Sterling Silver Palladium Alloy
Gems en Vogue manufactures jewelry using a proprietary silver/palladium alloy. The superior alloy offers a host of benefits:
1. Tarnish Resistance: Regular sterling silver is susceptible to tarnishing because (in most cases) it is a mixture ( alloy) of 7.5% copper and 92.5% silver bullion. It’s the copper that oxidizes and turns black. Silver palladium alloy removes a portion of the copper and is then combined with pure palladium. This is then mixed at high tempertures with pure silver that has been refined using an electrolytic process that renders the purest cleanest silver bullion available with no contaminents. When all is mixed together, this new silver/palladium alloy is as tarnish resistant as 10K gold and is much more durable because the addition of palladium with the reduced copper stops the oxidation process.
2. Hypoallergenic: Regular sterling silver a can cause skin irritation due to the copper oxidizing. Sterling palladium alloy is virtually tarnish free as it does not oxidize like regular silver due to the addition of palladium.
3. Bright Appearance: Palladium contributes to the overall aesthetic appeal of sterling silver jewelry. It has a bright white color and is harder so it takes a bright polish. It’s so hard in fact that our jewelry can be brushed before polishing. While this is standard procedure for gold jewelry it is rarely done for regular sterling silver because it is too soft. Silver palladium alloy does not have that issue which means you get a brighter surface polish.