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How much Silver is in my Silverware?

Actually, the answer depends on what type of Silverware you have.

Today, the term ‘silverware‘ is very generic, and refers to any of a number of household implements, such as: flatware, cutlery, dishes, candlesticks, and even sports trophies. But that wasn’t always the case.

The widespread popularity of silverware really took hold in Victorian England, starting around 1840, and peaked from 1870 – 1920. Victorian etiquette dictated that food should no longer be touched with ones fingers. As a result, in both America and Europe the use of sterling silver flatware became the standard for proper etiquette. The growth in silverware’s popularity was increased by the growing middle class who were eager to display their new wealth. The growth in the middle class’s amount of disposable income, and their desire to display that wealth (to further enhance their social status) led to the creation of utensils to fulfill every imaginable use. During this time period, dinner also evolved from 3 simple courses to 10 (or more) course events. A typical dining service included the bouillon spoon, gumbo soup spoon, salad fork, butter spreader, fruit knife, cheese knife, shrimp or cocktail fork, dinner fork, dinner knife, place fork, place knife, teaspoon, pastry fork, coffee spoon, demitasse spoon, and iced tea spoon.

So, back to our question – how much silver is really in silverware?

Silverware, as the name implies, was historically made from (obviously) silver. However, being a very soft and malleable metal, it was necessary to blend the silver with another metal to enhance its strength. This gave rise to the alloy called Sterling Silver, which has long been recognised as the ‘silver‘ standard. Sterling Silver contains (by law) 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of other metals – typically copper. More recently, other metals (such as zinc and platinum) have been used to enhance specific properties, such as resistance to tarnish, but none have been able to replace copper as the standard. So, if you’re fortunate enough to have inherited, purchased (or possibly even collect) sterling silver, it contains at least 92.5% pure silver (and as the price of silver goes up, so does the value of your  flatware).

That’s great news for those who own sterling silver, but what about silverplate?

For silverplate, the answer is not as straight forward. It actually depends on when the cutlery was made since the plating process changed. As the process changed so did the thickness and purity of the silver.

Silverplate cutlery is made from a base metal (usually copper, nickle, or zinc) which is coated with a layer of silver. The original process was discovered in 1743 by Thomas Boulsover of the Sheffield Cutlers Company (thank you Wikipedia) when he accidentally overheated the handle for a decorative knife he was trying to repair. The silver and copper had melted and fused together into a composite, the two layers behaving as one. This technique was later refined around 1770 when the ‘double sandwich’ process was developed. Here a copper core is ’sandwiched’ between two layers of silver, then heated and formed. This was especially useful for items such as cups and bowls that had a visible interior.

The Sheffield plating process continued until about 1840 when it was replaced by the highly efficient electroplating process. Electroplating is a by which a very thin layer (typically 35 microns) of one metal (at the anode) is deposited (or plated) onto another conductive, usually metal, material (at the cathode) as an electrical current passes through them (the metal ions are transferred via an electrolyte solution which permits the flow of electricity – completing the circuit). One benefit of electroplating is that the surface is made of pure silver, not sterling silver. Unfortunately, the silver layer itself is quite thin, so the majority of the part consists of the cheaper core metal. Even though electroplating was much more cost effective than the Sheffield ’sandwich’ process, the Sheffield method continued to be used for the next 100 years, typically for items which were subject to heavy wear (such as military uniform buttons and tankards).

All other types of cutlery, typically referred to as ‘silverware‘ contain no silver at all. Today’s most common varieties are made of stainless steel, typically the 18/8 or 18/10 alloys. The numbers refer to the composition of the steel alloy. The base metal is iron, and it is blended with 18% chromium and 8% (or 10%) nickel. Higher quality stainless steel flatware will be heavier than ‘cheaper’ versions.

Other materials from which cutlery has been made include gold (solid and plated), brass, and pewter, all of which obviously contain no silver.

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