925 means the metal is 92.5% pure silver. The other 7.5% is almost always copper, added because pure silver is too soft to hold a shape. The number is a fineness mark, not a brand, and in Australia nobody is legally required to stamp it. It is also the starting point for most good gold jewellery under $1,000, because gold vermeil is built on a sterling silver base.
It is the smallest piece of writing on anything you own, usually hidden on the inside of a band or the back of an earring. It tells you more about what you bought than the product page did.
What does 925 mean on jewellery?
Ninety-two and a half percent silver by weight. That is the whole claim.
The number is a millesimal fineness mark, which means parts per thousand. 925 out of 1,000 parts are silver. The remaining 75 parts are something else. Sterling silver and 925 silver are the same thing, said two different ways, and a piece marked .925, 925, S925 or STG is making the same statement.
The standard is old. English silver has been struck at this ratio since the medieval period, and it survived because it is the point where silver gets hard enough to be useful without losing its colour.
What is the other 7.5%?
Copper, nearly always. Sometimes zinc, germanium or a trace of something else.
Pure silver, stamped 999 and called fine silver, is genuinely soft. You can mark it with a fingernail. A ring made from it would go oval in a month and an earring post would bend when you took it out. So silver is alloyed, and copper is the metal that hardens it without changing the colour.
Copper is also the reason sterling behaves the way it does. It is what lets the metal be work-hardened and polished to a proper shine. It is also what can leave a green mark on skin in the right conditions.
Two variations worth recognising:
- Argentium. Sterling with germanium instead of some of the copper. Tarnishes much more slowly. Costs more.
- Coin silver, 800 and 900. Lower silver content, more copper. Older or cheaper, and not sterling.
Is 925 silver real silver?
Yes. It is the standard definition of real silver in jewellery.
This trips people up because 925 is not 100%, so it reads like a compromise. It is not. Nobody makes jewellery from pure silver, in the same way nobody makes rings from 24 carat gold. The alloy is what makes the metal wearable, which is the same logic behind karat numbers in gold.
What 925 is not: silver plated, silver filled, silver tone, or anything described as "silver colour". Those are base metals with silver on the surface, and they are a different product at a different price.
Does 925 silver tarnish?
Yes, and it is a surface reaction rather than damage.
Silver reacts with sulphur compounds in the air to form silver sulphide, which is black. That is tarnish. It is not rust, it does not eat into the metal, and it polishes off. The copper in the alloy speeds it up.
What accelerates it, in rough order:
- Humidity, which is why a bathroom is the worst place to keep jewellery
- Skin contact without wiping, because sweat is salty and slightly acidic
- Perfume, hairspray, sunscreen and household cleaners
- Rubber bands, wool and some papers, all of which carry sulphur
- Chlorine and hot springs
A soft dry cloth handles most of it in under a minute. Air and light are the enemy, so a closed box in a dry room does more than any product. The full routine is in how to store jewellery at home.
Is 925 sterling silver good for sensitive ears?
Usually, yes, because the alloy is copper rather than nickel.
Nickel causes the overwhelming majority of jewellery reactions. Sterling silver is defined by its silver content, not by what makes up the rest, so nickel is not technically ruled out. In practice it is rare, because copper does the job better and costs less.
This is the real argument for sterling over cheap plated jewellery if your ears flare up. A plated earring can have gold on the outside and a nickel-heavy base metal underneath, and the part that touches you is the part that wears through first. There is more on which metals cause trouble in what earrings are best for sensitive ears.
A small number of people react to copper or to silver itself. If sterling bothers you, the next step up is solid gold or titanium, not another plated piece.
Why is gold vermeil built on 925 silver?
Because that is the definition. No sterling base, no vermeil.
Gold vermeil is a specific term with a specific meaning. It requires a sterling silver base, gold of at least 10 carat, and a gold layer at least 2.5 microns thick. Gold plating has no such requirement and is usually a fraction of a micron over brass.
So when you see 925 stamped on a gold piece, it is not a mistake and it is not telling you the piece is silver. It is telling you what is underneath the gold, and underneath is where the value sits. A piece built on sterling can be replated decades later and come back as new. A piece built on brass cannot, because by the time the gold wears through the base has usually corroded.
That is the whole difference between vermeil and plating, and it is covered properly in gold vermeil vs gold plated.
How do you tell if 925 is genuine?
Australia has no compulsory hallmarking, so the stamp is self-applied by the maker. It is a claim, not a certificate.
In the UK, an assay office tests and marks silver above a weight threshold, and it is a legal requirement. Australia has no equivalent. A 925 stamp here is the manufacturer's word, backed by Australian Consumer Law, which makes it illegal to describe a product as something it is not.
Four checks you can do without equipment:
- Magnet. Silver is not magnetic. If a magnet grabs it, the core is steel or another base metal. This rules things out rather than proving them.
- The cloth. Rub it with a clean white cloth. Real silver leaves faint black marks, because you are lifting off silver sulphide. Plated pieces usually leave nothing.
