I like my jewellery to sparkle - is silver right for me?

Silver is an ideal jewellery material if you like your jewellery to sparkle and shine.

Out of all the metals available silver comes second from top on the refractive index, with only liquid mercury being more refractive. Even the periodic table chemical symbol for silver, Ag, is a derivative of the Latin word Argentum meaning white and shining.

This sounds terribly technical but put simply silver can be polished to achieve a shine unlike any other metal.

Sometimes however a craftsman may not prefer the brightest and most sparkling finish possible.

There are several types of finish commonly used on silver jewellery today. These are a bright highly polished finish, a brushed or matte finish created by rubbing an abrasive over the silver, a satin smooth finish, a rough matte sandblasted finish, a chemically blackened oxidised finish or an antique chemically aged finish.

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