What is the silver content of sterling silver?
Sterling silver comprises 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% various other metal compounds. Sterling may also be marked 925. Silver jewelry marked 940, 950, 960, 970, or 980 are of higher silver content than is sterling. Many of the famous jewelry manufacturers in Taxco utilized high content silver for jewelry because of the fact that it was less likely to tarnish, the glow was of a more subtle nature, and the color of the silver was slightly different.