Humans have long been entranced by sparkling silver: as jewelry, coinage, high status homewares and status symbols ... and much more besides. Silver is often used to celebrate milestones, achievements, celebrations and ceremonies, as well as for its beautiful ornamental value.

But how much do you really know about silver and your silver jewelry?

Silver is one of the seven metals of antiquity which were known to prehistoric humans, the others being gold, copper, tin, lead, iron and mercury. As it has been in use for so long the history of its discovery and early use are not known.

It's a more reactive metal than gold and is also harder to extract from its ores when mined. Today silver is considerably less valuable than gold, which is rarer in nature and more difficult to mine in bulk.

You might wonder: is sterling silver real silver? The answer is a definite yes. Sterling silver is simply an alloyed form of silver which is much more suitable to use in jewelry and other metalwork.

Sterling silver jewelry is an excellent, high quality choice in most circumstances. The metal will not rust or perish, plus if you look after your jewelry it will look great well into the future. You should even be able to pass your silver jewelry on to future generations.