Silver figurines or statues made entirely of sterling silver would be very heavy, as well as very expensive, due to the large amount of precious metals required to make them.
Some pieces are made following a brilliant method of creating a great artistic piece, 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 elaboration of metallic parts for machines, nowadays 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 of .999 silver. (higher silver content than the pound sterling) without having to pay prohibitive prices.
First, the artist conceives his piece and then makes it using some material such as plasticine or clay, which is then turned into a resin or plaster mold. This mold is taken and filled with a similar substance which, when dry, will make a model of the statue in a now solid material.
This preliminary statue is used to manufacture, by a similar procedure, a silicone mold to which a fine resin specially used for this is then injected. Once the resin statue inside the silicone mold is dry and hard, it is taken out of the mold and retouched by talented artisans so that every detail is perfect.
Once the piece is ready, it is submerged in an electrolysis vat where the piece is first coated with a layer of metallic copper and then left for 10-12 hours to gradually be coated with a layer of .999 grade silver. This layer is approximately six times thicker than normal silver plating and the piece will remain in the silver vat until the layer reaches 15% of the piece’s weight in .999 silver.
Once that is achieved we have a silver statue. It is removed from the vat and chemically oxidized to a black patina, followed by a thorough polishing process. Polishing is also required and is done to a high shine.
To complete the process, the piece is protected by completely covering it with a transparent layer of special lacquer. This layer prevents tarnishing, which is unavoidable with silver, so… no need to polish again anytime soon, as this step ensures the piece’s finish will last!
You can now enjoy the beauty and prestige of fine silver statues without paying through the nose for them, and a wide variety of them are made this way. No matter what your preference, chances are there is a statue that you fall in love with.
