Sterling silver is an alloy of 925 parts pure silver, and 75 parts copper. The copper is used to improve hardness and durability.

Sterling silver is extremely versatile, and the variety of objects made with this material exemplifies this admirably.

Around the world, "silver" is a term used for a variety of grades of alloy, ranging from 500 parts per thousand to 950 parts per thousand. Lower grades of silver tend to have a slightly redder hue, owing to the higher percentage of copper; however, other alloys can be used. Whereas these various grades can be considered silver, the sterling standard can only be applied to 925 parts per thousand. In a majority of cases, sterling will be stamped as such.