Silver Jewelry
Silver Jewelry is a beautiful and widely used jewelry base. Jewelry and silverware are traditionally made from sterling silver (standard silver), an alloy of 92.5% silver with 7.5% copper. In the United States, only an alloy consisting of at least 92.5% fine silver can be marketed as silver.
Sterling silver is harder than pure silver, and has a lower melting point (893 °C) than either pure silver or pure copper. That is why it is such a huge part of Silver Jewelry.
Sterling silver jewelry is often plated with a thin coat of .999 fine silver to give the item a shiny finish. This process is called flashing. Silver jewelry can also be plated with rhodium (for a bright, shiny look) or gold.