Sterling or base metal?

[Enchanted Cobwebs]

I keep having a battle with myself on whether to only use sterling or not and decided on just sterling and to banish all forms of plated and lesser metals from my work room (not sold them this time though!)

Been doing some small fairs and markets and most other jewellery makers seem just to use plated although most of the better items have sterling ear wires. Just a simple pendant style necklace for me will cost about £10 for the spacer beads, beadcaps, clasps, leather crimp ends for one necklace coz I like to see lots of shine. Some customers do seem impressed that its sterling but the majority buy based on the like the item and really dont seem interested in what its made from, this was even true at a recent artist and designers fair.

So, I'm now back to the same dilemma I thought I'd gotten over as price also pays a big part in the buying decision for the majority of people.

What do you use when selling jewellery made from your lampwork beads?

[The Tartan Trout]

I only use sterling. Plated goes yucky after a while and means that the piece is then not worn. You very rarely find anyone allergic to silver ( although it does happen). Everyone has their preferences but personally I would never use nor wear plated silver. If you are looking to keep costs down you could try Bali silver as it sometimes works out a bit better.

[Dragonfire Glass]

My experience is that people buy what they like. What it's made of is immaterial.

[Shirley]

I use Sterling and/or Hill Tribe, mainly because I feel that lampwork is a premium product so it needs to be set with other premium products. There seem to be a lot of people out there who won't wear plated.

I do also make items with copper, but that's for the look, although the cost is lower too.

[Blue Box Studio]

Sterling mostly, I have some plated pieces.  But at the end of the day it comes down to 1) do I like it, 2) can I afford it right now and then they might buy.  And I've decided the 'oh I only wear gold' ploy means 'ain't gonna buy it whatever but I like wasting your time working out the cost' .  I've had very few people actually bother what metal the piece is made from. 

[Quirky Bird]

This is a real tough call. My personal preference as a buyer would be sterling silver....but then, I know how much it costs to make such a piece and I would expect to pay a lot more. I'm finding that some of the general public are pretty clueless about the price of silver now, and still view it as a relatively cheap metal (if only).

For me, it depends upon the item I'm selling. I sell lampwork cab rings on base metal to keep the price affordable, especially as I know the rings will not be worn continually. If I thought I could sell the rings on a silver base I'd do so, but sadly this is unlikely to happen in my part of the country. However, I only sell earrings with sterling silver posts because the cost isn't too great and I'd never buy base metal earrings myself.

[ajda]

I use Argentium 960 and make all my own wires and findings - though I don't make a lot of finished jewellery and I don't depend on it for my bread and butter. It's slightly more expensive, but a joy to work with and can be heat treated for hardness and tarnish resistance unlike sterling. I'm sure most customers don't appreciate its qualities over sterling or cheaper metals, but if I can engage with people and tell them about it sometimes they catch my enthusiasm for it! And I have actually had a few people specifically searching for Argentium because it's reckoned to have better hypoallergenic properties than sterling or lower carat golds.

[flame n fuse]

I'm not selling, just making bits for fun and friends, but I don't like plated silver for the reasons above. When I have costed up pieces to see how the price works out, it seems to me that the labour costs are actually the major part of the item, and sterling vs plated is only a minor component. Perhaps I'm a slow worker!!! I recently made a necklace and earrings as a gift for a friend, using medium red effetre and sterling silver findings, and the materials cost for the necklace was £5.19 and for the earrings was £5.94 (I bought the findings for the earrings, but made them for the necklace). Making the beads for the necklace took hours even though they were simple graded rounds, but making a couple of beads for the earrings hardly took any time at all.

[Blue Box Studio]

I'm finding that some of the general public are pretty clueless about the price of silver now, and still view it as a relatively cheap metal (if only).

Always research your nearest 'Elizabeth Duke at Argos' - these customers have clearly lost their way and took a wrong turning into a craft fair, mistaking it for ED@A.

[mizgeorge]

Obviously, I'm a little biased, but I dislike plated metals - they're pretending to be something they're not, and generally that will show in time. I also agree that lampwork deserves better than cheap beads, and should really be valued more than costume jewellery.

