top of page
Search

Different Types of Silver in Chinese Market

Our recent trip to Yunnan made me realised how confusing the silver market is for consumers.


Apart from s925 silver, which most of us are familiar and comfortable with, there are also Snowflake Silver or Xue Hua Silver (雪花银), Miao Silver (苗银), Tibetan Silver (藏银), and Thai Silver (泰银). Due to the big question-mark I had on the difference between Yunnan Snowflake Silver and Miao Silver during the trip, I decided to touch on this topic. Mind you, we do not specialize and have much silver accessories; hence this post is just a sharing of my search to you guys. Hopefully, it is helpful to you!






The Standard Silver - s925 Silver

s925 silver is a combination of 92.5% of silver and 7.5% of other metals, typically copper. It is also known as Sterling Silver and 925 silver. It became the standard as it provides a practical balance of strength and affordability, hence is used in many things such as jewelry and tableware.






The Ones We Heard in China


Yunnan Snowflake Silver, or Yunnan Xue Hua Silver

This form of silver is from Lijiang, Yunnan Province; comes in either s990 or s925 silver.


Based on our search, the term Xue Hua Silver was used in the Qing Dynasty to describe the best form of silver made then. Back then, the purest silver made contained approximately 93.54% of silver, and its sparkles and flowery pattern reminds people of snowflake; hence the term Xue Hua Silver (Snowflake Silver). However, the Xue Hua Silver now is different.


After much search, the term "Xue Hua Silver" is a folk name/local term and is used in commercial. The typical types of Xue Hua Silver now is s990 and s925 silver; meaning 99.0% or 92.5% of silver.




Miao Silver

Famous for their intricate patterns and meanings, most Miao Silver contains less than 50% of silver and is used as accessories and in Miao Ethnic's Wedding.


However, when buying accessories described as "Miao Silver", please be aware that the term "Miao Silver" may refer to items that is made in the style of Miao Silver but is made with metals like brass, copper, or copper-nickel; and thereafter plated to look like silver. As long as the seller are honest and the price justifies, there is nothing wrong in getting such items.




Tibetan Silver

Traditional Tibetan Silver is made up of 30% of silver and 70% of copper (may refer to copper-nickel). Due to the low percentage of silver, it can hardly be found in the market; and has been replaced by 白铜 white-copper (copper-nickel) now. However, due to the recent popularity of Tibetan Buddhist accessories, there are accessories made with s925 silver in Tibetan style. Hence, please note the difference between Tibetan-style s925 silver and Tibetan Silver accessories.

*Note that Tibetan Silver items usually has no markings.




Thai Silver

Thai silver is used to described a kind of craft that recreates old/vintage-looking silver. In terms of silver content, it is made of 92.5% of silver usually. Hence the term is mostly used to describe a certain "look". Another term for such look is "Black Silver" (乌银).

*Note that Thai Silver is usually marked with "925" or "s925".






Conclusion

Hope the above clears up some confusion over the different types of silver in the Chinese market. Honestly, if not for the trip, I would hardly come across Yunnan Snowflake Silver, also known as Yunnan XueHua Silver 云南雪花银, and wonder their differences.





Sources

As most of the information are sourced from Chinese websites, if there is any mistake, kindly notify us via treasurecoveonlysg@gmail.com . Thank you


Person. (2021, February 22). 不同类型的银饰. Online Jewelry Auctions. https://www.jewelry-auctioned.com/zh/learn/buying-jewelry/silver-different-types-of-silver-jewelry

苗银、藏银、素银、泰银...这都些什么银？. (n.d.). https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/339278730

雪花银是什么银？跟足银有什么区别？ - 知乎. (n.d.-b). https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/111950561




Comments

bottom of page