Argentium experience

[ydiamonds]

I have a blue sapphire I want to set into a bezel slide but can't decide whether to set it in Argentium or white gold. I have not seen Argentium in person, but generally prefer the look of white gold over sterling. Can anyone tell me about their experience with Argentium? How does it look compared to white gold and platinum? Does it stay bright or do you need to clean/polish it like sterling?

Thank you!

 

[Agent P]

I have two argentium silver rings. I just compaired them to my sterling rings and the agentium is darker, more like the palladium rings I have, than the sterling which seems "whiter". I don't know if this makes sense.

 

[Arkteia]

I think LovingDiamonds once posted something about both argentum and palladium. She said something about grey tones in both metals/alloys. I have a couple of things made in Argentum and tend to agree. Argentum does not tarnish with time but sterling silver has less grey in it. I think argentum is a good choice for bright stones without a hint of grey - red or orange garnets, for example. Anything pastel or soft will bring out grey in argentum, and vice versa. However, if you combine YG bezel with argentum shank, it may work well. Might save you some money as well.

 

[T L]

I prefer more greyish whiter metals because they emulate platinum for a fraction of the price. It's good to know that about argentium. Sterling silver to me screams "silver."

 

[LD]

Sorry it wasn't me that said that! I was comparing Palladium and Platinum! Palladium is too grey for my liking.

I have no idea whether Argentium silver is grey or not (sorry).

 

[Cind11]

I think LovingDiamonds once posted something about both argentum and palladium. She said something about grey tones in both metals/alloys. I have a couple of things made in Argentum and tend to agree. Argentum does not tarnish with time but sterling silver has less grey in it. I think argentum is a good choice for bright stones without a hint of grey - red or orange garnets, for example. Anything pastel or soft will bring out grey in argentum, and vice versa. However, if you combine YG bezel with argentum shank, it may work well. Might save you some money as well.

I have an aregentium silver chain and it DOES tarnish.

 

[marymm]

I have perhaps a half-dozen Argentium rings - several for more than 18 months - none of them have tarnished nor have I needed to polish them as of yet (I store them carefully and separately) - I do have a special cloth for them when/if I need to polish them.

In terms of color, to my eye the Argentium pieces look "whiter" than my White Gold jewelry - all my White Gold is rhodium-plated. I also brought out my rhodium-plated and platinum-plated Sterling Silver pieces, all of which color-wise looked very similar to the White Gold. I know color is perceived differently by everyone, but when I compare my Argentium to my rhodium-plated and platinum-plated pieces, the plated pieces have that "steeliness" I associate with the platinum metal family, while the Argentium appears more "white."

I don't think you can go wrong with either metal for your sapphire - Argentium is more cost-effective, and I can vouch for the fact that clean and crisp bezels can be made in Argentium (I have several solitaire rings bezelled in Argentium) - but if your bezel slide will have a lot of intricate filigree work, I might go with the White Gold?

 

[T L]

For silver, I have one of those tarnish proof jewelry cases. They're lined with a special material that helps prevent oxidation. I highly recommend them for any silver jewelry. Polishing eventually rubs the metal away and the less polishing, the better.

 

[fierypyropixy]

I've had an Argentium ring for a few months now, and I'm finding that it does sort of darken a little . . . not horribly tarnishing (I turn silver green before it even touches my skin, it's like I have some huge anti-Sterling forcefield or something), but it does have just a touch of an aged look to it.

I've been wondering . . . but I haven't actually researched it yet. Didn't want to bother JKT since she's so busy, either. How do you clean your stones which are set in Argentium?

I was thinking the normal way of baby toothbrush and water would be a huge no-no . . . but what do you do for the stones?

 

[ydiamonds]

Thanks everyone for being so helpful. I love my platinum ring, and like silver when it's highly polished. Since the chain will be permanent, I don't know that it'll be highly polished to begin with, and how often I might have to polish it and the bezel. I think I'll just go with plated wg for this piece, and maybe try Argentium in a fun ring that can be more easily polished.

 

[packrat]

I have an argentium wedding band I wear w/my wg ering and I can tell a difference in the color. I've not noticed it getting darker or tarnishing at all.

My next projects are going to end up being in silver and I am thinking to rhodium plate them so they aren't the more whitish color. I like the more gray color of plated wg but just can't afford it, so I'm hoping this will be a good compromise.

 

[Michael_E]

My next projects are going to end up being in silver and I am thinking to rhodium plate them so they aren't the more whitish color.

If you have any sort of sensitivity to nickel, then you may want to reconsider plating rhodium onto silver. Silver needs a base coat of nickel in order to be plated with rhodium and once the rhodium wears down in spots you would be in contact with the nickel layer.

 

[packrat]

Oh that's interesting Michael, thank you! Is that what turns a persons finger green sometimes? Is there a way to find out if you have an allergy, if you don't know?

 

[chrono]

I have experience with white gold, platinum, palladium and sterling silver but not argentium silver though. I find that palladium really darkens up a lot over time compared to platinum. I'm interested in knowing more about argentium silver as well to find out if it does tarnish or stays white.

 

[Michael_E]

The green color usually comes from a reaction with copper in the ring. The only way to find out if you'll have a reaction is to wear something which could give you a reaction. It doesn't take long to find out, BUT you can develop a sensitivity to nickel over time, so you just never know. I think that it's just best not to tempt fate over a slight change in color provided by plating, (particularly in white polished metals where the color you perceive is greatly affected by the texture of the metal and the colors in your surroundings).

 

[LD]

Building on Michael's post ......... if you're allergic to nickel you'll know very quickly because you'll get itchy and red!!!

