Argentium sterling silver

Argentium silver is the result of research at the Art and Design Research Institute (ADRI), School of Art & Design, Middlesex University, by Peter Johns and colleagues. The project began in 1990 with research on the effects of germanium additions to silver alloys. Germanium was discovered to impart the following properties to sterling silver:

• firescale elimination
• high tarnish resistance
• precipitation hardening and simple heat-hardening properties
• increased ductility
• increased thermal and electrical resistance{{efn|

Increased resistance improves alloys' suitability for welding and laser forming.

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• environmental advantages{{efn|

The "environmental" advantages result from eliminating the need for harsh chemicals involved in removing or plating over firescale.

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Many of these properties significantly affect the traditional methods of working silver. For instance the absence of firescale eliminates tedious and time-consuming steps required by the silver worker using traditional sterling silver. It also eliminates the need for plating the final product which is often done on manufactured items because of the problems introduced by firescale. Tarnish resistance is of significant importance to both silver workers and the wearer of silver jewellery.

Argentium silver was patented and is trademarked by Argentium Silver Company, UK.

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{{notelist}}

{{reflist|25em |refs=

{{cite conference

|first=Peter |last=Johns

|date=18–21 May 1997

|title=Fire-stain resistant silver alloys

|conference=11th Santa Fe Symposium on Jewelry Manufacturing Technology, 18–21 May 1997, Albuquerque, New Mexico

|editor=Schneller, Dave

|book-title=Jewelry Manufacturing Technology 1997

|place=Boulder, CO

|publisher=Met-Chem Research

|oclc=47691741

|isbn=978-0-931913-25-9

}} {{isbn|0-931913-25-X}}

{{cite conference

|last1=Johns |first1=Peter

|last2=Davis |first2=Sam

|name-list-style=amp

|date=9–12 June 2007

|title=The properties and applications of argentium sterling silver

|conference=31st IPMI Conference, 9–12 June 2007, Miami, Florida

|book-title=31st Annual Conference of the International Precious Metals Institute 2007 and Petroleum Refining Seminar 2006

|isbn=978-1-60423-394-0

|publisher=Curran Associates

|publication-date=October 2007

}}

{{cite patent

|country=US patent, |number=6168071

|title=Method for joining materials together by a diffusion process using silver / germanium alloys and a silver / germanium alloy

|fdate=13 October 1998

|pridate=1998

|gdate=2 January 2001

|inventor-last=Johns |inventor-first=Peter Gamon

|assignee=Middlesex Silver Co.

|status=expired (lifetime)

|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US6168071B1/en

}}

class C22C5/06 "Alloys based on silver"; expiration 27 August 2016; link via Google Patents

}}

{{refbegin|25em|small=y}}

• {{cite journal

| last1=Edge | first1=A.M.

| last2=Edge | first2=V.E.

| last3=Edge | first3=J.J.

| name-list-style=amp

| year=2005

| title=Investigation on the quality of enamel on germanium silver

| journal=The Goldsmiths' Company Technical Bulletin

| issue=2 | pages=8–10

}}

• {{cite journal

| last=Eid | first=Cynthia

| date=July 2005

| title=Argentium sterling silver

| journal=SNAG Technical Newsletter

| volume=13

}}

• {{cite journal

| last=Eid | first=Cynthia

| date=September 2006

| title=Road testing argentium sterling

| journal=Art Jewelry

| pages=25–33

}}

• {{cite journal

| last=Haag | first=Terry

| date=February 2006

| title=Shine on silver

| journal=Jewelry Arts & Lapidary Journal

| pages=20–24

}}

• {{cite journal

| last=Martin | first=Eva

| date=February 2006

| title=Argentium silver box clasp

| department=Step by Step

| journal=Jewelry Arts & Lapidary Journal

| pages=36–42

}}

{{refend}}

• {{official website |http://www.argentiumsilver.com/ }}
• {{cite web

|title=Argentium Silver Guild

|url=https://www.argentiumguild.com/

}}

{{Jewelry}}

Category:Silver

Category:Precious metal alloys

Category:Jewellery making