The key difference between silver plated and sterling silver is that silver plated items have a silver coat on the top of a base metal, whereas sterling silver is an alloy composed of about 92.5% silver.
Silver plated materials and the objects made from sterling silver are different from each other both chemically and physically. In this article, we will discuss the difference between silver plated and sterling silver in more detail.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Silver Plated
3. What is Sterling Silver
4. Silver Plated vs Sterling Silver in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Silver Plated vs Sterling Silver
What is Silver Plated?
Silver plated objects are materials with silver applied on another cheaper and harder metal base. Coins, jewelry, tableware, ornaments, and bells are some examples of silver-plated items. This type of plating started in the 19th century. Silver plating can be carried out by fusing silver onto a surface of another metal by immersion plating, electroless deposition, or electrodeposition.
Usually, we use a solution of [ KAg(CN)2 ] for silver plating. Peeling, flaking away, and poor adherence are some of the problems of plating. However, we can overcome these problems by using a proper solution with the correct concentration of silver. Just after plating, the items have a matt finish; thus, we need to turn it into a lustrous surface by mechanical polishing. The decorative appearance of plated items does not last long as it wears off quickly, and plated metals tend to undergo corrosion. Sometimes, the oxidized parts in plated silver are visible by their colour.
Most of the time, some surface marks in silver items indicate that they are not plated. Even though both silver and silver plate have the same appearance, the appearance of silver plated items do not last long as the coating wears off and the metal beneath the coating oxidases. There are tests available to identify silver and silver plated.
What is Sterling Silver?
Sterling silver is an alloy of silver. Most of this alloy is silver (about 93%), while the other element is usually copper (about 7%). Pure silver is very soft, but this alloy is relatively hard and strong due to the presence of copper. However, it is easily subjected to tarnishing. This is because copper oxidizes when exposed to normal air.
Silver sulfide (black colored) may form on this alloy when exposed to airborne compounds of sulfur. Therefore, we can use metals other than copper in order to reduce tarnishing. Some examples of metals that we can use are germanium, silicon, zinc, platinum, and boron. This alloy is useful in making equipment such as forks, spoons, knives, surgical and medical instruments, musical instruments, and coins.
What is the Difference Between Silver Plated and Sterling Silver?
Silver is an important metallic chemical element with many different derivatives and applications. The key difference between silver plated and sterling silver is that silver plated items have a silver coat on the top of a base metal, whereas sterling silver is an alloy composed of about 92.5% silver. Therefore, the silver content in silver plated materials is low, which makes it less expensive, while sterling silver is more expensive due to its high silver content.
The below infographic presents the differences between silver plated and sterling silver in tabular form for side by side comparison.
Summary – Silver Plated vs Sterling Silver
Silver plated objects are materials with silver applied on another cheaper and harder metal base. Sterling silver is an alloy of silver. Most of this alloy is silver, while the other element is usually copper (about 7%). The key difference between silver plated and sterling silver silver-plated items have a silver coat on the top of a base metal, whereas sterling silver is an alloy composed of about 92.5% silver.
Reference:
1. “What’s the Difference between Sterling Silver and Regular Silver?” Roma Designer Jewelry.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Silver Tableware” (CC0) via Stockvault
2. “Sterling Silver Tablewear” (CC0) via Pxhere