Can Sterling Silver be anodised?

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi, Orchidians,

I have been lurking for a long while. Hope you are all well.

In a discussion with some dealers of vintage jewelry, the question
came up about anodized Sterling Silver. One dealer insisted the item
was that, I have never heard of anodizing other than Niobium,
Aluminum and Titanium.

Can Sterling be anodized too? Does it require a specific alloy or
any Sterling composition will do?

Thank you so much for any you can provide. It is
appreciated.

Vera
Vera Battemarco

2

Anodising is basically the controlled oxidation of a metal using an
elctric current in a bath of electrolyte. This means that you can do
it to most metals though the effect will not always be as attractive
as you get with Ti etc. The reasons for the pleasing effects are
quite complicated and not fully understood so patination of silver
and other metals is usually done in different ways.

Nick