When I worked as the Director of E-Learning at a retail store for
beads, I wrote up a (layman’s) at-a-glance chart for differences in
silver. You can see it at
Because its a business that sells lots of different types of silver,
I had to be careful to minimize the negative aspects… while still
getting the info “up” on line.
My favorite place to go for my gold questions is the Hoover & Strong
catalogue. Not only do they give a great definitions, they have
colored photos of the different alloys. 1-800-759-9997
During the Vietnam War my brother was stationed in Thailand. For
Chrismas he sent me a beautiful, albeit flawed [not Linde] blue star
sapphire ring set in silver.
I couldn’t wear it very often because the silver was so soft that
the leaves that wrapped around the setting kept bending…Now some 35
years later, thanks to your posting, I know why the silver was softer
than what I was used to. I had always [with my American arrogance]
figured it was inferior.
BTW, one day when I wasn’t wearing it my house was burglerized…