Silver is said to relate to the Moon, and with the human soul.  Silver is also associated with the dignity of kingship.  In legend, when the Irsh King Nuada lost his arm in battle and through the loss of a limb became disqualified from kingship, the god of healing, Dian Cecht, made him an artificial arm of silver, allowing him to return to the throne.  In many cultures, silver is the symbol of purity, and in Christian symbolism silver stands for divine wisdom.  Mystics assert that the soul is connected to the body by a silvery thread, which is sundered at death. 

Silver in European folklore has long been traditionally believed to be an antidote to various maladies and mythical monsters. Notably, silver was believed to be a repellent against vampires (this primarily originates from its holy connotations; also, mirrors were originally polished silver, and as such, vampires allegedly cannot be seen in them because they have no soul) and it was also believed that a werewolf, in his bestial form, could only be killed by a weapon or bullet made of silver. This has given rise to the term "silver bullet", which is used to describe things that very effectively deal with one specific problem.  Drugs such as salvarsan and penicillin, which were the first effective treatments for major diseases, are sometimes referred to as either "magic bullets" or "silver bullets."

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Silver Folklore and Legends

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Silver is widely distributed in nature, but in comparison with other metals it is found relatively rarely.  Silver crystals are uncommon, and occur occasionally as cubes or wiry aggregates.  Scaly, dendritic, and massive habits (the shape of how silver tends to form) are more common.  Although much of the world’s silver production is a byproduct of refining copper, lead, and zinc, deposits of native silver are also commercially important.  As a metal for jewelry or coinage, silver is harder than gold but softer than copper.   In comparison to gold, silver is the most malleable and ductile metal.  The chemical symbol for Silver is Ag, which is derived from the Latin word for silver, Argentum, which in turn derives from a Sanskrit word meaning "white" or "shining."

The earliest silver ornaments and decorations have been found in tombs dating bask as far as 4000 B.C., and silver coinage appeared not far behind that of gold, around 550 B.C.  But it is in modern times that silver’s physical properties have brought it into its own as a metal.  By the 1960’s, the demand for silver for industrial purposes exceeded the total world production.  With its superior electrical and thermal conductivity, silver finds use in electrical circuits, and it is alloyed with nickel or palladium for use in electrical contacts.  As a catalyst, silver has a unique ability to convert ethylene to ethylene oxide, a precursor of many organic compounds.  But the largest single use of silver is in the photographic industry, which uses 60 percent of all silver production.  Its use in silverware, ornaments, and jewelry continues to be important, although few countries retain silver coinage.  Pure silver is too soft to wear well, unless it is hammered, so it is alloyed with other metals to increase its durability.  Sterling Silver is 92.5% silver with another metal, usually copper, making up the other 7.5%.

The earliest known silver mines of any size were those of the pre-Hittites of Cappadocia in Anatolia (Turkey), where it may have been mined as early as 4,000 B.C.  Today, the major silver mining areas are Peru, the United States, Canada, Russia, Australia, and Kazakhstan, but the greatest single producer of silver is probably Mexico, where silver has been mined since about 1,500 A.D.

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The History of Silver

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New for 2009, I wanted to make it easier for customers seeking handmade silver jewelry, so I decided to launch Handmade Silver Jewelry.  Previously available on my couture jewelry site Handcrafted Fine Jewelry by John S. Brana, this site features my latest designs and new jewelry releases made only of Sterling and Fine Silver.  More styles and an introduction of new collections to follow soon!

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Welcome to the Handmade Silver Jewelry Blog!

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