Am I stupid or what?

[stci]

Hi all!

I'm bored tonight and I'm surfing the Internet.

I see beautiful jewelry in silver and other metals and I wonder why I am unable to wear such jewelry.

I think it's beautiful yet! Am I snob? I can not even consider silver as a precious metal! It's not normal!

Am I alone? Am I really snob? What do you think honestly?

 

[Circe]

... yes? Or, if not a snob, a product of your environment: if you're raised to think of some materials as precious and others as tacky or fake, that can be hard to shake.

Me, I love silver. It allowed the great artisans to experiment back in the day, and it still does. If silver was good enough for Cellini and Faberge and Lalique, it's good enough for me ....

 

[stci]

... yes? Or, if not a snob, a product of your environment: if you're raised to think of some materials as precious and others as tacky or fake, that can be hard to shake.

Me, I love silver. It allowed the great artisans to experiment back in the day, and it still does. If silver was good enough for Cellini and Faberge and Lalique, it's good enough for me ....

Circe... that mean I have to change my mind but I can't do that! Perhaps I don't like to clean silver more than anything else? I don't know but I really think I'm wrong.... it makes me sad really!

 

[JewelFreak]

Some silver jewelry is very beautiful. American Indian, for instance -- wouldn't look right in another metal. I don't wear white metals because I look awful in them, my compexion is too pale & I just fade out. But I have one necklace I wear anyhow, just love it. I bought it a million years ago at a street fair, of all things -- turquoise in a beautiful silver setting shaped like leaves, beautifully done.

Maybe if you get conscious of the workmanship in some silver pieces it will help.

--- Laurie

 

[Dancing Fire]

Hi all!

I'm bored tonight and I'm surfing the Internet.

I see beautiful jewelry in silver and other metals and I wonder why I am unable to wear such jewelry.

I think it's beautiful yet! Am I snob? I can not even consider silver as a precious metal! It's not normal!

Am I alone? Am I really snob? What do you think honestly?

of course you are a snob why else would you be here ...

 

[stci]

 

[Circe]

... yes? Or, if not a snob, a product of your environment: if you're raised to think of some materials as precious and others as tacky or fake, that can be hard to shake.

Me, I love silver. It allowed the great artisans to experiment back in the day, and it still does. If silver was good enough for Cellini and Faberge and Lalique, it's good enough for me ....

Circe... that mean I have to change my mind but I can't do that! Perhaps I don't like to clean silver more than anything else? I don't know but I really think I'm wrong.... it makes me sad really!

See, I actually like that about silver, that it shows the passage of time: it makes it seem more human, somehow, that it ages alongside us. If you browse antique jewelry, that might help you to jump the barrier: a lot of precious stones were set in silver in the 19th c. and earlier, because it was the only white metal out there. And today, there are so many gorgeous artisan pieces out there: my Christmas present was a gorgeous designer silver cuff from Paris (they say it's a swallow, but really, it's an Angry Pigeon), and I adore it. In gold or platinum, it would cost the earth - in silver, less than $300!

 

[Miss Sparkly]

I wear a lot of silver earrings, but I'm in the same boat that I can't bring myself to wear silver rings or bracelets. Don't know why that is, I've just always felt gold/platinum belongs on the fingers and wrists while silver is good for necklaces and earrings.

 

[HollyS]

Silver, if worn everyday or often, maintains a high sheen. I have pieces that don't look much different from my platinum e-ring.

There is nothing tacky, cheap, or low rent about well designed silver jewelry. Just avoid the mass produced, stamped out pieces.

I wear silver nearly every day, and I receive tons of compliments and comments.

