The addition of a new baby to a family is worth commemorating with a special keepsake. At a baby shower or a first birthday party, parents often receive practical gifts such as baby clothes, blankets, strollers and cribs. But it is also perfectly appropriate to give the parents a collectible memento of this special time in their child's life. There are many different types of keepsakes available for baby showers, including picture frames and ceramic figurines. Baby gifts in silver are a wonderfully elegant gesture for the baby's parents, and if chosen carefully can be something that they will always treasure.

When you're shopping for a silver baby gift, you'll have a few different types of keepsakes to choose from. For a first baby, a silver rattle is a classic choice. Of course the baby will probably never lay a finger on the rattle until much later in life, but the parents will appreciate a gracious and timeless gift that makes a wonderful heirloom. For the birth of a first baby when you know that the parents are planning a large family, look for silver baby gifts that can be easily repeated for future siblings. For example, a silver ornament in a popular shape can be engraved with the baby's name and birthday. If you choose a silver ornament in the shape of a stork, a heart or a baby shoe, you can be sure that you will be able to find similar ornaments for later children. This will create a set of matching but not identical keepsakes for a set of siblings.

Engraved silver jewelry is also a great gift for the mother of the baby. A silver charm bracelet will allow you to give a silver charm engraved with the baby's name along with other baby-related silver charms, such as rattles, alphabet blocks or stuffed toys. Charm bracelets are extremely versatile and are another example of a gift that can be repeated for additional children. A mother with a large family will eventually have the original silver bracelet you gave her and all the charms commemorating the births of her children. Also available are silver pendants that can be engraved at the jewelers shop. Like silver charms, silver pendants can be added to a single necklace for a growing family. You might even be able to find a silver pendant with the baby's birthstone.

The most important consideration in choosing a silver baby gift is what the recipient would prefer. Above all, you want your silver baby gift to be a reminder of the special birth of a child, so you don't want it to be forgotten in a box. If you know that the mother of the baby doesn't wear jewelry, it would be better to give an engraved figurine or ornament rather than a bracelet or necklace. As long as you put some thought into your choice of a silver baby gift, you can be sure that your keepsake will always have a place in the family's heart.

Jon Kelly is a published author who writes on many diverse subjects that includes advice on toddlers and babies. We hope to provide you with information you can rely on. To find out more please visit: http://www.greatbabysupplies.com.

Next to gold, silver is the second most popular metal from which jewelry is made. Silver jewelry and household items have been discovered in ancient Egyptian tombs and 5,000-year-old civilizations buried by time. Because it is a metal soft enough to be bent, hammered, and melted, it has been used in combination with other metals to craft items from personal adornments to weapons that brought down empires.

Like gold, silver alone is too malleable to hold its shape and needs to be combined in alloys with other metals, usually copper. Silver alloys are expressed in parts per 1000. Britannia silver is 958 units silver, or 95.8% pure silver. Sterling is 925 units silver, or 92.5% pure silver.

The amount of copper mixed with silver does not seem to determine the pricing; it really depends on the workmanship of the piece, whether it is sterling silver table flatware or a silver ring or pendant. If it is a unique, one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry designed by a silver artisan and cast by the lost wax method, it will be more expensive than a ring, pendant, or cross that is cast with reusable molds. In addition, the craftsmanship in finishing and polishing the item will influence the cost, as will the addition of any gems or stones in the design.

More plentiful worldwide than gold, silver is often found in mining with other metals, such as copper, lead, and arsenic. Its properties of high electrical and thermal conductivity and low contact resistance makes it useful in technology manufacturing. Combined with nitrate, it is photosensitive and is used to develop film. Combined with other chemical compounds, it is used for batteries, cloud seeding, explosives, medicine, instruments, and many other uses. Probably the most common use of silver is in coins worldwide.

In spite of the availability of silver, the high demand in uses other than jewelry keep the price of silver relatively high, but not as high as for gold. As of October 2008, silver is worth about 1/75th the price of gold by mass.

Often sterling silver is the base metal over which gold electroplating is placed, because it is less likely to distort or be damaged than pure gold. Sterling silver jewelry can be plated with a coat of 99% pure silver to give it more shine, called "flashing." Or, to keep it from tarnishing, a thin coat of a very rare metal called rhodium may be electroplated over a silver ring, for instance, for a very bright, white shine.

The popularity of combining silver with turquoise, agate, lapis lazuli and other semi precious stones continues today and is a typical Southwestern jewelry style.

Silver has many practical uses, but the greatest use is for silver jewelry designed into rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants and crosses.

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Each http://www.Personalized-Jewelry.com item is made to your exact specifications and made even more special with the personalization you choose. Create your custom piece to include a loved one's name, a wedding date, a birth date, religious occasion or words that inspire or touch your heart.