bag. This reduces tarnish and helps prevent scratching.
If you want the piece to develop a patina, leave your pieces out when not being worn.
To clean tarnish off your sterling pieces I recommend using a tumbler. One or two pounds of
stainless steel shot, lightly soapy water, and ten minutes later your jewelry will gleam again. If your
tumbler has a rubber barrel it is important that your soap not contain
any citrus (no lemon-scented dishsoap) because it can break down the rubber.
Inch Sizes
I started out making rings wrapped on inch-sized mandrels, and this is still what I personally
use most of the time. The first number is the mandrel size in 64ths of an inch, the second number
is the wire gauge in the AWG system. I have a
more detailed explanation
of my ring names posted on the FAQ page. I've been using these ring sizes for a long time, and I
have amassed a pretty good collection of
sample pictures for various weaves in various sizes.
Millimeter Sizes
After years of making rings in inch sizes, I finally yielded to customer requests and expanded to millimeter
sizes as well. The first number is the mandrel size in millimeters, the second number is the wire
gauge in the AWG system. I have a
more detailed explanation
of my ring names posted on the FAQ page. I hope to have some sample pictures posted for millimeter
rings one of these days, but it hasn't made it to the top of the list yet.
Why two systems?
You can definitely stay with just inch sizes or just millimeter sizes and do perfectly fine.
But some customers are more comfortable with one or the other, so I offer both.
Besides, I'm a complete ring size lunatic, and I find it very comforting to know that
5.75mm is available if I need something bigger than 7/32" yet smaller than 15/64". You never
know when that might just be important!
I put together a
comparison ruler to help you see how the inch
and millimeter sizes work together.
Choosing the perfect ring size
If you aren't certain which size(s) to get, I recommend that you take a look through my
ring size recommendations, especially the
chart.
If you still can't make up your mind between a couple different sizes, then
you may want to test your silver designs with the less expensive
jewelry brass rings and come back to silver once you've found
the perfect size. My jewelry brass is an extremely close size match for my half
hard sterling silver.
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