 

[VapidLapid]

I don't like to use the term "precious" about the jewelry metals. Chemists call them Noble metals, because they do not tarnish (form oxides) in the air under normal conditions. Unalloyed silver is much less prone to forming oxides than sterling. The copper content of sterling is the culprit. Silver is also the whitest of the metals. As a Smith is is a real joy to work with 999 fine silver. I have also made silver mirrors. I was trying to make a telescopic camera with mirror lenses back in the 90s. I made slumping molds and bent sheets of glass to the curvature I wanted. Then cleaned the surfaces to a chemical purity. A rinse with Tin Chloride which adsorbs to the surface of the glass creates a seed onto which the metalic silver will grow. then the glass is sprayed simultaneously with 2 solutions. One hydrazine and the other an ammoniacal solution of silver nitrate. the metalic silver drops out of solution and forms an amazingly lovely plating on the glass. However the chemicals are dreadfully poisonous. and they stain the bathtub. But I digress.

I think if we all thought of our jewelry metals as Noble (in the sense of non-reactivity) we might see a decrease in some of the prejudice against silver. Really it is a wonderful metal. Amazingly useful. It was the basis of the invention and application of photography for 150 years. It is anti microbial. It has long been used as a disinfectant in the eyes of newborns! and at over $31 an ounce today it aint cheap!
Remember that huge pink diamond that sold in Geneva a few months ago was set in a silver ring.

You are not stupid, but you are conditioned to have certain assumptions that are common in our culture. I have a friend who is a jewelry snob who says silver is only good for cutlery. I like silver cutlery too. Back in the 19th century gold rings were topped with silver to set the diamond in because they looked brighter in silver. Unfortunately we see most silver jewelry is so poorly made, clunky and mostly made for consumers who cant afford gold or platinum which are like 50 times the cost of silver by weight. Still it can be worked with great skill and delicacy and I think we'll be seeing more and more of that if the global economy continues as it has been.

 

[ksinger]

I don't like to use the term "precious" about the jewelry metals. Chemists call them Noble metals, because they do not tarnish (form oxides) in the air under normal conditions. Unalloyed silver is much less prone to forming oxides than sterling. The copper content of sterling is the culprit. Silver is also the whitest of the metals. As a Smith is is a real joy to work with 999 fine silver. I have also made silver mirrors. I was trying to make a telescopic camera with mirror lenses back in the 90s. I made slumping molds and bent sheets of glass to the curvature I wanted. Then cleaned the surfaces to a chemical purity. A rinse with Tin Chloride which adsorbs to the surface of the glass creates a seed onto which the metalic silver will grow. then the glass is sprayed simultaneously with 2 solutions. One hydrazine and the other an ammoniacal solution of silver nitrate. the metalic silver drops out of solution and forms an amazingly lovely plating on the glass. However the chemicals are dreadfully poisonous. and they stain the bathtub. But I digress.

I think if we all thought of our jewelry metals as Noble (in the sense of non-reactivity) we might see a decrease in some of the prejudice against silver. Really it is a wonderful metal. Amazingly useful. It was the basis of the invention and application of photography for 150 years. It is anti microbial. It has long been used as a disinfectant in the eyes of newborns! and at over $31 an ounce today it aint cheap!Remember that huge pink diamond that sold in Geneva a few months ago was set in a silver ring.

You are not stupid, but you are conditioned to have certain assumptions that are common in our culture. I have a friend who is a jewelry snob who says silver is only good for cutlery. I like silver cutlery too. Back in the 19th century gold rings were topped with silver to set the diamond in because they looked brighter in silver. Unfortunately we see most silver jewelry is so poorly made, clunky and mostly made for consumers who cant afford gold or platinum which are like 50 times the cost of silver by weight. Still it can be worked with great skill and delicacy and I think we'll be seeing more and more of that if the global economy continues as it has been.

Ditto that. I make fine silver chain, and it fuses without solder. Solder would make making something like that a royal pain, but with fine silver, which barely tarnishes and then only very slowly, it is quite easy. At least making the rings is easy. Linking them is a chore. But the end result is so dense and snakey and flexible. (For the sake of getting the idea of true scale, that chain is a 5mm diameter and 7 inches long)

Re: silver prices: Holy sweet good grief!! I haven't checked in a month or so. Last I checked it hovering in the 28s.

