What is 935 Silver
935 silver is a modern silver alloy used in silver jewelry making. It is a new improved version of sterling silver with resistive quality towards tarnishing compared to 925 silver and 950 silver. It is composed of 93.5% silver with remaining portion made of copper and germanium mixture. Hence, due to the addition of germanium, one of its names is Argentium silver. Other names of 935 silver are “935 sterling silver“, “93.5 silver ” or simply “935“.
In this article we’ll discuss what is 935 silver, is it the same as argentium silver, does it tarnish and should you go for it.
935 Silver vs 925 Silver vs Fine Silver
First of all, we need to understand all these different types of silver exist in the market and what’s special in 935 silver.
Fine Silver
Fine silver is a 99.9% pure silver metal along with 0.01% impurities. This pure metal is of soft, less durable and bendable. This property makes impossible for pure silver metal to be converted into jewelry items like necklaces, rings, anklets and bracelets. For solving this problem, different types of silver alloys are available in different compositions with their own set of unique benefits.
935 Silver
935 silver is another try to retain all the benefits of 925 silver and addressing this problem of tarnishing at the same time. For this, silver is used in a combination of 93.5% along with 6.5% containing copper and germanium.
This composition does not allow copper from the alloy to react with external factors leading to no tarnishing. As it is a relatively newer type of silver alloy, it is making its way in silver jewelry industry.
925 Silver
925 silver or 925 sterling silver is an older silver alloys being used in jewelry making for centuries. To be exact, it was first made in 12th century by English jewelry makers. The combination of silver at 92.5% and copper/nickel at 7.5% marks an optimum balance for jewelry making.
It offers all the benefits you can associate with silver jewelry. It is tough, durable and stiff enough to be molded into unique and complicated jewelry designs. In overall appearance, it gives a great lustrous white appearance.
The only thing which goes against this type of silver is being susceptible to tarnishing. Tarnishing is a chemical reaction between copper from alloy and atmospheric moisture where a layer of sticky black oxide is formed over the metal badly impacting its overall look.
Is 935 Same as Argentium Silver?
935 silver is often referred as argentium silver by buyers and jewelry makers as well. But it is correct up to some extent only. Actually 935 silver is only one type of argentium silver along with two others i.e. 940 argentium silver and 960 argentium silver.
So, you can call 935 silver as argentium silver by keeping in mind that not every argentium silver is made in the same composition.
Other types of Argentium
Apart from 935 silver, argentium silver is typically made in 2 more compositions.
940 Argentium
940 Argentium silver is more common in the UK. As the name suggests it has 94% silver by weight and the rest consists of copper and germanium mixture. This argentium type is more whiter than 935 argetium while less than the 960 one. On the scale of hardness, it is more prone to scratching compared to 935 silver.
960 Argentium
960 argentium is the most white metal among all the jewelry metals including sterling silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium and white gold. It contains 96% silver content with 4% of mixed one with copper and germanium. Due to a greater silver percentage it is the softest of all the types of argentium silver. That’s why scratching and dinging are common incidents.
Does 935 silver Tarnish?
935 silver is highly resistive to tarnishing due to its unique blend of silver, copper and germanium. Compared to other variants such as 925 silver and 950 silver, this alloy has been specifically made for this objective.
The effect of tarnishing is accelerated by three factors. i.e. pollution, sweating and ultraviolet radiations. Argentium silver has been tested many times against traditional sterling silver for these three tests. Out of all the three test, argentium came out to be the clear winner whereas traditional sterling silver failed all the test.
It can be considered to be a low maintenance silver type with minimal to none tarnishing effects.
Can you wear 935 silver in shower?
Absolutely Yes. It is very safe to wear 935 silver while showering, hands washing and doing household work. The only thing you have to care for is not getting scratches.
Benefits of 935 Silver
935 or argentium silver offers a list of benefits over traditional sterling silver variants. Below is a complete overview of benefits offered.
1. Lustrous Appearance
935 silver is the most whiter, brighter and shinier silver alloy. In fact, on the scale of brightness, it beats other expensive white metals like rhodium, palladium, platinum and white gold.
2. Longer Shelf Life
It tend to have a longer shelf life in comparison of 925 or 950 sterling silver because no silver portion is lost in tarnishing. For example, in tarnishing some portion of silver as well as copper react with pollutants to form their oxides. In this way more the tarnishing is, more will be the weight loss.
Luckily in 935 we do not have such problems and all the silver and copper weight remains intact.
3. Hypoallergenic
935 silver has hypoallergenic as well as anti-bacterial properties. It means that people with sensitive skin can wear it without any problems. Jewelry allergy problems mainly come from the presence of nickel. As 935 silver does not contain any nickel, it is totally safe to be worn.
4. No Tarnishing
935 silver alongside with other argentium silver’s types has the biggest benefit in all of the industry and that is its no-tarnishing property. Due to this jewelry owners are no longer needed to save their metals against tarnishing and can wear them all day long. This feature is becoming more and more popular in modern days with increase in demand of argentium.
5. Eco-friendly
It is an eco-firendly metal with a lot of environmental benefits like recyclability and no anti-tarnishing chemicals usage. This collectively creates a positive impact on the environment keeping on positive eco-friendly vibes.
Drawbacks of 935 Silver
935 silver also offers some drawbacks which should be known by every potential buyer.
1. Cost
935 silver is a costly metal compared to other silver alloys. A regular ring will cost you around 4 times of what 925 sterling silver will cost. All of this premium price is for getting benefited by the non-tarnishing property. If you’re one who can’t do much of the maintenance stuff, then this price is totally worth it.
2. Less Availability
Being a newer alloy, not many offline jewelers deal with this type of silver for now. Yes, you can find many online jewelry stores where argentium silver jewelry is being sold but its gonna cost you too much when it comes to repairs.
Similarly, due to less dealing, buyers are going to do compromise on versatility in designs up to some extent.
How to Identify Authentic 935 Silver
Similar to all the other types of metal jewelry, 935 jewelry also contains certain hallmarks and stamps for judging its authenticity.
One of the first stamps you have to look for is “935“. It is the sign showing the composition of 935 silver. As it is a type of argentium silver, jewelry can also contain a “flying unicorn” symbol indicating argentium of finest quality. Remember that this flying unicorn symbol is not required by the law but some jeweler might hallmark their jewelry with it.
Commons FAQ’s about 935 Silver
What Silver doesn’t tarnish?
Argentium silver is the only silver alloy that does not tarnish. It is made in different compositions i.e. 935, 940 and 960.
Is 935 Silver and Argentium silver same?
No, 935 is one of the three most commonly used types of argentium silver.
Can 935 silver turn your finger green?
No, 935 silver can not turn your finger green as it does not react with your skin.
Conclusion
935 silver is a type of argentium silver which is a superior quality silver alloy created to address traditional sterling silver problems. It offers many benefits for its owners compared to other silver types such as no tarnishing, brighter look, less care and maintenance and no smelly earrings etc. It also has some drawbacks like being costly and less available. Though it depends on one’s personal needs and preferences, still 935 silver is one of the best choices you can make in silver jewelry.