There’s a world of fashion in the Ross-Simons collection of sterling silver necklaces. Customers also love our beautiful Italian silver necklaces of graduated sterling silver beads. Every sterling silver necklace presented here has been selected or custom designed by our own world-traveling merchants and jewelry designers. One affordable customer favorite is a silver and diamond station necklace of seven diamond rounds, each one framed in sterling silver and spaced at intervals around a delicate sterling silver chain. We have over 350 sterling silver – Read More On this page – necklaces! Looking for elegance and sophistication? Take your own tour of our sterling silver necklace collection today! And you won’t find more sophisticated designs or higher quality sterling silver necklaces anywhere. Select from almost 40 different sterling silver heart pendants and sterling silver heart necklaces. Ross-Simons has a sterling silver necklace for every occasion and budget, from glamorous evenings out to casual weekend wear. From the simplest of sterling silver chains to the most gem-laden sterling silver pendants, every Ross-Simons silver necklace enhances your style. And our sterling silver link necklaces of textured, hammered or polished sterling silver links. Select a silver and diamond necklace.

Sterling Silver Cubic Zirconia Jewelry

Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. The Hanseatic League was officially active in the London trade from 1266 to 1597. This etymology may have been first suggested by Walter de Pinchebek (c. Their Kontor, the Steelyard of London, was called Easterlings Hall, or Esterlingeshalle. By 1854, the tie between Easterling and Sterling was well-established, as Ronald Zupko quotes in his dictionary of weights. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the most plausible etymology is a derivation from a late Old English steorling (with, or like, a ‘little star’), as some early Norman pennies were imprinted with a small star. Recent examples of these alloys include argentium, sterlium and silvadium. The word in origin refers to the newly introduced Norman silver penny. Byzantine solidus, originally known as the solidus aureus meaning ‘solid gold‘ or ‘reliable gold’. 1142) uses the Latin forms libræ sterilensium and libræ sterilensis monetæ. Another argument is that the Hanseatic League was the source for both the origin of its definition and manufacture, and in its name is that the German name for the Baltic is Ostsee, or ‘East Sea’, and from this the Baltic merchants were called “Osterlings”, or “Easterlings”. The claim has been made in Henry Spelman’s glossary (Glossarium Archaiologicum) as referenced in Commentaries on the Laws of England by William Blackstone. Fine silver, which is 99.9% pure silver, is relatively soft, so silver is usually alloyed with copper to increase its hardness and strength. One of the earliest attestations of the term is in Old French form esterlin, in a charter of the abbey of Les Préaux, dating to either 1085 or 1104. The English chronicler Orderic Vitalis (1075 – c. Such elements include germanium, zinc, platinum, silicon, and boron. In support of this he cites the fact that one of the first acts of the Normans was to restore the coinage to the consistent weight and purity it had in the days of Offa, King of Mercia. In 1260, Henry III granted them a charter of protection. Because the League’s money was not frequently debased like that of England, English traders stipulated to be paid in pounds of the Easterlings, which was contracted to sterling. The British numismatist Philip Grierson disagrees with the “star” etymology, as the stars appeared on Norman pennies only for the single three-year issue from 1077 to 1080 (the Normans changed coin designs every three years). 1300) with the explanation that the coin was originally made by moneyers from that region.

This would have been perceived as a contrast to the progressive debasement of the intervening 200 years, and would therefore be a likely source for a nickname. Stamping each of their pieces with their personal maker’s mark, colonial silversmiths relied upon their own status to guarantee the quality and composition of their products. REX (“King Henry”) but this was added later, in the reign of Henry III. In Colonial America, sterling silver was used for currency and general goods as well. 3⁄4 pennyweights of alloy, with 20 pennyweights to the troy ounce. Colonial silversmiths used many of the techniques developed by those in Europe. Although silversmiths of this era were typically familiar with all precious metals, they primarily worked in sterling silver. A piece of sterling silver dating from Henry II’s reign was used as a standard in the Trial of the Pyx until it was deposited at the Royal Mint in 1843. It bears the royal stamp ENRI. Between 1634 and 1776, some 500 silversmiths created items in the “New World” ranging from simple buckles to ornate Rococo coffee pots. The colonies lacked an assay office during this time (the first would be established in 1814), so American silversmiths adhered to the standard set by the London Goldsmiths Company: sterling silver consisted of 91.5-92.5% by weight silver and 8.5-7.5 wt% copper. 12th century in the area that is now northern Germany. Casting was frequently the first step in manufacturing silver pieces, as silver workers would melt down sterling silver into easily manageable ingots.

Occasionally, they would create small components (e.g. teapot legs) by casting silver into iron or graphite molds, but it was rare for an entire piece to be fabricated via casting. Cutlery sets were often accompanied by tea sets, hot water pots, chocolate pots, trays and salvers, goblets, demitasse cups and saucers, liqueur cups, bouillon cups, egg cups, plates, napkin rings, water and wine pitchers and coasters, candelabra and even elaborate centerpieces. The hammering occurred at room temperature, and, like any cold forming process, caused work hardening of the silver, which become increasingly brittle and difficult to shape. More commonly, a silversmith would forge an ingot into the desired shape, often hammering the thinned silver against specially shaped dies to “mass produce” simple shapes like the oval end of a spoon. Silversmiths would then seam parts together to create complex and artistic items, sealing the gaps with a solder of 80 wt% silver and 20 wt% bronze. Hammering required more time than all other silver manufacturing processes, and therefore accounted for the majority of labor costs. Finally, they would file and polish their work to remove all seams, finishing off with engraving and stamping the smith’s mark. From about 1840 to 1940 in the United States and Europe, sterling silver cutlery (US: ‘flatware’) became de rigueur when setting a proper table. To indicate the purity of the silver alloy used in the manufacture or hand-crafting of the piece. The American revolutionary Paul Revere was regarded as one of the best silversmiths from this “Golden Age of American Silver“. To note the date and/or location of the manufacture or tradesman. To identify the silversmith or company that made the piece. He retired a wealthy artisan, his success partly due to this strategic investment. To reduce the amount of counterfeiting of silver items. This was especially true during the Victorian period, when etiquette dictated no food should be touched with one’s fingers. With the onset of the first Industrial Revolution, silversmithing declined as an artistic occupation. The height of the silver craze was during the 50-year period from 1870 to 1920. Flatware lines during this period sometimes included up to 100 different types of pieces. Although he is celebrated for his beautiful hollowware, Revere made his fortune primarily on low-end goods produced by the mill, such as flatware. To restore the workability, the silversmith would anneal the piece-that is, heat it to a dull red and then quench it in water-to relieve the stresses in the material and return it to a more ductile state. Following the Revolutionary War, Revere acquired and made use of a silver rolling mill from England. There was a marked increase in the number of silver companies that emerged during that period.