However, if price really is an issue, there are plenty of good honest base metals that are cheaper - and for a silver look, stainless steel is a good option - there are more and more things available in steel at very reasonable prices.

Alan - is there a reason why you use the softer Argentium 960 instead of Argentium 935? Are you having it marked as Britannia rather than Sterling?

[Enchanted Cobwebs]

Thanks everyone!

I'm sticking to the sterling, perhaps I need to make some things with less silver parts, maybe do just pendants on a chain as an alternative to my leather strung with lots of silver elements necklaces! I used to only use the snake chain which isnt cheap now but notice that cooksons do some cheaper silver chains and have placed an order. For anyone else that suggests that the stall 'over there' does much cheaper stuff...well...go over there then!

Now I must get rid of the base metal stuff for good as all the time its there I just keep wondering...

[Shirley]

The Cookson chain is good. I've bought loose snake chain and the ends that can be soldered on.

Another thing to consider is selling the pendant by itself. Most of mine are sold without a chain and then customers have the option of buying a chain, leather necklace or nothing at all. Lots of customers already have a chain that they can use. I do display on chains, though, but make it clear that the chain is not included, in a very positive way, of course

[mel]

Good discussion for me as I have been swithering whether to move to plated due to cost of stock.

If you are putting your stuff into galleries, then I would absolutely go for sterling.

At fairs, I offer the black Cooksons rubber tubes with sterling findings, or sterling chains to go with pendants, and occasionally folk just want the pendant-which is fine. What really pees me off is when folk want the chain without a pendant! I reckon I should let them, but whack an over;ly large mark up on it to dissuade them!

But somehow, I haven't been able to shift to plated as I think it sort of says a bit about how you perceive your own jewellery-I'm not knocking anyone who uses sterling-it's a case of aiming your materials at where you want to sit in the jewellery market.

[Enchanted Cobwebs]

Never thought of offering the pendant without the chain!

I used to display each item in a tray lined with very hard to keep clean black velveteen which I sticky rollered several times a day.
Chains / ribbons were a constant mess as soon as people picked them up and just dumped them back down. In the last 2 fairs I have gone against all my own rules and displayed items in the boxes, I dont like to as the boxes get 'messy' and I like them to be pristine when I sell something but its been tidier.

Showing the pendants with no chains would remove all that mess and save my boxes! I have some sectioned trays, will dig those out!

Everyones comments have been very helpful indeed and thank you all

[ajda]

Alan - is there a reason why you use the softer Argentium 960 instead of Argentium 935? Are you having it marked as Britannia rather than Sterling?

I'm not sure I have any very good reasons! But here they are:

I do have one eye on the Britannia standard - currently I'm only making very small stuff and not hallmarking at all, but as I get more ambitious I expect to. I doubt the 958 stamp will impress many customers, but I like the idea of it.

There is a slight (probably very slight) advantage in 960 with regard to whiteness/brightness and tarnish-resistance. However, maximising those depends quite a lot on how you actually work with it - and the same goes for the finished hardness. I don't actually know the relative hardness of 935 and 960 - and I cannot find much info about it... Do you have anything on that? I'm always interested to learn more. Since both can be finished to a significantly harder state than normal sterling I've not thought much about it before.

I was under the impression originally that 960 fused more readily than 935, both with itself and with gold. I've not done enough comparable work in each to give an opinion myself and I have since read conflicting reports from other users, so I don't know what the truth is, but it was a factor in my choosing 960 in the first place.

Because I am so disorganised I decided at an early stage to stick to just one grade of silver to avoid mixing and muddling. (The exception is with tubing that I buy ready made in sterling for coring big-hole beads.) I also thought that it might be wise to concentrate exclusively on one alloy, for a period of time at least, in order to really get to know it well.

On the down side, 960 is less commonly available than 935 so there is generally less choice (wire gauges/shapes, etc). But for me part of the attraction of working silver is going back to basics, drawing wire and so on - so, as long as it remains available in some form, even just as ingots or casting grain, I'm OK with that. (One exception to the limited availability is the finished chain sold by Allied Gold Ltd - I haven't bought any myself but they offer quite a range of chains in 960.)