sterling or silver plated findings?

[Forester18]

I'm sure that some of you will have tussled with the problem of whether to use sterling silver or silver plated findings for jewellery. I'm discussing this with myself at the moment. I'm wondering if the market will stand the extra cost of Sterling or if it is better to go for plated and keep costs lower. I'm sure many of you will have thoughts about this which I would be interested to hear.
Frederick

[Kaz]

Personally, I feel that I would be letting my beads down if I used silver plated so I tend to stick to sterling. Though I sometimes mix and match it with leather and silver coated ceramic beads to keep prices down but maintain quality. My personal pet hate is bracelets and necklaces made without wire guards on the clasps - I think it seriously detracts from the quality of a piece and I hate seeing the beading wire. Other cheaper options include copper and the coloured wire - both of which can look very unusual without looking cheap. If it helps you to make your mind up, I would say make 2 pieces - one in silver and one in silver plate and wear them both for a while. In my view it does not take long for silver plate to tarnish or chip.
Kazx

[Shirley]

I think it depends what beads you're using. If I've spent maybe up to an hour making a big focal then I'm going to use sterling or hill tribe for the findings. If, on the other hand, I'm making something with beads that I've bought in cheaply then I won't usually waste silver on them. I like the different elements of the piece to be equivalent quality, if that makes sense.

I bought a lovely fused pendant a while back. It had a sterling silver bail so no problem. It came on a gauze and suede ribbony necklace. Unfortunately the fasteners on the necklace were plated and really detracted from the piece. It was actually a false economy on the part of the seller I think as I'll be in two minds whether to return.

[sarah t]

i think it depends on the beads ,wieght of the final piece, your design and who you are selling to!
i think sterling is preferable but plated is cheeper and ol joe public cannot usually tell the difference!.(you tell them obviously )...but i think mixing and matching is not worth the trouble  (unless you can not find a sterling alternative) ..either go for one or the other

i would say when you are starting out go for plated untill you are confedent about what you are doing

and dont get this lot started on hallmarking !!...

[theflyingbedstead]

Sterling silver - without hesitation.

Firstly, so many people (including myself) are allergic to silver plated findings, and secondly (and I hope this doesn't sound arrogant), I refuse to devalue my work by using inferior findings.  If you are making good quality beads then people should already be paying a decent amount for them (that covers your time at a realistic wage), and so would expect good quality fittings.  Usually, it is the cost of making a piece which is the most expensive aspect; not the materials, so, how much extra will it add to the total cost of a piece of jewelley?

There is another option - using Stainless Steel...this is a bit cheaper and can suit 'industrial' or 'masculine' looking work.

[beadysam]

Copper is very popular too...

[Sal]

Definitely sterling for me.

[noora]

I took a silver smithing class last year, and the teacher (a silver & goldsmith) showed us a pair of beautiful earrings he had made several years ago. He told us that he had made one mistake: he made them in silver instead of gold. For the time he spent on making them, he would need at least £1000, but nobody was prepared to pay that much for a pair of silver earrings. People would however have paid willingly if the earrings were gold. The material would have cost a bit more, but the amount of metal was so small that the price wouldn't have gone up more than a few percent.

I think the same applies to sterling silver vs. silver plated. The value of the item goes up significantly in the customer's mind if you tell them it's sterling silver, and you'll easily cover the material costs and more.

[DragonflyLynne]

Sterling for me too 

[Donna@Rockin' Beads]

Sterling Silver all the way... (or fine silver, of course...)
I did use cheap plated charm bracelet chains when I first started making charm bracelets but as soon as I saw how quickly the silver wore off I moved to sterling silver.

[Josephine]

You can't compete with the cheap mass produced jewellery so why bother trying. If you are promoting your work as artist made it needs to be good quality as well as design.

[littlehondachop]

i have used silver plate on cheap beads but for lampwork beads i would use sterling silver everytime , if you are prepared to shop around you can get some really good priced sterling findings 

sam xx

[Lottie]

The value of the item goes up significantly in the customer's mind if you tell them it's sterling silver, and you'll easily cover the material costs and more.

That's a really good point.

Sterling all the way for me too. Apart from the quality thing, I just get such a kick out of working with it.

[Forester18]

Many thanks for your comments.