Although it has declined rapidly with the use of digital cameras, original photography required the use of silver. That’s right, the same silver used in jewelry and silverware. Of all the uses of silver through the years, photography and making pictures has had silver as a key player in the game. Here are some of the facts.

The daguerreotype was the name of the first successful process of making pictures. Two gentlemen by the names of Louis Daguerre and Joseph Nicéphore Niépce are responsible. Niepce had produced the first photographic image in the camera obscura (the first style of camera) using a process and chemicals that required very long exposures.

The image in a Daguerreotype is formed by the amalgam, or combination, of mercury and silver. This is the same stuff they used to fill cavities with, but changed for photographic purposes. Mercury vapor from a pool of heated mercury is used to develop the plate that consists of a copper plate with a thin coating of silver rolled in contact that has previously been sensitized to light with iodine vapor so as to form silver iodide crystals on the silver surface of the plate. The image was formed on the surface of the silver plate and was very delicate. So delicate, in fact, that you had to mount them in sealed cases or frames with a glass cover. When viewing the daguerreotype, a dark surface is reflected into the mirrored silver surface, and the reproduction of detail in sharp photographs is very good, partly because of the perfectly flat surface.

Daguerreotype photography became very popular very quickly all over the USA because it was the only way to take a picture in those days. This was a new and exciting technology. In the past, the only way to get a picture of oneself or a loved one would be to have a portrait done by hand using pencil or paint. In the early 1840s, the invention was introduced in a period of months to people in the United States by Samuel Morse. You may recognize the name as he was the inventor of the telegraph code. One of these original Morse Daguerreotype cameras is currently on display at the National Museum of American History. A flourishing market in portraiture sprang up, predominantly the work of itinerant practitioners who traveled from town to town. For the first time in history, people could obtain an exact likeness of themselves or their loved ones for a modest cost, making portrait photographs extremely popular with those of modest means. News traveled quickly of this new invention and spread to other parts of the world such as Japan. In 1857, Ichiki Shirō created the first known Japanese photograph, a portrait of his daimyo Shimazu Nariakira. So important and precious was this photograph, that it was designated an Important Cultural Property by the government of Japan.

The process of Daguerreotype continues to be practiced by enthusiastic photographers even today,   but there may be fewer than 100 capable worldwide. Although such older, more expensive and more complicated processes have been replaced with the simplicity of digital photography, the older methods are considered to be an art. And no method can be criticized if it creates beautiful art, can it?

From our Silver Collection. Simple beauty. Simple delight. Made of solid sterling silver and plated with an anti-tarnish coating, this marvelous cuff measures 25mm. Simply select it at 925e.com – the experts in wholesale jewelry and silver jewelry wholesale. If you buy your jewelry wholesale or like wholesale silver  jewelry, look for Item Code: 17-1063-284 at 925e.com. Simple style is simple Simon.

In our Silver Collection you’ll find these hoop earrings just waiting to play. Made of pure sterling silver, they measure 31mm x 71mm. There’s more fun and great value like this at 925e.com – the experts in wholesale jewelry and silver jewelry wholesale. If you buy your jewelry wholesale or like wholesale jewelry silver , look for Item Code: 54-706-7466 at 925e.com and find more playful items to enjoy.

In the Jewish tradition, Kiddush – which means ’sanctification’ in Hebrew, is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat, Jewish holiday or a Bat Mitzvah or Bar Mitzvah ceremony. The Torah refers to two requirements concerning Shabbat – to ‘keep it’ and to ‘remember it’. Jewish law, therefore, requires that Shabbat be observed in two respects. One must ‘keep it’ by refraining from thirty-nine forbidden activities, and one must ‘remember it’ by making special arrangements for the day, and specifically through the kiddush ceremony. In order to observe these sacred rituals, a silver kiddush cup is often used, although other materials are allowed.

Indian Religious Tokens can serve as handy offerings and as portable shrines.  You can conveniently buy them outside a temple and then take them inside to lay on the altar.  Priests can come along afterward and sell it back to the vendor. You can also carry them around in your pocket, take them out anywhere, do your observance, and put it back in your pocket.  In India they’ve been making them for thousands of years.  Today the round-flat coins are very popular gifts for birthdays, weddings, etc.  If you search the web for “Ganesh coins” or “Laxmi coins” you will find dozens of sites selling modern silver gift “coins.”

