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

Page Sargisson describes her Brooklyn studio as bright and happy, with a couch where she occasionally takes afternoon naps. The colors are fuchsia and orange - with two boys at home, ages 4 and 2, she doesn't get to see pink very often. Page has always been a designer of sorts, starting at age eight, when she would knit clothes for her Cabbage Patch Kids.

In creating her jewelry, Page doesn't always follow the rules of tradition. "Too much of this world is made by machine now and everything looks sterile. I love seeing the imperfections, the hand of the artist." Page mostly wears her own jewelry, although she and her husband found her engagement ring - a 1950's cocktail ring - in Rome.

Page has never owned a car, and is passionate about car-less transportation. She lived in Europe for a time, and is particularly fond of the railroad. With two kids, she rarely has thirty minutes of downtime, but takes those once-in-a-while opportunities to lie in bed and read. She indulges in chocolate on a daily basis.

Details

• sterling silver
• 5.5mm wide, 2mm thick band
• TLC for your satin-finish sterling silver jewelry