Choice of Silver Findings and Spacers

[Sonja]

Hello, I am relatively new at making beaded jewelry. My focus is earrings and bracelets. It’s important to me that I only use findings, spacers and bead caps that are silver plated or gold filled at a minimum. However, when my sister visited from Hawaii, I noticed the bead caps on her earrings were devoid of silver, leaving only a dull grey metal, after only 8 months. (Note that metal tarnishes rapidly in Hawaii.) So my question is, is this likely a case of believing I had purchased silver plated, when it actually wasn’t, or are silver plated pieces short-lived, necessitating solid silver? Once I determine an acceptable type of silver, does anyone have a link to a site that is trustworthy for purchasing these items? Thanks.

[ps_bond]

Given your location, I'd have thought Rio or Otto Frei would be the sensible options.

[Sonja]

Oops I forgot to put my location in my profile. It should now indicate United States.

[Caro]

Silver plating doesn't last long if it gets rubbed. However I would have thought that bead caps on earrings should last longer than 8 months before wearing off. Did you try a polishing cloth on them to see if it was just tarnish?

Bracelets can wear very fast if they rub against clothing and various chemicals can damage the plate too

I only use sterling myself.

[china]

You may want to investigate Argentium, it suffers less from tarnish etc.

[Caro]

I don't think I've ever seen pre- made findings in argentium? If you have a source I'd love to see it. I'd be happy to upgrade from sterling.

(I wouldn't want to make my own - It takes more time than the job is worth)