Question:
Are Bali beads 100% silver, sterling silver, or neither? Does the silver
come from Bali or are they made there?
Answer:
-Most of the time, silver beads from Bali are sterling silver, I know the
pendants I sell are all clearly marked .925 sterling but I think with beads it
is best to check with the seller to be certain.. As for where the silver comes
from, silver ore is mined in Bali, sent to Australia I believe for processing
as Bali does not have these capabilities, and then returned to Bali for use in
silver jewelry etc.
-Most of the silver is mined in other parts of Indonesia - NOT Bali.
Kalimantan, East Java, and Sumatra, are a few of the places the silver comes
from. It's sent here and then sold to silversmiths in accordance with the
International price of silver. At that stage, the silver is .999 pure, and
very soft.
Once the silversmiths get a hold of it, they can make just about anything
with it. BUT FIRST, they must make it a little harder and stronger - and so
the process begins of adding other elements - predominantly copper - to make
it ".925." They know it's .925 because they add .075 copper to every kilo.
However.......................not all the silversmiths in Bali are so, well,
honest, and it becomes very easy to add, say, .15 copper instead of .075.
The result looks virtually the same, except there's less real silver in
there.
