925 Silver vs 935 Silver
925 silver vs 935 silver are two of the most common silver alloys used in silver jewelry. First time buyers can often find differences in between both of these.
In this article we’ll make a detailed comparison of 925 silver vs 935 silver including their pros and cons, what should you buy.
925 Silver
925 silver or 925 sterling silver is a silver alloy used in jewelry making. It is composed of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. As the name suggests, its name comes from its composition which is 92.5% silver.
This alloy of silver is the most widely used alloy in silver jewelry mainly due to its durability and whiter lustrous appearance. Apart from jewelry, 925 sterling silver is also used in household items like utensils, cookware etc.
Common stamps to spot it are “AG 925“, “92.5” or “925 ster“.
Properties of 925 Silver
Following are the properties of 925 silver.
1. Affordability
925 sterling silver is one of the best options to have if you’re looking for a low budget metal. It is not only the most affordable alloy of silver, but also the most affordable of all the white colored metals like white gold, platinum, rhodium etc. A good sized ring band will not cost you more than $45.
2. Tarnishing
Though it is known for its durability and toughness, it is also prone to tarnishing. Tarnishing is a chemical process in which copper part of silver reacts with moisture from air and forms a black colored chemical called silver oxide on surface of the jewelry. This gives an overall duller, dimmer and blackish look.
This tarnishing effect is treatable and your silver jewelry can look like a new one by using commercially available tarnishing removing chemicals.
Here is a comparison of what 925 sterling silver might look like before cleaning.
3. Availability
925 sterling silver can easily be found in every jewelry store dealing in silver metal. As most of the silver jewelry is still made in 925 composition, you can easily buy or sell one of these. Another selling point of 925 sterling silver is its availability of customized designs and versatility.
935 Silver
935 silver is another type of silver which contains 93.5% silver rather than 92.5% by weight. Other part is copper. It is not readily available form of silver and search for finding one can be difficult.
Common hallmarks for 935 silver are “935“, “93.5” or “AG 935”.
Properties of 935 Silver
935 silver has the following set of properties.
1. Bright Appearance
935 silver has a brighter appearance than 925 sterling silver. This one is due to presence of higher amount of silver. Although, difference in appearance of both is not that big but 935 silver shines much more in bright light.
2. Softer in Nature
As it contains higher amount of silver, it is softer and hence more prone to scratches and dents. Damages can be anywhere from deeper grooves to minor scratches.
It is often recommended to not mix 925 sterling silver jewelry with 935 silver as it can scratch 935.
3. Tarnish Resistance
935 silver is more resistant towards tarnishing as it contains lesser percentage of copper. The lesser copper a silver alloy has, the more resistant towards tarnishing it will be.
925 Silver vs 935 Silver – Full Detailed Comparison
Here is a full one-on-one comparison between 925 silver vs 935 silver.
Appearance
When it comes to appearance, 935 appears brighter than 925 sterling silver. Difference can be somewhat noticeable. But it does not mean that 925 silver is not white at all.
Durability
Pure silver is a soft, easy to scratch and bent material. So, higher the percentage silver content in an alloy, more prone it will be to dents and scratches.
925 silver has a better tendency of resisting damages like bending, scratches and scuffs than 935 due to less silver percentage. This can be an issue if you are a person who does a lot of work involving force or forgets to remove jewelry before doing it.
With such a case, 925 silver will end up with less damages improving overall look of the jewelry.
Availability
Most of the online and offline silver jewelers only deal in 925 sterling silver. Other than this, customization is also an important factor. It allows one to have designs of their own choice. Luckily 925 silver checks all of these boxes. You can find a lot of different designs, varieties and patterns that can be tailored according to your needs.
Unfortunately 935 silver does not have that much customization options available due to less availability. Most of the jewelry brands only offer already popular designs with very less level of customization.
Cost
There is not as much difference between the cost of these two. You can easily find ring made of any of these metals for around $45.
Maintenance and Care
Maintenance and care play a vital role in defining the shelf life of a jewelry item. Jewelry items made of 925 silver require more maintenance time from their owners. This maintenance will mostly consist of cleaning and removing tarnishing.
If you are a regular wearer of jewelry, you can expect to clean your jewelry at least once every month. This includes regular cleaning to usage of tarnishing removing chemicals.
935 silver also requires cleaning but not as much as 925 sterling silver. It can tarnish as well but will take more time than 925.
Hallmarks
Jewelry hallmarks are the engraving made for showing authenticity of a jewelry piece. Every piece of jewelry must contain its hallmark showing the metal it is made from.
925 silver comes with a standard hallmark of “925” present at the inner side of a ring or on a clasp of a necklace.
Similar to 925, 935 silver also comes with a hallmark stamp of either “935” or “AG 935”.
What Should you Buy
If you are one who wants to buy a silver type that is more easily available and has a lot of designs, then 925 sterling silver is better for you. It can tarnish where you will be spending $20 to $30 on commercial chemicals for cleaning.
950 silver is better for someone who does not care about scratches or damages to their jewelry. It is not readily available, so it will be a problem to find a variety of designs.
Other Types of Silver
Other common type of silver are:
Argentium Silver
It is a newer patented type of silver which is made in two compositions. i.e. 935 argentium silver and 960 argentium silver. Some people might mix 935 argentium silver with simple 935 silver but these are not same.
Argentium silver has many benefits over 925 sterling silver like non-tarnishing and being hypoallergenic. But it is not readily available for jewelry due to patent problems.
950 Silver
950 silver is another type of silver containing 95% silver and 5% copper by weight. It is more whiter and lustrous than 925 sterling silver. But it is also more prone to scratches and damages.