Yes. 925 sterling silver is real silver — but it isn't pure silver, and that's deliberate. Understanding why explains almost everything about how to buy silver jewellery well.

What the 925 means

925 means the metal is 92.5% pure silver. The remaining 7.5% is another metal, usually copper.

That number isn't arbitrary. It's an international standard, and in the UK it's what legally defines something as sterling silver. If a piece is stamped 925, it is by definition real silver.

Why not 100% silver?

Because pure silver is too soft to wear.

Fine silver — 99.9% pure, stamped 999 — bends under light pressure. A ring would deform on your finger. A chain would stretch and eventually break. Clasps wouldn't hold their shape.

Adding a small amount of copper gives silver the hardness it needs to survive being worn, without meaningfully changing its colour or its properties. This is why sterling silver has been the standard for jewellery for centuries rather than a modern shortcut.

How to tell if silver is real

Look for the stamp. Genuine sterling silver is marked 925, sometimes STER or STERLING. On our pieces it's engraved as ANVIRA 925 — on the inside of a ring band, or near the clasp on a chain.

Try a magnet. Silver is not magnetic. If a piece jumps to a magnet, it has a significant amount of another metal in it and is not sterling silver.

Watch how it tarnishes. This sounds backwards, but real silver does tarnish — it darkens slowly as it reacts with sulphur in the air. Jewellery that never tarnishes at all is often not silver. The darkening is a sign of authenticity, and it polishes off easily.

Sterling silver and sensitive skin

Sterling silver is generally well tolerated. Most reactions people blame on silver are actually reactions to nickel, which is a common allergen and is often used in cheaper alloys.

All ANVIRA pieces are nickel, lead and cadmium free. If you've reacted to jewellery before, nickel is the usual culprit rather than the silver itself.

Why silver tarnishes and what to do

Tarnish is a surface reaction between silver and sulphur compounds in the air. It's not damage and it's not corrosion — the silver underneath is unchanged.

It happens faster in humid conditions, which is why a bathroom is the worst place to store jewellery. Contact with perfume, hairspray and household cleaning products speeds it up too.

To remove it, a soft silver polishing cloth is all you need for polished silver pieces. Rub gently and the shine returns.

One important exception: never use silver polish, dips or abrasive cloths on gold plated pieces. They'll strip the plating. Those need a dry soft cloth only.

How to keep silver looking new

Store it dry. A pouch or lined box away from bathroom humidity. Airtight is better still.

Keep pieces separate. Silver is relatively soft and pieces scratch each other in a shared dish.

Put it on last. After perfume, moisturiser and hairspray.

Wear it. This one surprises people — silver worn regularly tarnishes more slowly than silver left in a drawer, because the friction of daily wear keeps the surface clean.

Sterling silver versus silver plated

Worth knowing the difference, because the words look similar and mean very different things.

Sterling silver is solid — 92.5% silver all the way through. Scratch it and it's still silver underneath.

Silver plated is a thin layer of silver over a base metal, usually brass or copper. When the layer wears through, the metal underneath is exposed and will discolour.

Every ANVIRA piece is solid 925 sterling silver. Our gold pieces are that same sterling silver base, plated in 18K gold and sealed with a protective e-coating.

The short version

925 sterling silver is real silver, at the purity that's been the jewellery standard for centuries. It tarnishes, which is normal and reversible. It's solid rather than plated, so it doesn't wear through.

Questions about a specific piece? Email info@anvira.uk — we answer every message.