Some Hip Hop Religious items made from silver are designed to allow anyone to express their faith in style. Hip Hop religious jewelry sources carry pendants for nearly every religious faith. They have hip hop Allah pendants, Star of David pendants, bling cross pendants, Jesus pendants, and more. Because religious pendants make great gifts for holidays, Confirmations, First Communions, Baptisms, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, birthdays, graduations, or any religious celebration they are often sold to people of all walks of life. Religious silver pendants never go out of style.

Some of the Christian Items of solid sterling silver you may find are: Sterling Silver Miraculous & Saint Rings. Patron saints and Mary rings in silver are very popular. These often have fine detail. They are bright, shiny, and super protective finish is achieved with our mirror shine silver process. You can even buy the 10 commandments on a one ounce silver ingot. There is also a ‘Joined by Christ’ wedding ring a Crucifix and Face of Jesus and the ‘rugged cross ring’. Many find that the Rosary rings aids in prayer. The Holy Spirit and Saints Silver Medals can be found in most religious shops. You’ll find many of your favorite Saints medals in silver such as St Christopher, St Michael and St Jude. There are medal Madonna and Child sterling silver pedants and has intricate detailing and is common as a gift idea. The St. Joseph Medal is a Patron Saint of workers and is also often accented with intricate detailing. Other Christian religious medals are: St. Therese of Lisieux Medal. She is a Patron Saint of people with AIDS, aviators, florists, illness, and missions. Finally, probably the most popular Christian silver medal is the St. Christopher Medal. He is a Patron Saint of Traveler’s and is often found on the dashboards of cars.

If you have a religious tradition in your life, you might consider enhancing it with some fine religious sterling silver items.

Two beads and more. More than you can imagine gracing concoctions and inventions of the jewelry stylist. Why not stock up on them from the best place to get your jewelry wholesale. In the Beads Story collection at 925e.com. Sterling silver with 14K Gold and colored Glass sparkles enough to light up the eyes of your favorite customers. Wholesale jewelry in more forms and shapes and colors and sizes than you could ever imagine. Look for Item Code: 110-1089-66.

Mercury occurs in deposits throughout the world, mostly as cinnabar, which is the source of the red pigment vermilion. Cinnabar is highly toxic by ingestion or inhalation of the dust. We must be very careful when handling mercury as mercury poisoning can result from exposure to soluble forms of mercury, inhalation of mercury vapor, or eating fish contaminated with mercury.

Mercury has many uses and you have probably seen it before many times. It is used in thermometers, barometers, manometers, sphygmomanometers, float valves, some electrical switches, and other scientific apparatus, though concerns about the element’s toxicity have led to mercury thermometers and sphygmomanometers being largely phased out in clinical environments in favor of alcohol-filled, digital, or thermistor-based instruments.

Mercury was found in Egyptian tombs that date from 1500 BC. It was also known to the ancient Chinese. In China and Tibet, mercury use was thought to prolong life, heal fractures, and maintain generally good health. One of China’s emperors, Qín Shǐ Huáng Dì – allegedly buried in a tomb that contained rivers of flowing mercury on a model of the land he ruled, representative of the rivers of China – was killed by drinking a mercury and powdered jade mixture intended to give him eternal life.  The ancient Greeks used mercury in ointments; the ancient Egyptians and the Romans used it in cosmetics which sometimes deformed the face. By 500 BC mercury was used to make amalgams with other metals. The Indian word for alchemy is Rasavātam which means “the way of mercury”.

The European Union directive calling for compact fluorescent bulbs to be made mandatory by 2012 has encouraged China to re-open deadly cinnabar mines to obtain the mercury required for CFL bulb manufacture. As a result, environmental dangers have been a concern, particularly in the southern cities of Foshan and Guangzhou, and in the Guizhou province in the southwest. The United States Clean Air Act, passed in 1990, put mercury on a list of toxic pollutants that need to be controlled to the greatest possible extent. One of the worst industrial disasters in history was caused by the dumping of mercury compounds into Minamata Bay, Japan. It is estimated that over 3,000 people suffered various deformities, severe mercury poisoning symptoms or death from what became known as Minamata disease.

Historically, mercury was used gold mining in order to help the gold to sink through the flowing water-gravel mixture. Thin mercury particles may form mercury-gold amalgam and therefore increase the gold recovery rates. Large scale use of mercury stopped in the 1960s. It is estimated that 45,000 metric tons of mercury used in California for placer mining have not been recovered. Mercury was also used in silver mining. So, although mercury or quicksilver has many uses, one must be careful when handling it because of the many dangers.

