Nickel Silver

Nickel Silver

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Did you recognise that over 600,000,000 humans suffer from nickel allergy? Did you recognise that nickel allergy is on the rise?

As allergy to nickel becomes more and more mutual persons are often left looking for an substitute metal to wear. One metal that is often proclaimed to be nickel free is sterling silver. But is it in truth safe?

In general, Sterling Silver is 92.5% silver, and 7.5% of “something else”. The immense majority of the time that “something else” is copper. Copper is nickel free and has the right remainder of color, durability and cost to make it the number one choice by raw sterling manufacturers. However… tin, boron, lithium, germanium, zinc, platinum, indium and (to a much lesser extent) nickel may all be found in that 7.5%, too!

Another problem is that the formula for sterling silver is not static; it is always being refined to give it better properties. Want your sterling silver to tarnish a little slower? Add germanium. In fact, here is an example (from a sterling silver formula patent application) of what these exotic sterling alloys might consist of:

92.5% silver, regarding 0.5% copper, with regards to 4.25% zinc, regarding 0.02% indium, with regards to 0.48% tin, regarding 1.25% of a boron-copper alloy containing regarding 2% boron and when it comes to 98% copper, and in regards to 1% of a silicon-copper alloy containing in regards to 10% silicon and in regards to 90% copper.

When you look at the example above you may have noticed the absence of nickel. The good news is that it is very strange for sterling silver to integrate nickel anymore.

In fact, we contacted Kevin Whitmore of Rio Grande Jewelry Supply, one of the greatest and most valued suppliers of raw materials for the jewelry industry. We asked Mr. Whitmore if it was a mutual exercise to see nickel employed in sterling silver production and he said “It would be very strange these days. There has been a flight away from having nickel in sterling silver for a few years now.” He went on to add “In fact, there is genuinely no economical gain to using nickel as there are better, and less expensive, materials that may be alloyed in.” Another reason he gave was the ban on nickel in Europe. “Who wants to make jewelry that they can’t trade in sure places?”

As Mr. Whitmore mentioned, Europe has a rigorous ban on nickel. In 1991 Denmark introduced regulation to gravely restrict the use of nickel in jewelry and accessories. It was only a short time before a dramatic drop in nickel allergy was noticed in the population. Due to the success of Denmark’s ban, all of Europe followed suit with similar regulation in 2000. For this reason it makes sense for the makers of sterling silver pellets and sheets (which are purchased as raw material by jewelers) to keep nickel out of the constructing routine of raw sterling silver.

What could be the problem (besides the remote probability the silver actually holds nickel) is that the jewelry piece could be plated with nickel. Sterling silver have a tendancy to wear and tarnish over time. There was a time when it was not not common for manufacturers to plate their pieces with nickel to give it a long lasting shine.

Also, rhodium is at times applied (a fellow member of the platinum group) to plate sterling silver to give it the look of white gold. Unfortunately, rhodium does not stick without apparent effort to silver so another metal is oftentimes applied to coat the silver and the rhodium is plated over that “glue” metal. What is a very ordinary metal for that “glue” process? You guessed it, nickel. The problem is that rhodium is somewhat brittle and may form microscopic cracks. Now the underlying nickel may get moist from your skin and leech out nickel salts. All of a sudden you have an allergic reaction to sterling silver, which is genuinely the underlying nickel causing the rash.

So what does it all mean?

Since there seems to be no economic gain to using nickel, and since regulation limiting the use of nickel is spreading, you actually ought to put sterling silver on your list of safe to wear items. We commend buying goods online at jewelry stores that advertize “nickel free” since they must be extra sensible to the subject when sourcing their products. Their rhodium must use a “glue” metal other than nickel; their sterling silver must be sourced nickel free. To confuse things even more there are a few dissimilar names employed for sterling silver like:

• Argentium Silver: This silver holds germanium to protest tarnish and ought to be nickel free.
• Alpaca Silver, German Silver, Paktong and New Silver: These are in truth dissimilar names for Nickel Silver, a silver type that, as the name suggests, will likely integrate nickel. These types of silver will have to be avoided!

In addition, when shopping, undertake to refrain from older pieces that may have been developed when nickel plating was a more mutual exercise and always shop where your “satisfaction is guaranteed or your cash back”!

All metals have the potential to trigger an allergic reaction, even titanium, silver and, on very rare occasions, 24k gold. While nickel is the main culprit in metal allergy, and accounts for as much allergy as all other metals combined, be conscious that persons may be allergic to more than one metal at a time! Patient experimentation is the only solution if you suffer from a metal allergy. Follow the tips in this article and you will soon be living a fashionable, nickel free life!

Nickel Silver Image

Nickel Silver Image

Nickel Silver Picture

Nickel Silver Photo