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Urban Sterling exists to create jewellery that resonates with the soul; pieces that tell stories as real and enduring as the silver they’re made from. Because what we wear should reflect the stories that make us who we are.

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Free next day ring sizer (Buy now, size later).

.940 Argentium silver.

99 year warranty and restorations.

Free AU Express shipping over $100 | NZ over $300 | US over $350 | UK over $400

Free next day ring sizer (Buy now, size later).

.940 Argentium silver.

99 year warranty and restorations.

Free chain with 2+ rings.

Free shipping over $100 (AU) $300 (NZ) $350 (US) $400 (UK)

Argentium Silver

A superior alloy.

Silver brought into the 21st century.

Durability

Argentium silver is more durable than sterling due to Argentium's germanium content. This allows it to hold up better to scratches and chips over the years and avoid tarnishing.

Brighter

Argentium's higher silver purity and germanium content result in an alloy that is whiter than sterling silver and holds a polish for longer. It's colouration is similar to white gold.

Sustainable

Unlike sterling silver, Argentium silver is created from only 100% recycled silver. This is strictly regulated by the Argentium Company to ensure compliance.

Why do I use Argentium silver instead of sterling silver?

Although sterling silver is a time tested staple of the jewellery industry, I feel it leaves something to be desired in areas of tarnish resistance, durability, and colouration. After a year or two of using sterling for all of my products I noticed they tended to tarnish and lose their shine quite quickly, and lack the same bright white colour as pure silver.

I wanted an alloy that was more durable than sterling silver, but with similar colour and shine to pure silver. I began doing my research and found 940 Argentium silver. Originally created in 1991 and patented in 1998, Argentium was created around 700 years after sterling silver, and represents an impressive leap in alloy technology. In comparison to sterling silver, Argentium silver is far more tarnish resistant, scratch resistant, brighter, and ethically sourced.

 

Tarnish Resistance

Argentium silver is created with not only a larger proportion of silver (94.0% instead of 92.5% in sterling), but also with a very thin layer of germanium on the surface. This layer of germanium isolates the copper in the mixture from oxygen in the atmosphere, preventing the formation of copper oxide. Copper oxide is what causes sterling silver to slowly dull and darken, so if this compound isn’t produced, tarnishing doesn’t occur.

Another issue with sterling silver is it’s tendancy to react poorly with salt water. Sometimes even forming a yellow tinge. Because this is an Australian jewellery brand, I really wanted to make my pieces ocean proof if possible, since I know how much my customers love the beach. This is where the germanium layer comes in useful again. It’ll block water just as easily as it’ll block air, so the salty ocean water won’t be able to come into contact with the copper and form weird compounds that we really don’t want on our rings.

Note that Argentium is now 94%, this diagram is old.

Durability

Argentium silver is more resistant to scratching and denting than sterling silver. Since my pieces are designed for daily wear, this is a big deal.

Once again this is due to the smaller amount of copper, which is quite a soft metal, and the presence of germanium, which is reasonably hard. There’s not much more to say on this topic.

 

Colour

There’s really nothing wrong with the colouration of sterling silver, but what if it was just a bit brighter?

 

Once again the germanium layer of Argentium silver pulls through to do just that. Argentium silver is comparable in colour to white gold, and is noticeably whiter than sterling silver. I find this makes the final polish look even shinier than it does with sterling silver. Here’s an image for reference: 

Sustainability

It’s unfortunate that the precious metals industry is so awful when it comes to ethics and environmental impact, and it means finding sustainably sourced metals can be a real challenge. Sterling silver can be sketchy, because it can be produced by anyone, anywhere. Argentium silver, on the other hand, is produced by Argentium Company. Argentium Company produces their alloy from 100% sustainably sourced, 100% recycled silver. This adds a bit more security to the whole production process. You can read more about my sustainable / ethical practices here.

 

Shop my sustainably sourced, 940 Argentium silver rings. Handmade in Australia.

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