Is there a difference between pure silver and sterling silver?
Pure silver is 99.9% (also seen as 99.9) silver and sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver (also seen as 925). Pure silver is weaker than sterling silver but it is perfectly fine to use for jewellery but not ideal for large objects such as silver cutlery and serving bowls. The other material which takes sterling silver’s percentage up to 99.9% is copper which gives it the strength required. Sterling silver is often coated with 99.9% pure silver to give the shine, and it is also has a lower melting point (893°c) than pure silver and copper.
