Argentium Silver - The Improved Sterling Silver
Whenever possible, we have chosen to use Argentium Silver in all of our silver products. Argentium Silver is the most tarnish resistant silver available today – is firescale free and can easily be made almost twice as hard as traditional sterling silver. Argentium is still .925 silver and is used by many fine jewelers. Like you, we wanted to enjoy our jewelry and not spend our time polishing it. The anti-tarnish properties of Argentium Silver are inherent in the chemical composition of the silver -- not a treatment or coating, so this quality will never "wear" out.
Although more expensive that traditional Sterling silver, we feel Argentium delivers a finished product that is worth the investment.
The Problem With Traditional Sterling Silver
Pure silver is too soft for many applications. For centuries, Sterling silver has been made by alloying copper with pure silver to impart hardness and durability, however, this addition of copper has two major disadvantages...
Tarnish is the term given to the discolouration of metal surfaces caused by copper’s exposure to sulphur compounds in the atmosphere.
Firescale is caused when sterling silver is heated in air for manufacturing processes including casting and brazing. Oxygen reacts with the copper in sterling silver to form a dark, penetrating oxide which can be difficult and labour intensive to remove. Firescale is often masked by plating a thin layer of silver over the surface.
The Solution: Germanium - the "magic" ingredient
How does germanium protect against tarnish and firescale?
Germanium loves oxygen! Germanium in Argentium oxidises preferentially to the copper and silver in the presence of air, forming an invisible protective germanium oxide surface layer. The oxide is able to continuously replenish itself at ambient temperatures through the migration of germanium atoms to the surface. The preferential oxidation of germanium prevents the formation of both tarnish and firescale.
