Argentium Jewelry

For seven centuries, sterling silver has come with a bargain: 92.5% silver, 7.5% copper, and a lifetime of polishing. The copper is what makes sterling hard enough to wear. It's also what tarnishes — and what troubles reactive skin.

In 1996, a metallurgist named Peter Johns reworked the recipe, swapping germanium in for most of the copper. The result is Argentium: still .925 silver, but whiter, tarnish-resistant, and without the trace metals behind most "silver allergies." It costs more to work with, which is why you won't see it often. The makers who use it choose to.

Two of ours do. Momo Glassworks wires every dangle earring in Argentium; Bijou by SAM builds entire pieces from it. Everything here carries it — look for the flying angel, Argentium's hallmark.