In my last post I showed you the hard way to recycle silver. This is the easy way -- and definitely my standard choice. I mail my scrap to a supply company (Rio Grande), and they pay me cash for it -- or give me a little bit more in credit toward purchase. (And no I don't work for Rio Grande, I'm just a happy customer.) This is a photo of the scrap I am mailing tomorrow. In exchange, I will order a beautiful sheet of sterling silver like the one shown on the left. It is SO much easier than melting it myself. You might have silver to recycle, too. A few things in my pile are just rejects from my jewelry box. One is a heavy sterling chain that has never laid flat. It's just a poor design. I'm also sending two ugly charm-bracelet charms I've had forever. You might want to check your stash and see if you have any rejects of your own just taking up space. This is a good time to sell! As you may know, at this writing sterling silver (925) is at $25.95 a troy ounce. Recently it hit $30.00. If you aren't sure how that compares historically, first take a seat...no really, sit down before you fall down... and then absorb this ten year chart. Ten years ago an ounce sold for $5.00! I also promised to show an example of my jewelry using each of the three silver recycling methods I've used. After turning in scrap metal, I used that company credit to purchase sterling wire and sheet. This piece was made from sterling silver wire, commercial sheet silver, a single freshwater pearl, and a heavy dose of imagination.
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Sue Lacy WiredThis began as a hobbyist's blog. Over time it became a quest to support & connect metalsmiths around the globe who use foldforming techniques in their work. See how it all turned out: www.foldforming.org Archives
July 2016
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