Yes. I hand craft pieces myself in my studio in Yorkshire England.

Yes, all my hand made jewellery is solid 925 Sterling Silver. Some chains, clasps etc may be silver plated but this will be stated in the listing.

Silver metal clay is a manufactured material made using recycled silver particles, an organic plant-based binder to bind the particles together and some water. This material can be moulded, shaped and textured. It is then dried (it can be left to dry naturally or put on a heated surface to dry). It is fired using a jewellers torch or in a jewellers kiln. The result is a piece of metal of hallmark quality. Silver metal clay tends to be the most commonly used metal but other metals are available. They are similar in the way they are manufactured and the method of working with them.

Silver including fine silver (999) and sterling silver (925).

1. The clay is moulded, shaped, textured etc to make jewellery or other object.
2. The clay is left aside to dry – either on a hot surface e.g. hot plate, food dehydrator, on top of a radiator etc
3. Once dry, the clay can be filed and finished ready for firing
4. The clay is then fired
5. Once cool, the silver can be polished. Findings e.g. jump rings and earrings wires are added and the pieces are ready to wear.
   
6. If selling silver clay jewellery, pieces over 7.78g need to be sent to one of the UK Assay offices for hallmarking.

Yes, silver clay is real silver. Once the clay is fired it is metal and it can be assayed.

Eventually yes. All silver will tarnish over time and can easily be polished again. Fine silver clay (999) has less copper content so tends to tarnish less quickly.

No. Silver clay is organic based.

The main type of silver clay that is used is made of fine silver. This is also known as 999 which means for every 1000 particles, 999 are silver and 1 is copper. Sterling silver is also known as 925 which is 925 parts silver to 75 parts copper and other alloys. Fine silver is a little softer than sterling because the copper content makes it stronger. However, fine silver is still a strong metal and is great for making jewellery.

There are lots of considerations when thinking about whether something is eco-friendly. It is a manufactured material and the main brands are made in Japan. But on the whole, I would say that silver clay is an eco-friendly product because:

• The silver in silver clay is 100% recycled from X-rays, photographic industry, electronic devices etc.
• The binder binding the silver particles together is an organic plant-based binder
• There is no waste with silver clay. Dry clay can be reconstituted – ground up to be made into clay again by adding water so nothing needs to be discarded – I can recycle it ourselves.