About

The precious metal silver comes from the element Argentum, the Latin word meaning bright or shining. Discovered sometime around 4000 BCE, silver ore was first mined in order to make ornamental objects.

In the 11th and 12th century, in what we now call the British Isles, silver pennies were printed with a small star. A penny like this was called a steorling (most likely pronounced like "sterling") in Old English, meaning "coin with star." These steorlings were made up of 92.5% pure silver, with an alloy of 7.5% copper, just like sterling silver today. It was discovered that the alloy was just as beautiful as pure silver, but stronger by leaps and bounds.

Many recognized the advantage of a precious metal that was both beautiful and durable: two traits that are ideal in a favorite piece of jewelry.

Artist

Dahlia Kanner crafts her jewelry in a glassed-in studio surrounded by the woods of Rhode Island. Since finding her beginning as a jeweler fifteen years ago, Dahlia says her work has become more conservative, comfortable, and wearable, though she still approaches each piece as a small, sculptural piece of art.

Dahlia's love of nature is apparent in her jewelry, replicating the textures and forms of found natural objects. Perhaps her affinity for the natural world can be traced back to her earliest childhood ambition of owning an animal sanctuary.

Dahlia has two dogs, a Siberian husky named Kato, and a rottweiler/German shepherd named Zeke. Her favorite place in the world is the top of the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska, her sweetest indulgence is "always dark chocolate," and if Dahlia could be any animal (besides human) she would be a flying fox.

Details

• crafted with recycled sterling silver
• sterling silver posts
• 2" total length, with .7", .5", and .25" ovals
• TLC for your sterling silver jewelry