925 or 950 silver jewelry?

Over the course of the months, it was brought to my attention that many customers, both in the retail and wholesale business looked for 925 grade silver jewelry, commonly known as Sterling Silver. I looked over the Net to find answers but couldn't find a common factor that determined the reason of their choice.

Lets start explaining the meaning of those numbers 925 and 950. Silver in its pure form (also known as fine silver) has a grade of 999, and is very soft and flexible. In fact, these features make the metal inadequate for jewelry. For this reason, silver is mixed up with other metals (mostly copper) to form an alloy that is strong enough for jewelry crafting.

925 grade silver (or Sterling Silver) is a mix of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper or other metal. This type of silver is commonly used in mass-produced jewelry (that is, machine-made) in order to withstand the treatment machines give to the metal.

950 grade silver (sometimes called French 1st standard or in other cases Mexican silver) is a mix of 95% silver and 5% copper or other metal. This type of silver is more suitable for handcrafted jewelry, because it's more flexible than Sterling silver.

Now that we know the differences, one would assume that a customer would get a better deal for their buck with 950 silver (you get more silver after all) and would opt for the latter. Well, this is not always the case. 925 silver is still sought by many; in my opinion, due to its popularity. Sterling silver has been around for centuries. The name "Sterling" is a brand of itself to many people. However, 950 silver is as beautiful (if not more) as Sterling silver.

If you'd ask me which type I'd choose, I'd say 950. Why? Because behind a 950 silver jewelry piece is a skilled artisan most likely, not a machine, and that adds an extra value to my election.