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.

Beautiful personalized sterling silver jewelry and sterling with gold overlay can be seen at https://www.personalized-jewelry.com

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.

Silver has been a popular choice of metal, aside from gold, in the manufacturing of jewellery. In fact, it has gain popularity over the years since silver is undeniably cheaper than gold. But even with its relatively affordable price, silver is very pretty to look at. That is why it is used to make different jewelry such as bracelets, earrings, necklaces and so much more. There is a wide range of men's silver jewelry to choose from especially in online shops.

Silver has an exciting property in that it reflects 95% of the light that gets to its surface. It such a beauty to look at since it sparkles even with any type of light that falls on it. This reflective property of silver makes is one of the reasons why it is a popular metal to use for accessories. Another property of silver that is to the materials advantage is that it is one of the softest metals and is very malleable. Silver can be made into different shapes and have the property to be melted then cooled and reformed. It can also be pounded into very thin sheets that is even thinner than human hair. Silver has another interesting property which is called alloying. Alloying means that pure silver can be mixed with other metals for more durability, for example mixing silver and copper creates what is called as sterling silver.

Sterling silver is the silver that is used for men's silver jewellery. Because silver is soft, as mentioned, sterling being 92.5% silver is the best option to use for jewelry and silverware as it can withstand daily use. Even if sterling may not be pure silver, it is very strong yet workable. It is also known for its beauty that lasts a long time.

When buying men's silver jewellery, you have to look for the stamps of quality to ensure that you are getting authentic silver and not just some silver ripoff. Most silver jewelry comes with a quality mark which shows the metal content and the registered trademark of the manufacturer. Authentic silver jewelry can be identified with a lion or leopard mark if it is made in the United Kingdom. If the jewelry is made from any other country, it usually is marked with a .925 or the word sterling. Be sure to look for the fineness mark and the maker's mark on your jewelry to assure its quality.

Once you have bought your silver jewellery, it is important that you take care of it to maintain its beauty. In order to do so, you must store your jewelry in a cloth pouch and avoid cleaning it with household chemicals such as bleach and ammonia. Also avoid wearing jewelry when swimming in chlorinated water. Sometimes, silver tarnishes as a result of its reaction with sulfur or hydrogen sulfide but this can be remedied by using specially formulated polishes that removes the tarnish.

One best way to avoid tarnish is by wearing your silver jewelry regularly. It is the reason why you bought one in the first place anyway;to be able to wear it and show its beauty to the public.

© 2008 Jason Tye. Jason Tye is the webmaster and owner of the mens designer jewelry emporium - homme rock, specializing in quality, designer jewelry and rings, for men.

As a fashion statement, silver jewelry is definitely to be reckoned with these days. Not only is it quite a bit less expensive than it's counterpart in gold, but it will usually go well with most types of clothing.

Wholesale silver jewelry can be obtained from many places, however, the Internet will surely give access to the greatest selection and the lowest prices - all available at your fingertips.

Start your search online - just as when searching for any other type of jewelry. Aside from there being a vast number of sites online where you can get your hands on wholesale jewelry, there will also be a subset of these who specialize even further, including for silver jewelry. By going the wholesale route, it is possible to find great savings over purchasing items individually.

Something to bear in mind whenever you are planning on buying wholesale silver jewelry is that it ought be 'sterling' silver. Sterling is a grade of silver which is 92.5% silver, while the rest consists of assorted other metals, mostly copper - and is normally marked with the number 925. It is the best grade of silver that you can purchase, and it should be remembered that there is no high grade or low grade sterling silver - there is only 'sterling silver' quality.

The basic factor in deciding how great a bargain the cost of the piece is, will likely be the weight of the sterling silver part of the item. However, if the jewelry was hand made, it will in all probability be considerably more pricey than other items which are similar, but were not made by hand.

When owning silver jewelry, a fact that must be dealt with is that it tarnishes - it makes no difference if it's sterling silver or some other type of silver. There are various makes of silver polish which can be found on the shelves of your supermarket or hardware store, which are helpful for keeping silver clean and shiny, and if you would like to have your silver jewelry maintain it's shine, you will have to clean and polish it on a constant basis. An average timetable might be to polish the silver approximately once a week.

Obtaining silver jewelry in wholesale lots is the ideal method, as it is already comparatively cheap, and becomes yet more so at wholesale prices. When looking at such jewelry, the quality of the silver is not where your primary concern should be - assuming of course that it is sterling silver. It is really the stones and settings which are mounted on the piece that should be kept in mind.

It is important to find out if the jewelry is of solid construction, besides checking to see if the mounted gems are real and not simulated (provided that is what you are primarily after).

Obviously, whenever actual gems, such as diamonds, are part of the item, the price of the jewelry will be quite a bit higher. In the end, purchasing your silver jewelry in wholesale lots, will unquestionably give you great savings over buying single items.

If you are looking for a bargain, come and visit JewelryOnOffer.com where you can find many Wholesale Silver Jewelry Items along with various other products such as Emerald Diamonds .