They will be if you scoped in on these sparkling earrings. Made of solid sterling silver and available in our wholesale silver jewelry collection here at 925e.com, you’ll thank the heavens for what you’ll find. Like miniature mobiles with dangling treasures, this piece of silver jewelry wholesale is something to behold. Each star moving on its own to catch the light and capture hearts. Get your stars today. Find them under Item Code: 54-706-7134.

Quantity. Decide on the amount of silver you want to buy. The smaller the amount, the chances are you will pay a higher premium for shipping and handling. The smaller amounts cost more per ounce because of the expenses to handle them, etc. If your budget is quite limited, or you just want to test the waters,  silver coins may be the best way to go. This would be an excellent way to collect silver for the beginner. We will mostly consider more substantial purchases here.

Quality. Good quality silver bars are stamped with the weight, the name of the mint and the fineness. Investment quality silver is usually .999Fine. This means it is at least 99.9% pure silver. This is the official level of quality and should be adhered to unless you have unusual needs or requirements. You need to be careful when you buy the ten ounce bars as it is possible to buy a counterfeit bar quite easily. With counterfeit bars, holes are drilled in the side and lead is poured in. Then the holes are covered with silver and it is almost impossible to tell this has been done. Always purchase bars from a reputable dealer who is prepared to authenticate the bars as genuine as this is important when one comes to resell them at a later stage.

Size. Silver bar sizes vary from small 1 ounce wafers to 1000 ounce sizes. The 1,000 ounce silver bullion bar is the standard industry unit and traditionally used for trading and storage. It weighs 68 pounds, though, so many people prefer to have it stored as opposed to delivered to their door. The size, weight and maker should be stamped on each bar. The small one ounce bars are really only for collectors as the mark up and shipping costs outweigh the investment value. Ten, one hundred, and one thousand ounce bars are better for investment purposes. Silver ingots are the larger bars and tend to be rough and are used by jewelers and for industrial purposes.

Cost. The cost should be based on the current price of silver. Silver is much less expensive than gold, so you are able to buy much more. Many people in the know say that silver will be reaching the price of gold some day. If so, that would be wonderful for the many silver investors. But no one knows for sure. You can check prices daily in the newspaper or online. You will notice that all dealers add a fee to cover their costs. Make sure the fee is reasonable and do a little comparison shopping in your area to get the best deal. Since service and quality are minor considerations here, the price should drive your decision. Just make sure the place you deal with is reputable.

Safety. If you must store your silver bars yourself, get a good quality safe and do not tell anyone you have precious metals on hand. Bars of silver or gold and jewelry are some of the first things a robber wants to take from you. They are very valuable, very portable and easy to resell for quick cash. They also can be very difficult to identify. So, once it’s gone, it may be impossible to get back. Be careful with your precious metals and gems. Some of the best storage options are with the dealer or in a safe deposit box.

Dealer. Settle in on a dealer you feel good about and one recommended by someone you trust. Make sure they conform to your requirements in the above areas and have someone there that will help you with all questions. If you aren’t getting helpful and timely service with your purchase, cancel them and go with someone you can count on.

After the purchase. Keep track of your investment. When you buy silver bars the idea is to make a profit, of course. Keep an eye on the market prices. Be sure to keep complete records of your transactions for taxes. Some say that more than 95% of all the silver ever mined throughout history has already been consumed by industry. That silver is gone forever. In 1900, there were approximately 12 billion ounces of silver in the world. Today, that figure has fallen to about 300 million ounces of above-ground, refined silver. This means that at current prices, it would only take about six billion dollars to purchase all of the above-ground silver in the world today. This makes investing in silver today a truly excellent idea.

This cuff bracelet is just too much! Bright red floral design from coral and fresh water pearls. It’s in our Acqva line at 925e.com blooming amongst our huge selection of wholesale jewelry. It’s Item Code 90-890-736. Bright, bold and beautiful doesn’t end there. It’s only the beginning. Fun and exciting jewelry wholesale is our specialty. Come by and visit when you’re in the mood for a fun and relaxed shopping adventure.

More than a typical pendant, this fantastic piece conjures thoughts of stars in the galaxy. Made from 14k gold and rhodium plated sterling silver, you’ll be delighted with the price of this wholesale jewelry. A rich and plentiful look; this item can be found at 925e.com as Item Code: 53-701-2641.  Stones in 3 shapes adorn this quality piece. Find your jewelry wholesale waiting for you in styles too many to mention.  There’s plenty at 925e.com