Silver figurines or statues made entirely of sterling silver would be very heavy, as well as very expensive, due to the enormous amount of precious metal that is required to make them.
Some pieces are made following a brilliant method of creating a great piece of art, without the excessive cost that it would naturally have if it were made as a normal statue or figurine and using exclusively silver to make the entire piece. This process is called electroforming.
Formerly it was only given industrial uses such as the manufacture of metal parts for machines, today this process has been transported to the artistic field, giving us the opportunity to enjoy the possession of a beautiful and unique piece which is made in silver .999 ( higher silver content than sterling) without having to pay prohibitive prices.
First, the artist conceives his piece and then makes it with a material such as plasticine or clay, which is then transformed into a resin or plaster mold. This mold is taken and filled with a similar substance which, when dried, will turn a model of the statue into a now solid material.
This preliminary statue is used to manufacture by a similar procedure, a silicone mold that is then injected with a fine resin specially used for this. Once the resin statue inside the silicone mold is dry and hard, it is taken out of the mold and the talented craftsmen touch it up so that all the details are correct.
Once the part is ready, it is immersed in an electrolysis vat where the part will first be covered with a layer of metallic copper and then allowed 10 to 12 hours to gradually cover with a layer of quality silver .999 . This layer is approximately six times thicker than normal silver plating and the piece will remain in the silver tub until the layer has reached 15% of the piece’s weight in .999 silver.
Once that is achieved we have a silver statue. It is removed from the tub and chemically oxidized to a black patina, then goes through a full polishing process. Polishing and rendering to a high gloss is also required.
To complete the process, the piece is protected by covering it completely with a transparent layer of special lacquer. This coating prevents tarnishing, which is unavoidable with silver, so … no need to re-polish anytime soon as this step ensures that the finish on the piece will last.
Now you can enjoy the beauty and prestige of fine silver statues without having to pay an arm and a leg for them, and a wide variety of them are made this way. No matter what your preference is, chances are there is a statue that you fall in love with.
