FAQs
Silver Clay is an amazing material made of microscopic, recycled silver particles combined with water and an organic binder. The clay can be moulded and shaped in a variety of ways. Once dry the piece is kiln fired at a high temperature for a couple of hours where the organic binder burns away, and all the tiny silver particles fuse together to form 99.99% pure solid silver. This is termed ‘fine silver’.
There are quite a few more steps involved in the making and finishing of each piece, please click here for a more detailed description of the journey from silver clay to a wearable piece of solid silver jewellery.
Fine silver is 99.99% pure silver, whereas sterling silver is made of 92.75% silver and 7.5% copper and other alloys. The addition of these other metals in sterling silver makes the resulting silver harder and more durable, but also make it more prone to tarnishing.
Fine silver therefore retains its shiny silver finish better than sterling and is purer so it holds a higher value. It is however a little softer, so it is slightly more susceptible to light surface wear and damage, but don't worry, it would take a lot of force to damage your jewellery! You won't need to take much more care of it than you would sterling silver.
Please see the image below to see the different types of chain available, all chains are sterling silver. The fine curb chain is pictured on the left, the mini belcher in the centre and the snake chain on the right
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The silver used to make your jewellery is 100% recycled, please click here for more detailed information on this silver, and for further information on the steps that I take to ensure that every part of 'Wild Silver Jewellery' is sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Not at all! Recycled silver has exactly the same look and feel as virgin silver.
Only pieces of silver that weigh 7.78g or above need to be hallmarked by an assay office, and all of my pieces weigh under 7.78g (which is actually very heavy for a piece of jewellery)