posted 09-09-2009 12:58 PM            

I recently commissioned a jeweler to make me a ring out of Argentium sterling silver, the alloy she prefers working with. I'm expecting to get the ring within the next week.

I wondered whether any members--particularly the silversmiths--have experience with this alloy? It replaces some of the copper with germanium, which is supposed to make it resist tarnish and firescale and make it easy to harden.

I found a few old threads mentioning this and other tarnish-resistant silver alloys, but unless I've missed something, they don't describe personal experience with Argentium.

• Jeffrey Herman - Germanium - Art
  
• If You Dare!
  
• Carrs Lustre Silver

posted 09-10-2009 11:04 PM            

My ring arrived today. It's thin and delicate looking, but the jeweler assures me that the qualities of Argentium will make it stronger and more durable than the same ring would be if made of conventional sterling. I hope she's right.

Other than the delicateness, it looks and feels to me like other sterling. It's very nicely made.

posted 09-12-2009 01:55 AM            

It's a diamond ring. I find the idea of a diamond set in silver very appealing and romantic.

This particular diamond is a "low" color--light, light yellow, just yellow enough to make it undesirable to most diamond shoppers, but not yellow enough to be a rare, sought-after fancy yellow. It's also a low clarity, very far from flawless. (It's a cheap quality diamond, in other words, if that's not an oxymoron.) It's exquisitely cut, though. It gets the top cutting grade from a top diamond lab, which makes it incredibly sparkly. It's a really, really unusual combination of color, clarity, and cut.

I chose silver to bring out the yellow by contrast. I love the effect.

For scale, here it is on my hand (with my platinum wedding band):

Close-ups:

posted 09-12-2009 01:54 PM            

Here's a side shot that shows the reflection of the diamond's underside in the band.

posted 09-27-2009 11:24 AM            

Were you tempted to use Argentium in your work? If not, why not? Just because you're happy with the alloys you already use, or is there something about Argentium that makes you hesitate?

posted 01-08-2011 01:26 AM            

Its been over a year and I ran across this post and just have to know how has your beautiful ring held up?

posted 01-08-2011 09:35 AM            

Also, re: wearing it every day and not seeing any tarnish develop ---- I think that use of silver helps to prevent tarnish from appearing. So, if you want to see if it tarnishes, wouldn't it be better to just leave it out and not wear it? Of course that is a terrible idea for so many other reasons!!

posted 01-08-2011 02:55 PM            

I seem to have strange skin chemistry--unlike most people, who can keep silver jewelry clean by wearing it, I tend to find my silver jewelry gets black quickly, especially in the summer.

This ring has resisted tarnish better than most of my silver jewelry, both when I'm wearing it and when it's sitting in my jewelry box. But I did notice one hot summer day that it had turned a flat, dull pewter color. It came back to life after I polished it with a clean silver cloth. I don't know what was different about that particular hot summer day. Maybe something I ate? Or something about the air quality?

When it does tarnish, it tends to get that pewtery look rather than turning black. In winter, and when I'm not wearing it, it stays bright and shiny.

Now you've made me think about it, I'm going to go put it on right now.

posted 01-08-2011 03:42 PM            

Polly -- any chance you live near or on the ocean? I do...and it's a disaster for silver. All my silver gets put away in the summer months when windows are apt to be open (and of course, when break-ins are easier).

I discovered this one afternoon right after we first moved here...I had a silverplate water pitcher outside during a long and leisurely lunch -- and pretty much watched it tarnish right before my eyes.