|
History of Silver
Silver has always been held in high esteem and displayed
as a status symbol since it was mined approx. 4,000 BC
in Asia Minor. In the earliest Egyptian records, it was
considered more precious than gold. Interestingly, with
all of silver's magical power, owning silver at various
times was restricted, especially if it was in the form
of jewelry. Throughout history, wearing silver jewelry
was often a social privilege - not a right - reserved
for upper classes. By the 18th century, things began to
change in Europe and a new fashion fad surfaced: silver
buckles appeared on shoes where laces had always been.
Although today we generally consider shoe buckles to be
functional items, back in the 1700's, they were a form
of jewelry. Silver jewelry was a significant indicator
of status until the very end of the 18th century,
because it was limited to a privileged few. It was the
Industrial Revolution, through mass manufacturing, which
finally made jewelry available to the general
population.
Silver is Prized Since the Bronze Age
People first mined silver in the Bronze Age, for
jewelry. Silver was pretty easy to find all over Europe
and West Asia. The big problem was, silver ore (the
rocks that had silver in them) generally also had lead
in it, so that lead mining and silver mining were the
same thing. But lead is very poisonous, so the men who
were mining the silver were also being poisoned by the
lead. Most lead-and-silver miners died of lead poisoning
in two or three years. Because of this, most free men
wouldn't work in the mines, and so they forced slaves to
work in the mines instead.
Silver was Precious in the Ancient Civilizations
The history of silver is as old as the history of man.
It speaks in the Bible of "Joseph, who was rich in
silver, gold, and oxen". In the pre-Christian era, in
certain civilizations, silver was considered more
precious than gold. To the early Egyptians, silver had a
religious significance and was used profusely in
articles of worship. The oldest reference to the element
appears in the book of Genesis. The Egyptians considered
gold to be a perfect metal, and gave it the symbol of a
circle. Since silver was the closest to gold in
perfection, it was given the symbol of a semi-circle.
Later this semi-circle led to a growing moon symbol,
probably due to the likeness between the shining metal
and the moon glow. The Romans called silver argentum,
keeping this as the international name of the element,
from where its chemical symbol derives. Just as gold,
silver was considered by the Ancients an almost sacred
metal and consequently, of extremely restricted use. Its
malleability and ductility make it ideal for ornamental
purposes. It was also used for paying debts, in personal
and religious places decoration and in utensils of the
wealthiest houses.
More Silver Discoveries with the New World in 1492
A major watershed of silver production was the discovery
of the New World in 1492, after which time major silver
mines in Mexico, Bolivia, and Peru were opened leading
to a rapid rise in the annual world production of
silver. This rise, coupled with improved techniques for
extracting silver from ore, broadened both the quality
and quantity of ore that could be exploited. Later
improvements, particularly in the late 19th and early
20th centuries, vastly enhanced the base of silver
production and accelerated the exploitation of silver as
a byproduct of base-metal mining.
Origins of Silver
The area of Anatolia (modern Turkey) is considered the first major
source of mined silver, having provided the resource to craftsman
throughout Asia Minor. Silver from the Anatolian region largely served
as the source of silver for the Western cultures flourishing in the Near
East, Crete, and Greece. Silver craftsmanship was centered largely in
Asia Minor and Greek Islands...
Read more...
Myths about Silver
Legends of Jewels, Quartz Mythology, Myths about
crystals and myths about jewelry; Some of those ancient
myths and legends have come down intact through the
centuries. Others have evolved and mutated as result of
the input of other cultures...
Read more...
Silver in Medicine
Silver has been used in the health field since, well,
for as long as there has been a health field. It was
used in times of antiquity for fighting germs and
healing tissue, and those uses have continued to this
day. It has been undergoing a rapid resurgence in use...
Read more...
Facts about Silver
Silver can be hammered into sheets so thin that it would
take 100,000 of them to stack an inch high. It can be
drawn into a wire finer than a human hair. It is this
ductility (or ability to be formed) that makes silver
the wonderful art form that it is. Silver can be shaped
by hammering, spinning, or drawing - it can be decorated
with etching, chasing, or engraving - sterling silver is
the queen of metals. There is no substitute. There are
many amazing facts about silver that you want to know...
Read more...
The Healing Power of Silver
In general, Silver is believed to benefit circulation,
help lungs and throat, and detoxify the blood, to aid in
the treatment of degenerative brain diseases, balancing
of hormones and chemicals and improvement of nerve
impulse transmission. They also use it...
Read more...
Back to 'All About Silver' Summary
Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5%
pure silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. Sterling silver is
the standard for charming beautiful white cool luster of silver and is
the standard for high quality silver jewelry. The beautiful white metal
of silver has had an illustrious history, at times being more highly
valued than gold. Long used as a medium of exchange...
Read more...
|
Search
Jewelry