I wonder whether Argentium silver reacts differently to different skin types? It sounds so far reading this thread that people have had different experiences with it. That would make sense because white gold in my earrings turns black but never with rings!!!!

 

[Arkteia]

It may simply depend on the moisture of your skin. Theoretically, the dryer the skin, the less reaction there should be. Young skin has more moisture, so in a way, "coloring" of the skin on exposure to silver is not a bad sign.

Nickel allergy is of contact type, so it is easy to check if you have it, but if you never wore nickel, it may not show the first type you wear it. Rhodium-plated silver should be cheap anyhow, and the setting could be changed in case of nickel allergy, so I'd take the risk.

Re. argentum - there was someone's post re. JKT's ring made in Argentum and I remember one of our technology-minded gurus commenting on it.

I found one post, from Lady Disdain, comparing silver and argentum, but there was another one.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/sterling-silver.141402/#post-2543138#p2543138']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/sterling-silver.141402/#post-2543138#p2543138[/URL]

Another one (more about ears' reaction to silver) but with good explanation of several metals' components from DD

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/why-do-earrring-holes-do-better-w-gold-earrings-v-silver.128389/#post-2258309#p2258309']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/why-do-earrring-holes-do-better-w-gold-earrings-v-silver.128389/#post-2258309#p2258309[/URL]

Another one (the last one on this page) by Lady Disdain re. tarnishing of argentum

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/gold-vs-silver.123368/#post-2159731#p2159731']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/gold-vs-silver.123368/#post-2159731#p2159731[/URL]

 

[mousey]

I had a bit of trouble with my JKT piece- it tarnished quite badly. I used a special polish cloth called Goddards, and it seem to work well. I asked Julia about it, and she said it was probably because the air was polluted. And I reckon she is right- I ve lived here about 6 mths, and my sterling jewelry is black, and these pieces are things I ve had for years, and never tarnished before. Kinda freaks me out when I think about what I must be breathing in....

 

[T L]

To clean silver without polishing:

Take a glass baking dish, and line the bottom with aluminum foil. Fill it with boiling water and add a few tablespoons of washing soda). Drop the silver in there, and make sure it's touching the foil. The foil has a chemical reaction with the silver and releases the oxidation. The hotter the water, the better. Make sure you don't use this method to clean softer gems though, as I'm unsure if the boiling water would hurt it.

 

[wakingdreams53]

I have a DanielM Argentium ring which I've been wearing non-stop for the passed two months. I recently had to polish my sterling silver chain and ring due to not liking how dark it gets after oxidizing. I didn't have to clean the Argentium ring though, as it was still relatively "white." I only say relatively because it seems to have developed some dark marks and doesn't look "clean" anymore. Perhaps it could use some polishing(I'll try tourmaline_lover's trick)! But what I can say is that for the relatively short time I've worn it, with the "wear" its developed, I would opt Unplated White Gold in a heartbeat. (actually, i'd opt yg, but thats just been a recent preference )
If this isn't a 24/7 ring, Argentium is a great value for a white metal.

 

[jstarfireb]

I have pieces in various white metals...Argentium, sterling, rhodium-plated sterling, platinum, unplated white gold, and plated white gold. No palladium though.

To me, Argentium looks just like sterling. And rhodium-plated sterling looks just like plated white gold. Unplated white gold looks decidedly yellowish to me, but a soft "antique" looking yellow as opposed to a strong buttery yellow. Platinum has a greyish tone that none of the other metals I own seem to have...so Argentium is definitely whiter than platinum.

My Argentium pieces are generally tarnish-free, but they have started to develop a few subtle spots, more so on the side that sits next to my skin (the inner side of rings and the back side of pendants). Argentium isn't tarnish-free, but it is tarnish-resistant. I think rhodium plating is also a good way to decrease the appearance of tarnish, but it's also prone to wear.

The other advantage of Argentium, according to Julia, is that it's less brittle than regular sterling silver when heated, so when she works with it, she can do more intricate designs.

 

[Agent P]

After reading more here I am beginning to think I am odd. I wear sterling silver on regular basis (I have a T&Co bracelet that I have pretty much worn everyday since 2003 and I have other rings, necklaces and bracelets that I mix) and I don't seem to have a problem with my pieces tarnishing. So is it possible that body chemistry and environmental/air conditions that cause silver to tarnish faster can also work to have it not tarnish at all or very slowly?

 

[chrono]

If Argentium silver reacts according to skin type, then it’s no different from Sterling silver or white gold in that it will not maintain its whiteness. I’ve read that Argentium silver is supposed to be tarnish resistant? When I wear my silver bangle, it stays a shiny reflective white so I think my skin is very non-reactive. I’ve never heard of the environment affecting silver though.

 

[Arkteia]

Acid rain could.

 

[arjunajane]

Acid rain could.

Crasru I'm not sure where you live, but I would hazard a guess if you're in an area that is prone to Acid Rain of all things, you have more serious concerns than the conditioning of your jewellery

To answer the OP, I dont personally see this grey tinge like plat that others are mentioning, when looking at my Argentium piece. It looks like a slightly more muted version of sterling; I think it could pass as Rho.-plated WG, if thats what you want. I have had a pendant from JKT now for..year and half I think, it has certainly proved tarnish resistant and I've only used a silver cloth on it once (not much tarnish came off at all).
I am prone to believe both body chemistry and air/surrounds conditions will have some impact on the wearing of silver.

 

[ydiamonds]

Thanks for everyone's input. It's been very helpful.

Arjunajane, I love that stone in your avatar! I've been looking for a square stone in that color for a long time.