Did you know... We've been wearing rings since the ancient Egyptian times. They were large and the Egyptian women wore them as bracelets. The circular shape represented unity and eternity. Many centuries ago, the fourth finger on the left hand, had a special meaning. The Greek and the Romans called it the medical finger, due to a vein that went from the fourth finger to the heart. That finger was also used widely to mix potions, which led to the saying"The Love Potion". Did you know... Hundreds of generations used silver for curative purposes but they could not explain why silver was helpful or how it worked. Until about 150 years ago, no-one knew about microbes. It was only known that silver cured the sick and protected the healthy. People observed that those who use silver dishes and silver food containers got sick less often and could keep their food fresh longer than those who used dishes and container other than silver. Consequently, silver was highly valued and used generously in day to day life as well as medically, though almost exclusively by the wealthy. Silver's high price was prohibitive for a large segment of the population. In the late eighteen hundreds, microbes and their role in our health were discovered and understood. Silver's importance as a curative and protective agent against infections was realized and appreciated. It's price rose accordingly. In 1938, Dr. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. Penicillin proved to be an excellent antibiotic against bacteria and it was affordable by almost everyone. From that time on, expensive silver based medicines were in diminishing demand and their production slowed to a crawl. However, after using antibiotics for a few decades, we are only a step away from being overcome by strong strains of bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Interest in silver has revived. Beside killing bacteria, silver proves to kill virus and fungi as well without side effects. Since technology found ways to produce silver based healthcare items for a price affordable to most, silver is on it's way to being generally used instead of helping just a privileged few. Did you know... The cire perdue, or lost-wax method is one of the most popular methods of casting charms and smaller jewelry pieces. Used since antiquity, it involves a "negative" mold and a "positive" mold. The negative refers to a hollow form or mold into which the liquefied silver is poured. First a "positive" model is formed in rubber, one which looks the same as the desired charm, and molds are created in which wax figures are poured...Next the charm tray of plaster, or very fine sand, is "treed" with a branch of a hundred or more wax charms...The molten silver is poured into the "branched tree" and the wax melts into the plaster, replaced by silver. The rough charms broken from the tree, with the extra silver being saved for re-casting, and the charms are tumbled in Jewelers grit for days and days (and days and days) to polish the pieces and smooth out any rough spots. The high luster finish of a new charm will develop a lovely patina with age and wear (and exposure to air), which will emphasize the detailing only possible with this complicated and antique process of lost wax casting! And you learned it here first! *smile* Did you know... Silver, (Symbol Ag) is a lustrous white metal that conducts heat and electricity better than any other metal. Valued as an ornamental and coin metal since ancient times, Silver was mined in Asia Minor before 2500 BC, making it substantially older than yours truly! *grin* The alchemists called the metal Luna after the Goddess of the Moon and ascribed to it the symbol of a crescent moon. With the exception of gold, it is the most malleable of all metals; harder than gold, but softer than copper. It melts at 962 degrees centigrade (probably one of those useless-could-have-lived-a-full-and-profitable-life-without-knowing facts) or about 1764 degrees Fahrenheit (see earlier editor's comment). Sulfides and sulfur found in the air attack silver, and tarnishing is caused by the formation of silver sulfide on the surface of the metal. Silver is 66th in ranking of natural abundance in crystal rocks *whew* with the most notable deposits in Peru and Norway, ancient mines worked for centuries. Silver is usually found combined with other elements, or recovered during the processing of gold in its alloyed form of Electrum. Most of the silver mined in the world comes from Mexico, Peru, Canada, the United States, and Australia. The states which lead production in the US are Nevada, Idaho (hey, there's silver in them there taters!) Montana and Arizona: accounting for 71 percent of the silver mined in the US in 1989.... The deliberate extraction of silver from lead was apparently mastered by the end of the 3rd millennium BC, and employed in the production of objects using the same techniques used for gold in the Sumarian and the Middle East. Silver remained a restricted material until the late Roman Republic, 27 BC (I promise, NO pop quizzes) when huge quantities available to Rome made it a vehicle for trade and wealth, along with its use as coinage. During the Middle Ages in Europe, silver was in short supply, and although many of the early kingdoms minted currency; chalices, gospel covers and other larger pieces were restricted to church use. Mines in Austria and Germany provided most of the new silver for the Middle ages, augmented after 1550 with silver form the Spanish mines in South America. The late seventeenth century in Europe caused a shortage of silver throughout the popularity of larger items, like chandeliers and silver mounted furnishings, and was generally restricted to eating and drinking utensils...Of course, that was then, and this is now, and Silver is once again used by craftsmen everywhere as an expression of art and beauty (not to mention CHARMS!) ...Previous / Continue...