It's all the rage on the fashion runways from Paris to Milan, and New York to Tokyo.
There's a real feeling that sterling silver jewellery has been born again.
UK silver jewellery has a range of qualities; it is versatile, durable and unsurpassable. It has the potential to reinvent itself fabulously in the hands of talented designers.
Silver charm bracelets are being worn by celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears and Hilary Duff.
Even the economic crisis has encouraged fashionistas to turn towards silver jewellery which has a timeless look by itself or designed with precious stones.
The great thing about silver jewellery is that even though it's strutting down the catwalks this season, it won't be out next season. This is a huge advantage whether you choose contemporary silver jewellery or exclusive silver jewellery, a good design will stand the test of time.
Being a lover of silver jewellery myself, I'm delighted it is so fashionable at the moment.
What most people enjoy is being the first in the know about something, and if you love silver jewellery also, this website is very interesting as they are constantly sourcing new designers with the highest quality and craftsmanship.
There is a very complete collection of UK silver jewellery on this website, including ladies, mens silver jewellery and also for children.
They have a lovely bridal collection of silver jewellery which is organised in traditional bridal jewellery, contemporary bridal jewellery, on the beach bridal jewellery and bridesmaid gifts.
The bridal silver jewellery collection also features pearl and crystal jewellery. A timeless classic is given a contemporary look ? The Emelia Chain ? with a creamy freshwater pearl and an ultra modern black zirconia and costs only ?40.
Not forgetting trendy silver bangles, there is a great choice here. An old favourite of mine is the Silver Russian Wedding Bangle, a stunning bangle version of the Russian wedding ring in highly polished silver, for ?56.
If you want a ring that features crystals, there is a lovely lilac drop ring, which has two beads one which is amethyst and the other is blue agate. It's classy and contemporary all at the same and comes in highly polished silver for ?26.
For men there is a choice of rings, bracelets, chains, bangles and of course cufflinks.
One of the men's silver rings that I particularly like is the Tribal Band Ring, which has contemporary carved detail on the silver ring, and is ?24.
Or for him there are crystal cufflinks in stylish solid silver, called duo cufflinks, which are inlaid with onyx and mother of pearl.
From the mens? silver chain collection, there are a variety of styles; one example is the silver ball chain where lots of little silver balls form this id-tag style chain. It is 50cm in length with a width of 2mm, and comes at ?21.
They also have a section for children's jewellery with stylish, fun pieces and items such as the silver first tooth pot and the silver heart rattle.
There is a lovely baby's silver baby bangle for ?18.
Also they have lots of cute pink and silver pendants and charm bracelets for the younger ones!
The prices are competitive and most importantly they offer a 14 day no quibbles returns policy.
The Hallmark shows that jewellery & other articles made from precious metals (Gold, silver & platinum) have been independently tested by an Assay Office. This guarantees that the article conforms to a specified legal standard of purity.
Why Hallmark?
Precious metals used in jewellery and giftware manufacture are always used as an alloy. The precious metal must be mixed with other metals to give it the necessary flexibility and strength to produce a desirable and durable article.
Even the most experienced jeweller or chemist cannot tell how much precious metal there is in an alloy, just by looking at it. Due to the high price of precious metals, this offers a huge opportunity for fraud and there has therefore always been a need to protect the public, and honest suppliers, from those who are tempted to cheat them.
Therefore all items being sold as gold, silver or platinum in the UK must be hallmarked to confirm that they meet the legal standard. This cannot be done by the manufacturer or importer; goods must be submitted to one of the four UK Assay Offices, or an Assay Office belonging to the International Convention, (link to Convention Marks).
The only items which are exempt are those which are under the legal weight threshold, 1 gram for gold, 0.5 grams for platinum and 7.78 grams for silver.
When an item is received at an Assay office it goes through three processes:
SAMPLING to remove a tiny piece of the precious metal for testing
ASSAYING to determine whether the precious metal content of the alloy meets the required standard
HALLMARKING to apply the appropriate mark to the article to confirm the quality.
Silver is assayed differently from Gold. While gold is assayed by a fire refining process, silver is chemically tested by potentiometer titration.
There were originally two standards of silver - 925 parts in 1000 (Sterling) and 958 parts in 1000 (Britannia). To these have now been added 999 and 800.
Modifications to the 1973 Hallmarking Act, effective from 1st January 1999, have changed the way articles made of precious metals are hallmarked. The UK hallmark now comprises a minimum of three compulsory symbols.
Sponsor's or maker's mark
This indicates the maker or sponsor of the article. In Britain, this mark consists of at least two letters within a shield, and no two marks are the same.
has its own unique sponsors mark. Look closely you can see a tiny CL in a 4 leafed clover shaped shield.
Metal and fineness (purity) mark This indicates the precious metal content of the article, and that it is not less than the fineness indicated. This number is contained in a shield, the shape of which depicts the precious metal.
Assay Office mark This indicates the particular Assay Office at which the article was tested and marked.
There are four assay offices in the UK - Edinburgh, London, Birmingham, and Sheffield and each bear a different mark. When this is applied to the object it shows that the metal has been tested and where it was tested. The hallmark will also help track the object back in history so antiques can be properly verified.
Since 1478, the hallmark has included a distinctive date letter indicating the year of hallmarking. The date mark is a Letter, lower case or Capital in a shield or box.
The final mark is the Fineness symbol. This is a traditional symbol denoting the fineness of the metal. It is a lion for silver and a crown for gold.
The law!
Subject to certain exemptions it is an offence for any person in the course of trade or business -
(a) to apply to an unhallmarked article a description indicating that it is wholly or partly made of gold, silver or platinum; or
(b) To supply or offer to supply an unhallmarked article to which such a description is applied.
It will be noted that any article can be sold whatever amount of gold, silver or platinum it contains. But it must NOT BE DESCRIBED as gold, silver or platinum unless it is hallmarked or unless it is exempt;
The authorised standards of fineness (that is the number of parts by weight of fine gold, silver or platinum in 1.000 parts by weight of alloy) are as follows:
For Gold: 916 6 (22 carat), 750 (18 carat), 585 (14 carat) and 375 (9 carat) For Silver: 999, 958 4 (Britannia), 925 (Sterling) and 800 For Platinum: 950
If the metal in an article is of a fineness lower than the minimum standard of fineness shown above for that metal the article cannot be hallmarked.
Imported articles are also required to be hallmarked. It is the responsibility of the importer to ensure that articles are sent for hallmarking. It is illegal to sell them without a UK or approved European Hallmark. 925 is NOT enough on !
For any offence under this Act the penalties are, in the case of summary conviction, a fine not exceeding £2,000 or, on conviction on indictment, an unlimited fine or a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years or both, except in the case of forgery or counterfeiting in which case the term of imprisonment is one not exceeding ten years.
For more information about Hallmarking and the law, contact your local assay office.
Both Jackie De Burca & Catherine D'Arcy are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Jackie De Burca has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fast Cash Loan, Jewelry and Finances. Jackie de Burca works as a freelance writer for Creative Web Advertising, which is an International internet media consultancy specialising in