About Colombian Silver ...
About Colombian Silver ...
Colombian Silver is a mineral that is found in nature generally in the form of sulfur or as free silver. Its atomic mass is 107.8683 u, its atomic number 47, its symbol on the periodic table is Ag, it has a melting point of 962 ° C and a boiling point of 2162 ° C.
Most of the extraction is obtained by treating the copper, zinc, lead and gold mines. Its discovery occurred in antiquity, appearing in mythological stories from different cultures, currently this material is very familiar in everyday life being used in rings, chains, coins, etc. Its name derives from the Argentine term of the silver derivative, which means silver.
Silver is a very ductile and malleable mineral, somewhat harder than gold and has a white luster susceptible to polishing. It is maintained in water and air, although it has the highest electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity of all metals. When this mineral is exposed to ozone, hydrogen sulfide or certain amounts of sulfur in the air, it tends to tarnish.
Although this mineral is not toxic, if its salts are, in fact, it can be used as a germicide. The most frequent uses that are given to this precious mineral are that of minting, in coins around the world and in jewelry, where any number of decorative pieces, crafts and accessories are made. The production of glass, mirrors and other metals is also included in the most common uses of silver.
Silver is one of the seven metals known since ancient times. It is mentioned in the book of Genesis; and the heaps of slag found in Asia Minor and the Aegean islands indicate that the metal began to separate from lead at least four millennia before our era.
Silver, like the rest of the metals, was used for the elaboration of weapons of war and later it was used in the manufacture of utensils and ornaments, from where it spread to commerce when the first silver coins were minted and became the basis of the monetary system of many countries.
Sterling silver:
Sterling silver is the one in which the precious metal enters its composition in the minimum amount set by current legislation; this amount, expressed as a thousand by weight, or thousandths, is called "law". Initially, the regulations referred to the coins issued by the authorized institutions - silver coin - but nowadays they seek to avoid fraud by distinguishing on the one hand the articles of costume jewelery along with colombian diamonds, with less quantity of silver, and on the other those of jewelry made with sterling silver and must be marked for this purpose with the contrast indicated by the "grade" of the alloy with which they were manufactured along with colombian emeralds.