Fine Silver: Fine Silver, or Pure Silver is 99% pure precious metal. Fine Silver is usually too soft to be used on its own to create jewelry, and therefore, an alloy is added (usually copper) to form sterling silver.

GF or Gold Filled Wire: Gold-filled is a product of the process of physically combining a thin alloy of gold with a gold-tone base metal. The base metal adds strength and is fabricated so that it is on the inside of the wire or sheet metal. The gold alloy on the outside provides the color, corrosion resistance and permanence of real gold. The combination of the gold alloy on the outside and the gold tone metal on the inside where it can not be seen allows jewelry designers to make gold-filled jewelry at a fraction of the cost of solid gold, but with the look and feel of solid gold. Most gold-filled wire is made of 5% gold alloy and the remainder is gold tone metal.

Precious Stone: Any of several gems, including the diamond, emerald, ruby, and sapphire, that have high economic value because of their rarity or appearance.

SemiPrecious Stone: A gem, such as an opal, that has commercial value but is not as rare or expensive as a precious stone.

Sterling Silver: The current generation of Sterling Silver is defined as a metal alloy containing 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper and is frequently stamped as "925" silver, indicating the percentage of silver. The term alloy means that the composition of the metal is essentially a soup of individual atoms of silver and copper combined in the percentages given. On the microscopic level the wire is basically silver and copper, each with their own chemical properties. Unlike many molecules like salt, where the sodium and chlorine combine to form a compound unlike either sodium or chlorine, in the sterling silver alloy the silver and copper each behave as silver and copper. Silver is a precious metal because it is very stable and doesn't react easily. Copper is not a precious metal because it is less stable and is more likely to react with other chemicals forming a new molecule like salt. In essence, tarnish on sterling silver is formed primarily by the copper in the alloy reacting with chemicals in the atmosphere like chlorine and sulfur compounds forming a new molecule with a dark almost black color.

Tarnish Removal: The bright, shiny surface of silver (and copper) gradually darkens and becomes less shiny. This happens because the metal undergoes a chemical reaction with substances in the air. You can use chemistry to reverse the tarnishing reaction, and make the silver shiny again.

You will need:

• a tarnished piece of silver
• a pan or dish large enough to completely immerse the silver in
• aluminum foil to cover the bottom of the pan
• enough water to fill the pan
• a vessel in which to heat the water
• hot pads or kitchen mitts with which to handle the heated water vessel
• baking soda, about 1 cup per gallon of water

Line the bottom of the pan with aluminum foil. Set the silver object on top of the aluminum foil. Make sure the silver touches the aluminum.

Heat the water to boiling. Remove it from the heat and place it in a sink. To the hot water, add about one cup of baking soda for each gallon of water. (If you need only half a gallon of water, use half a cup of baking soda.) The mixture will froth a bit and may spill over; this is why you put it in the sink.

Pour the hot baking soda and water mixture into the pan, and completely cover the silver.

Almost immediately, the tarnish will begin to disappear. If the silver is only lightly tarnished, all of the tarnish will disappear within several minutes. If the silver is badly tarnished, you may need to reheat the baking soda and water mixture, and give the silver several treatments to remove all of the tarnish.