- Smell. Silver has no smell. A strong metallic or coin smell means a lot of copper.
- Price. A heavy sterling cuff for $25 is not sterling. Silver has a floor price and weight cannot be faked.
Buying from a brand that will tell you the micron thickness and the base metal in writing is worth more than any of these tests.
Is 925 jewellery worth anything?
As scrap, very little. As jewellery, that depends on who made it.
The silver in a typical ring weighs a few grams, and scrap buyers pay a percentage of spot price for the metal alone. You will be disappointed if that is your plan.
The real value in a sterling piece is that it is worth repairing. A sterling band can be resized, a setting retipped, a vermeil piece replated. Jewellers will work on sterling. Most will not touch plated brass, because there is nothing solid to work with.
What we make
Everything we make is 18 carat gold vermeil over sterling silver with hand-painted enamel, in runs of twenty that are never repeated. The 925 you will find stamped inside is the base, not the finish.
The Icon Vanilla Enamel Band is $199 and the easiest place to see what a sterling base buys you. It is a 2.5mm stacker, and a slim band is the piece that gets the most wear, which is exactly where a thick gold layer over solid silver earns its keep.
The Icon Blush Enamel Stud Earrings are $299, with a hand-set rose quartz and a sterling post. If nickel is the thing that has made earrings difficult for you, the post is the part that matters, and this one has no nickel in it.
The Icon Seafoam Enamel Pendant Necklace is $599 on an adjustable paperclip chain. A chain takes more strain than anything else you own, which is the argument for solid sterling underneath rather than plated brass links.
Frequently asked questions
What does 925 mean on jewellery?
925 means the metal is 92.5% pure silver by weight, with the remaining 7.5% made up of other metals, almost always copper. It is a millesimal fineness mark, read as parts per thousand. 925 silver and sterling silver are the same material, and the mark may appear as 925, .925, S925 or STG.
Is 925 silver real silver?
Yes. 925 is the recognised standard for solid silver jewellery worldwide. Pure silver at 999 is too soft to hold its shape in a ring or an earring post, so it is alloyed with copper for strength. 925 is solid metal throughout, unlike silver plated or silver filled items, which are base metal with a silver surface.
What is the other 7.5% in 925 silver?
Usually copper. Copper hardens the silver without altering its colour and allows the metal to be polished and work-hardened. Some alloys substitute germanium for part of the copper, sold as Argentium, which tarnishes more slowly. Zinc and small amounts of other metals also appear in some alloys.
Does 925 sterling silver tarnish?
Yes. Silver reacts with sulphur compounds in the air to form silver sulphide, a black surface layer. It is a surface reaction rather than corrosion and polishes off with a soft dry cloth. Humidity, perfume, sunscreen, chlorine and skin contact without wiping all speed it up, so storing pieces dry and closed makes the biggest difference.
Is 925 sterling silver hypoallergenic?
For most people, yes. The alloy is typically copper rather than nickel, and nickel is responsible for the large majority of jewellery reactions. Sterling is defined by its silver content rather than by the alloy, so nickel is not formally excluded, but it is uncommon. A small number of people react to copper or to silver itself.
Why does my gold jewellery have a 925 stamp on it?
Because it is gold vermeil, not solid gold. Gold vermeil is defined as a layer of gold at least 2.5 microns thick and at least 10 carat, applied over a sterling silver base. The 925 mark identifies the base metal underneath the gold. Gold plated jewellery has no base metal requirement and is usually applied over brass.
How can you tell if 925 silver is real?
A magnet should not stick to it, since silver is not magnetic. Rubbing it with a clean white cloth should leave faint black marks from silver sulphide. Real silver has no metallic smell. Price is the strongest signal, because silver has a floor value by weight. Australia has no compulsory hallmarking, so a 925 stamp is the maker's own claim.
Is sterling silver stamped in Australia?
Not by law. Unlike the United Kingdom, where an assay office must test and hallmark silver above a set weight, Australia has no compulsory hallmarking system. Marks are applied voluntarily by manufacturers. Australian Consumer Law still prohibits describing a product as sterling silver when it is not.
Is 925 silver jewellery worth anything?
Its scrap value is low, because a typical ring contains only a few grams of silver and buyers pay a percentage of spot price. Its practical value is that it can be repaired. Sterling can be resized, resoldered and replated, and jewellers will take the work on. Plated base metal generally cannot be repaired.
What is the difference between 925 silver and silver plated?
925 silver is solid metal, 92.5% silver all the way through. Silver plated means a thin coating of silver over a base metal such as brass or nickel alloy. Plating wears through at contact points and exposes the metal underneath, while solid sterling can be polished back and repaired indefinitely.
The short version
925 means 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. It is real silver, it will tarnish and polish back, and it is almost never the reason earrings hurt.
If you find it stamped inside a gold piece, that is good news. It means someone built the thing on solid metal instead of brass.
Wear the joy.