What St Helena Whale sharks have in common with fine silver

It's the peak of summer back here on St Helena and the temperatures have been soaring. Peak season means that we practically live at the pool or in the ocean to cool off, especially with the added attraction of our annual visitors: the enormous and majestic whale sharks to swim alongside of (yes I actually did that this month - amazing!).

So what does these whale sharks have in common with fine silver?

Well we make fine silver whale shark pendants of course! Whilst we have been trying to avoid using the kiln in this heat; we have had to start stocking up again on our fine silver whale shark pendants - sculpted from scratch before being fired in our kiln.

More about fine silver jewellery

Whilst I was polishing the last batch of these fine silver pendants, I thought it might be a good idea to recap on what is and how to care for fine silver jewellery, as you might have noticed that we work with this material quite often and is not as widely known as sterling silver. Basically, fine silver has a higher purity of silver than sterling silver (99% versus 92.5%) and does not have copper mixed in with it like sterling silver does. One jeweller refers to fine silver as cashmere and sterling silver as fine wool...interesting.

As a result of its purity, fine silver jewellery is more resistant to tarnishing because it is often the copper in sterling silver that reacts/oxidises. However, in its purity it is also a slightly softer metal so is best used for necklaces and earrings instead of rings or bracelets. Caring for your fine silver jewellery If you are lucky enough to own fine silver jewellery, then it is always best to store it carefully (I keep mine in a separate jewellery box) and to clean it with a silver polishing cloth after or before wearing. Other than that, its fairly easy to up-keep and wear.

You might recall reading about our 'fine silver' jewellery when we launched the Island Fusion pendant necklace, but you will also find a few other necklaces in our online store which uses this unique material.