 

[gemgirl]

Hi all!
I'm bored tonight and I'm surfing the Internet.
I see beautiful jewelry in silver and other metals and I wonder why I am unable to wear such jewelry.
I think it's beautiful yet! Am I snob? I can not even consider silver as a precious metal! It's not normal!
Am I alone? Am I really snob? What do you think honestly?

I don't think of myself as a snob, but I don't wear silver either. I think it's a matter of personal choice. I owned probably a dozen pieces that I had collected or had been given as gifts over the years, but I sold everything on eBay with the exception of two necklaces that my bestie gave me many years ago. I don't care for the color, the finish and I really don't like the upkeep. I think everyone should be able to wear what they like. I took advantage of the low gold prices for many years when I first started watching Value Vision (now Shop NBC). They carried the same selection as many high end stores (like Fortunoff) did. So I bought whatever I wanted to add to my personal collection and now if I never bought another chain or necklace again? I'd be OK with that because I own a lot of all the noble metals.

Collections like Lois Hill's have given me a reason to stop and really look at the selection in jewelry store display cases, but I still haven't bought any. David Yurman's things never thrilled me, even seeing some of his special limited edition pieces in his Madison Ave shop.

I think my opinions and preferences were formed because I grew up in a very Italian family, and all of my elders wore solid 18K yellow gold. That was the only metal that existed in their minds. My immediate family was poor, so growing up, we didn't own many luxury items. When I was able to buy for myself and I had some disposable income, I started collecting things I never thought I'd own in my lifetime. I'm glad that I did because those things couldn't be bought now.

 

[VapidLapid]

Ksinger, that is totally gorgeous. I am finding that high carat gold with no copper in it fuses without solder too.
Where should I look to learn to make a knit chain like yours?

 

[VRBeauty]

I think your prejudice is perfectly normal. To my Asian aunties, silver was a second-class metal, and I I absorbed a bit of that lesson even though I met them only once or twice. Their gifts to us kids were 24k - nothing less would do to show their love for us. Somewhere along the line though I fell in love with handcrafted silver jewelry and vintage Mexican silver... oh, and vintage silverplate flatware. I love the patina, and I love that I can wear larger pieces of jewelry, stuff with more "presence," that I could never afford if they were gold. Both silver and gold look fine with my skintone so I guess I lucked out there!

These days my prejudice is against badly designed and poorly made jewelry no matter what the metal. And I have yet to invest in any gold item that's less than 14k.

 

[marymm]

Of course you are not stupid - I'm not sure you're a snob either. For me, jewelry is not a necessity but a luxury and generally it is worn as an adornment to enhance ourselves - if you don't like silver, who cares? - it is just a personal style preference like I assume you have for clothing and shoes, etc.

My metal of choice is white gold, but I also like silver, particularly Argentium Silver or rhodium-plated silver, and for me these are lovely and affordable white-metal options. Unlike many PSers, I do not care for platinum at all and will not buy it or wear it - and perhaps shocking to many PSers, diamonds are not my favorite gemstone! I don't think these facts make me stupid or a reverse-snob - I just know what I like and what looks good on me and what pleases me to wear.

I guess if you look down on others because they like and wear silver pieces, I might consider that snobbish behavior - but your original post is only talking about not considering silver as an option for yourself. If you had silver pieces you liked but did not wear them because you feared others' reactions, that might be "stupid" or "snobbish" - but from what you've posted, I think you are just true to yourself and there is nothing wrong with that, particularly when it comes to jewelry.

 

[ksinger]

Ksinger, that is totally gorgeous. I am finding that high carat gold with no copper in it fuses without solder too.
Where should I look to learn to make a knit chain like yours?

