Because many people dislike gold, or find gold jewelry too expensive, silver is the number one metal choice, when it comes to worldwide jewelry sales. From amazing gemstone encrusted engagement rings, or elegant earrings, to butter spreaders, silver has been around us since forever!

Fine silver (99.9% pure) is generally too soft for producing functional objects; therefore, the silver is usually alloyed with copper to give it strength while preserving the beauty of this precious metal. Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by mass of silver and 7.5% by mass of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum fineness of 925. The basic issue with silver is that it tarnishes. Although some people like that natural look, many don’t. So jewelers have looked for ways to delay or prevent that tarnishing and one of several ways to do it is to plate a very thin layer of silver, rhodium or gold on top of the original silver. It is not uncommon for manufacturers to silver plate sterling silver items. They do this for two reasons. First, the silver as plated from a bright bath is brighter than can be achieved by polishing; and second, the fine silver deposit will tarnish a little slower than sterling silver.

Gold plating of silver is also used in the manufacture of jewelry. Silver atoms diffuse into the gold layer, causing slow gradual fading of its color and eventually causing tarnishing of the surface. This process may take months and even years, depending on the thickness of the gold layer. A barrier metal layer is used to counter this effect. Copper, which also migrates into gold, does so more slowly than silver. A gold-plated silver article is usually a silver substrate with layers of copper, nickel, and gold deposited on top of it.

Rhodium belongs to the Platinum group of metals. All of them present outstanding chemical inertness (will not react or change easily) thus, rhodium will not tarnish whereas silver will. They are very expensive, so only a very thin plate is applied to reduce the amount of metal in the jewel. If not subject to excessive friction and wear, they will retain their look indefinitely. Rhodium plated silver is the best type of silver jewelry to buy on the market cause it will never tarnish, and it actually looks better than real white gold! Diavio silver jewelry has a good 2-3mm plating of rhodium, which not only gives silver jewelry a great white gold appearance, but it also prolongs the life of the jewellery because it is so durable and has scratch resistant properties. I am not saying of course that it will never wear, but the chances are that you will get bored of that piece before it does!