Sterling Silver or Silver-Plated?
So which is better…solid sterling silver or silver-plated? I think the answer is obvious enough, but aren’t silver-plated beads much cheaper? The answer is yes, they are cheaper. But as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. Silver-plated beads are - exactly as they sound - some other material coated with a very thin layer of silver. That layer of silver can (and does) wear off over time. How long it takes to wear off depends on several factors:
What is underneath the silver? This is known as the “base” of the silver. The best material to have underneath is brass. Silver with a steel or aluminum base is not as valuable and will feel noticeably lighter. This is easy to determine if we are talking about a silver serving tray, but not so easy if we are talking about a 4mm silver bead.
The next factor is the coating over the base between it and the silver. If the piece is coated with a combination of nickel, copper and zinc, it will accept (or bond) to the silver better. There is no way to determine this, so you just have to hope the person who did the plating knew what they were doing and didn’t cut too many corners.
The final factor is the thickness of the silver coating. Silver tarnishes over time…that is a fact of life. It will happen whether your piece is solid sterling silver or silver-plated. The difference is what is revealed underneath when it is polished. When you polish silver, you are removing the layer of tarnish and revealing the “fresh” silver underneath. In a way, it is like peeling an onion. If your piece is solid sterling silver, you will never find anything besides more silver. If it is silver-plated, eventually the silver will wear off and you will get down to the base material - usually not very pretty.
So how thick is thick enough? A cheap piece will be coated with 1-3 microns of silver plating. It will only take a few polishes for the silver to wear away completely. If the piece is coated with 8-10 microns, you should be in good shape. 25 microns is about as thick as silver plate gets.
With beads there is no way to tell what is underneath. It could be brass, aluminum or even plastic. AND, if the material wasn’t coated properly before being plated, the silver will come off in flakes and you will have a real mess on your hands. I decided when I started making jewelry that I would never use anything but the best. All of my jewelry is made from solid sterling silver. I intend for it to be worn and passed down to the next generation.
