Metals:
Fine Silver is 99.9% pure silver. Fine Silver is typically very soft and malleable, but can be made less malleable through work hardening or cold forging techniques. Due to the purity of fine silver, it does not readily tarnish. However, an occasional wipe with a clean soft cloth will help keep your fine silver looking like new.
Argentium 930 Sterling Silver is a tarnish-resistant silver alloy consisting of 93.0% pure silver, copper and germanium. When designing with fine silver is not practical, Argentium sterling silver is my go-to metal. It is more pure (93.0% vs. 92.5%) than traditional sterling silver and has the added benefit of being tarnish-resistant. For more information, visit www.ArgentiumSilver.com
Sterling 925 Silver is a silver alloy comprised of 92.5% pure silver and copper. Copper is added to this alloy to improve the metals strength. However, it is the addition of copper which causes traditional sterling silver to rapidly tarnish.
Copper used at Elements by Dawn is 99.9% pure copper. Like fine silver, copper is typically very soft and malleable, but can be made less malleable through work hardening or cold forging techniques. Copper tarnishes very easily and mellows from a bright rosy-pink to a warm chocolate brown over time. Copper also accepts a patina quite readily (think Statue of Liberty or an old copper coin) and thus is a very versatile metal for jewelry designs.
Brass is typically an alloy of copper and zinc. Elements by Dawn uses rich low brass which is 85% copper and 15% zinc.
