The Five Alloys You Shouldn't Need

How silver jewellery workshops end up with inventory problems that have nothing to do with silver prices

Walk into most silver jewellery workshops and you'll find a familiar scene in the raw materials area: multiple bags of different silver alloys, each for a specific purpose.

One for casting. One for wire. One for sheet. Maybe another for CNC work. Perhaps a 'tarnish-resistant' option for export orders.

Nobody planned it this way. It just... accumulated. ‍

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THE ACCUMULATION PROBLEM

Here's how it happens:

You start with standard 925 sterling. Works fine for basic casting. Then you get wire orders and your casting alloy doesn't draw well. So you add a wire-specific alloy. Then sheet work comes in. Different alloy again. Then an export buyer complains about tarnishing. Another alloy.

Before you know it, you're managing five different alloys for what is fundamentally the same metal.

And with silver at ₹3.8 lakh per kilo, that inventory complexity isn't just inconvenient it's expensive capital sitting in bags.

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THE HIDDEN COSTS NOBODY TRACKS

Multiple alloys create costs that don't show up on any single line item:

• Mixing errors — wrong alloy grabbed from similar-looking bags

• Batch variation — different suppliers, different formulations, inconsistent results

• Minimum order quantities — buying more of each type than you need

• Training complexity — operators need to know which alloy for which job

• Dead stock — specialised alloy bought for one order, never used again

Kaafi log isko 'normal' maante hain — just part of running a silver workshop. But is it?

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THE QUESTION NOBODY ASKS

What if one alloy could do everything?

Not a compromise alloy that does everything poorly. A genuine all-purpose formulation that handles casting, wire, sheet, and CNC with built-in tarnish resistance.

This is what Legor designed SILNOVA to be. ‍

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WHAT MAKES TRUE ALL-PURPOSE POSSIBLE

SILNOVA is a 930% silver alloy higher silver content than standard 925 sterling with 1.2% palladium in the formulation.

What the palladium does:

• Tarnish resistance built in — Yellow Index 7.6 vs 15-20 for typical sterling. Stays white, doesn't yellow.

• Improved workability — handles 45% wire reduction, 70% sheet reduction without cracking.

• Age-hardenable — 50 HV as-cast, up to 120 HV after simple heat treatment (500°C for 45 minutes).

And it comes as ready-to-use drops. No mixing, no master alloy calculations, no batch variation from formulation errors.

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THE NUMBERS

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WHAT THIS WON'T FIX

A better alloy doesn't fix everything.

If your process discipline is inconsistent temperatures varying, contamination in melts, operators not following procedures results will still be unpredictable. SILNOVA needs the same care as any quality alloy.

And it's not the cheapest option per kilo. The economics work when you factor in inventory consolidation, reduced mixing errors, and tarnish-related returns. Agar sirf per-kilo price dekhte ho, toh fit nahi hoga.

THE REAL QUESTION

How many different silver alloys are you currently stocking? And what would it mean for your working capital if you could consolidate to one?

We can send a trial quantity of SILNOVA with complete processing parameters. Run it through your casting, try a wire draw, test a sheet reduction. See if it actually does what your current five alloys do.

Reach out: help@preciousalloy.com | +91 22 6101 4444