SILVER

Silver occurs naturally as nuggets, grains & wiry formations. It is bright silvery white in colour however on exposure to oxygen in the air it rapidly oxidizes forming a layer of black silver oxide. It is because of this fact that it is often alloyed with other metals.

Half the world’s production of Silver is as a by-product of lead & copper mining. It can also be found as an alloy with pure gold known as Electrum & considerable amounts of silver are recovered from processing the gold.

Sterling silver contains 92.5% pure silver & usually some copper & is hallmarked as ‘925’. Thai Silver typically has a higher silver content of approximately 97%., though it is not hallmarked as such.

The main Silver producers of the world are South America, USA, Australia, Mexico & the former USSR. The finest natural silver specimens come from Kongsberg, Norway.

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