On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 20:40:58 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry "Fred Mason"
wrote:


Sterling silver, by law, must be .925 silver and .075 copper, any other
alloy is not sterling silver.

Fred

Actually, Fred, in the U.S. that's not true. U.S. stamping laws dictate only
the precious metal content as being 92.5 percent silver. it does not specify
the remaining 7.5 percent. There are several alloys marketed these days which
subsitute some or all of the copper for other metals, usually in order to deal
with firescale problems in castings. They can legally be marked sterling, or
"925" in the U.S. Other countries may vary, however. I'm not sure whether
British law allows other than copper in sterling. they might not... (how 'bout
it, you brits?)

However, you are correct that the long time standard composition of sterling
silver is silver with only copper added. The alloy is named according to
British traditions that gave rise to our current alloys, and virtually any
sterling silver made until about fifteen years ago was alloyed with copper, as
the firescale free alloys are relatively recent developments. The copper free,
or reduced copper alloys are most commonly found these days in mass produced
cast jewelry, rather than fabricated, handmade, or stamped items.

Peter