Peruvian Silver Jewelry Is Among the World's Finest Artisan Jewelry

Peruvian Silver Jewelry Is Among the World's Finest Artisan Jewelry Why does Peruvian silver jewelry rank among some of the finest artisan jewelry in the world? One reason is that the silver in Peruvian jewelry is high in quality. It is always sterling silver, which is defined as containing a minimum of 92.5% pure silver. But Peruvian silversmiths move one step beyond this 92.5% minimum standard, using 95% pure silver in their handcrafted jewelry. Too soft to hold up on its own, silver jewelry is always strengthened with other, harder metals, such as nickel or copper, thus the small percentage that is not silver. Unlike the jewelry that is ubiquitously available in local malls and department stores, handcrafted silver jewelry from Peru is fashioned by artisans whose families have been creating it for generation upon... [read full story]