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UK Inventor, Finnish Manufacturer, Team Up to Produce Tarnish-Resistant Silver
March 31, 2000

(Washington, D.C. - March 31, 2000) What some are calling the most significant development in silversmithing in centuries, a British silversmith and Northern Europe's largest silver manufacturer have teamed up to produce what they are describing as tarnish-resistant silver.

This new sterling silver never needs polishing and can be placed right in the dishwasher, according to Peter Johns, a trained silversmith and instructor at Middlesex University who spent 10 years developing the patented product.

Like other silversmiths, Johns was vexed by firestain or firescale, a dark coating found on silver that occurs when the metal oxidizes at high temperatures. "It causes problems when you join pieces together because if you solder on top of the firestain, you don't get a proper bond," says Johns. Silversmiths often handle firestain by coating the metal with boric acid or other caustic solutions.

He found that by adding germanium, a semiconductor element used in early transistors and now employed mainly in fiber optic equipment, the silver alloy didn't develop firestain. The same properties of germanium that thwarts firestain also prevents tarnish since they are both forms of oxidation.

"It is no exaggeration to say that this is the most important development in silver for 5,000 years," Association of British Designer Silversmiths Chairman Richard Fox told the London Evening Standard recently.

The tarnish-resistant silver has been in limited commercial production since last year, says Tony Jackson, technical development manager at Kultakeskus OY, an 81-year old privately-owned silver manufacturer about 60 miles north of Helsinki. The largest silver maker in Northern Europe, the company has been working with Johns for six years to determine the right amount of germanium and other metals to produce a silver product that has the best characteristics of sterling but without the firestain. "We went through every possible usage -- silverware, hollowware, jewelry -- until we found the correct percentage, " says Jackson.

One of the biggest advantages for silver makers is that products can be fabricated with time-saving laser welding, a procedure that was previously impossible because of firestain. Adding germanium adds about 7 to 10 percent to the price of finished products.

"Silver continues to play an increasingly important role in our daily lives. Silver's expanding range of uses is rooted in sectors as diverse as photography, electronics, jewelry, coinage, and water purification. The development of this new product offers interesting possibilities to the marketplace —from jewelry and silverware to industrial applications," said Paul Bateman, Executive Director of the Washington, D.C.-based Silver Institute.

Frank McAllister, former Chairman and CEO of Asarco, and John Lefgren, of Lefgren Corporation have formed Vaasa Limited, a new venture to market this product in the United States. That firm is now engaged in discussions with various manufacturers about introducing this product to consumers here.

In 1999, worldwide silver production reached 552 million ounces. North American production totaled 195 million ounces last year. Mexico, Canada and the United States are amongst the world's top producers of silver.

The Silver Institute is a nonprofit international association. Established in 1971, the Institute serves as the industry's voice in increasing public understanding of the value and many uses of silver.

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