Sterling Silver Lapis
Sterling SilverSterling silver, also called fine silver, is a beautifully lustrous cool-toned precious metal favored in fine jewelry among other products. The most reflective of all metals (excluding mercury), sterling silver looks stunning by itself and brings out the best hues in an array of colorful gemstones.
Sterling silver can be polished to a higher sheen than platinum. In fact, Ag, the chemical symbol for silver, comes from a word that means “white and shining.” The surface of silver can boast that shiny, polished appearance, or can be brushed, satin, matte, sandblasted, antiqued or oxidized (chemically blackened).
In order to be called sterling silver, a metal must be made up of a minimum of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% alloy (meaning other metals), including but not limited to copper and nickel. The alloy is added to pure silver to make the metal more durable, tougher and harder. Sterling silver is designated a fineness of “925.” Pieces with sterling silver may be marked “sterling.”
Finishes on Sterling Silver
Finishing, or plating, is a common treatment with sterling silver. Popular types of plating are rhodium plating, gold plating and anti-tarnish plating. Plating is used to extend the life and sheen of the jewelry. After sizing or buffing a piece of jewelry with a machine, it must be re-plated to restore the finish.
Rhodium Plating: Rhodium plating is a complex and laborious process that enhances the luster and beauty and extends the life of silver. A member of the platinum metal group, rhodium is often used as a finishing touch on silver jewelry. It's a shiny silvery metal with a very white and reflective appearance, much like mercury. It's also very hard, so it withstands much wear and tear, resists natural tarnishing and wonderfully mimics the brilliant finish of freshly polished silver.
Caring for Sterling Silver
Sterling silver becomes tarnished as the result of a natural chemical process that occurs when sterling silver is exposed to chemicals in the air, rubber, wool and latex. Humidity also plays a role in accelerating tarnishing. It's easy to keep your sterling silver sparkling, though, by taking a few steps to prevent tarnish and other wear and tear.
Avoid exposing sterling silver to direct sunlight and harsh chemicals, including chlorine, ammonia, hair products, perfumes, cosmetics, perspiration and strong jewelry cleaning solutions.
Periodically wash sterling silver with mild dish soap and warm water. Rinse well and dry completely with a soft cloth before storing because moisture can cause tarnish.
Lightly polish sterling silver frequently with a soft silver-polishing cloth, avoiding abrasive cloths completely.
Tarnish is easy to remove when it first forms as a yellowish tint, but becomes more difficult to remove when it becomes brown and black. Remove tarnish with a silver polish cream, avoiding immersing pieces with gemstones in tarnish-removal solutions.
Minimize scratches on sterling silver by storing it in its own compartment in your jewelry box or in a cloth pouch. Sterling silver may also be stored in sealed polyethylene bags.
Lapis: Lapis is a strong blue microcrystalline rock composed primarily of the mineral lazurite. Its value decreases with the presence of white patches called calcite, while small veins of golden pyrite inclusions are often prized. Top quality lapis lazuli comes from Afghanistan, but small quantities are also found in Siberia, Chile, the United States, Pakistan and Canada. It is one of the most valuable semi-opaque stones and is a relatively soft gem, ranking 5.0-5.5 on the Mohs Scale .
First mined in Afghanistan in 6000 B.C., lapis lazuli was used to heal eye maladies and was thought to help one acquire wisdom and serenity. The Romans believed it was a powerful aphrodisiac, while the Egyptians used lapis for cosmetic purposes and often carved it into vases and figurines. The ancient city of Ur had a thriving trade in lapis lazuli as early as the fourth millennium B.C. The name comes from the Latin word “lapis,” meaning stone, and from the Arabic word “azul,” meaning blue.
In the Middle Ages, lapis was thought to free the soul from error, envy and fear. Used by artists during the Renaissance, ground lapis created a beautiful blue pigment for paintings. The stone was inlaid in the columns of St. Issac's Cathedral and the panels of the Pushkin Palace, both in Petersburg. Today, lapis lazuli is traditionally given as a 9th wedding anniversary gift. It is believed to free the wearer of melancholy and strengthen total awareness, creativity and ESP.
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