Thanks VL! I'm pretty proud of the end product myself. And yes, that chain can be made with 22 karat gold (anything lower won't fuse), which I would give my eyeteeth to do it in, but....I'd REALLY have to sell my eyeteeth, so.... I've priced it out in gold and

Anyway, THE ONLY book for this is "Classical Loop-in-Loop Chains & Their Derivatives" by Jean Reist Stark and Josephine Reist Smith.
It is a staggeringly good book with incredible diagrams and directions. If you're serious don't bother with any other book because this one is considered the best reference on the subject.

I'll warn you though, this is not a knitted chain, it is linked, with each link being wrapped, butted, torch-fused, pre-shaped with pliers and THEN linked one at a time. It is truly an enormous amount of work. I'm not sure how anyone could make money at it, although this gal does I bet. http://www.thegoldweaver.com/ Gorgeous stuff.

Oh, just for reference, that chain is in 22 gauge wire.

 

[stci]

The more I think silver the more I think "oxidation and rubbing".

when I was young, my mother had ton of beauties silver tablewares. I have rub and rub and I think it's the cause of my problem in front of silver.

The problem become worst when you have a beautiful ring with delicate stones. How to clean it?

I'm not a fan of David Yurman's thing either and the price of it's piece is horribly expensive!

Anyway... I'm gonna continue to buy gold if I can afford it. Perhaps I will change my mind with time.

 

[VapidLapid]

Thanks kSinger. I found the book on amazon and ordered it last night. Then I checked that goldweaver site!
holé molé!
Do you have anything from her? If so there needs to be a thread on that. These are really great references, and I thank you.


eta: I forgot to mention SIlver is pennies away from $34!!!

 

[slg47]

The more I think silver the more I think "oxidation and rubbing".

when I was young, my mother had ton of beauties silver tablewares. I have rub and rub and I think it's the cause of my problem in front of silver.

The problem become worst when you have a beautiful ring with delicate stones. How to clean it?

I'm not a fan of David Yurman's thing either and the price of it's piece is horribly expensive!

Anyway... I'm gonna continue to buy gold if I can afford it. Perhaps I will change my mind with time.

stci I have a piece of scott kay sterling (I think it is rhodium plated) and it has not tarnished at all, while all of my other silver pieces have. I would buy what you like though!

 

[ksinger]

Thanks kSinger. I found the book on amazon and ordered it last night. Then I checked that goldweaver site!
holé molé!
Do you have anything from her? If so there needs to be a thread on that. These are really great references, and I thank you.


eta: I forgot to mention SIlver is pennies away from $34!!!

You're very welcome. Happy to pass on info and "talk shop".

No, I WISH I had a piece by her, but more than that, I wish I could hang out and WATCH her. Gah. She casts and draws all her own wire! Whew. I suspect she is making her own special alloy. I mention the alloy because the book says the particular 22k alloy for fusing is this:

(in dwts)
22 dwts of 24k gold
1.5 dwts of fine silver, very clean
.5 dwt of pure copper

IF I ever get to the point where I can afford to work in gold, I'm not sure where you get THAT particular alloy - none of the sites like Rio tell you the exact composition of their golds - and I have no intention of casting or drawing my own wire so it might be a trick...

As I've gone down the jewelry road, I find I'm much more fascinated by the process than the end result. I guess it's why I like to DO it. And for some reason I really like chain. Go figure.

Silver price:

 

[VapidLapid]

I started making my own gold alloys a few months ago. Because I like the not working with flux and do a lot of forging and annealing I wanted alloys with no copper. I made 18 and 20 kt with only gold and silver. High carat yet somewhat pale compared to the traditional copper containing high ct golds. After fusing the grain together I hammer it flat and re-fuse to mix better. Then I flatten again, cut it into a spiral with aviation snips, bend the ends together and fuse them. Instant ring blank. then hang that on a graphite hook like thing I carved from a block o graphite (ebay) and VERY CAREFULLY melt spots to form slow drips to move the metal around...