Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. The minimum millesimal fineness is 925. Fine silver (99.9% pure) is generally too soft for producing large functional objects, and in Sterling the silver is usually alloyed with copper to give strength while preserving the ductility of the silver and a high precious metal content. Other metals can replace the copper, usually with the intent to improve various properties of the basic sterling alloy such as reducing casting porosity, eliminating fire scale, and increasing resistance to tarnish. These replacement metals include germanium, zinc, platinum as well as a variety of other additives including silicon and boron. A number of alloys claiming fire scale and/or tarnish resistance have appeared in recent years sparking heavy competition between the various manufacturers and their different formulations. No one alloy has emerged as an industry leader or standard and ongoing alloy development is a very active area.
SILVER ALPACA JEWELRY
Pendant Necklaces
Earrings
Pendants
Made of stainless steel, the Peruvian Alpaca Jewelry is made from an alloy of elements such as iron, copper, zinc, and nickel. It has properties which keep it from rust or tarnish. Our products are also hypoallergenic made from lightweight material. Alpaca silver is not real silver.
About Murano
Murano island (situated few miles out of Venice) was a commercial port as far back as the 7th Century, and by the 10th Century it had grown into a prosperous trading center with its own coins, police force, and commercial aristocracy. Then, in 1291, the Venetian Republic ordered glass makers to move their factories to Murano because glass works glassworks represented a fire danger in Venice, whose buildings were mostly wooden at the time.
Artisans were granted the right to wear swords and enjoyed immunity from prosecution by the notoriously high-handed Venetian state. By the late 14th Century, the daughters of glass makers were allowed to marry into Venice's blue-blooded families (This was roughly equivalent to Archie Bunker's daughter being invited to wed a Cabot or a Peabody).
Glass makers weren't allowed to leave the Republic. If a craftsman got a hankering to set up shop beyond the Lagoon, he risked being assassinated or having his hands cut off by the secret police although, in practice, most defectors weren't treated so harshly.
They were the only people in Europe who knew how to make a mirror. Murano is still an exporter of traditional products like mirrors and glassware, and its factories produce modern items such as faucet handles, glass lampshades, wine stoppers, and electric chandeliers. At the retail level, there's a growing emphasis on glass art and most important of all the souvenir trade.