The Flutist's Guide to Silver Alloys

Is All Silver the Same?

The short answer is - no, all silver is not the same! What we call silver or “solid silver” is actually an alloy. The type of silver depends on the percentage of silver and the other metals present in the alloy. Read on for more information about each type of silver.

The Top 3 Silver Alloys

Sterling silver, 925 - Sterling silver is the most common type of silver used today, in flute making and beyond. The Sterling alloy is composed of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. The copper increases the strength and hardness of Sterling silver. Because of its strength, Sterling silver is widely used in flute manufacturing. Depending on the manufacturing process used, Sterling silver flutes range in price from $3,000 to over $12,000.

Coin silver, 900 - The coin silver alloy contains 90% silver. Fun fact - coin silver was used to make silver coins, which is how it got its name! As with Sterling silver, the remaining 10% of the coin silver alloy is typically copper. While coin silver contains less silver than Sterling silver, the additional copper increases the hardness of the metal. While there are a handful of flute manufacturers who have used coin silver over the years, the most notable is Haynes Flute Company. Haynes Flute makers believe that coin silver is part of what creates their signature Haynes Flute sound, and it is used in almost all of their silver flutes.

Britannia Silver, 958 - The Britannia silver alloy contains 95.8% silver, with the remaining 4.2%. Britannia silver is used by a number of flute manufacturers, including Miyazawa, Nagahara, Altus and Trevor James. This alloy gives flutes and headjoints a dark, yet brilliant sound.

Other Silver Styles

946 Altus Silver™ - Altus silver™ is an alloy consisting of 94.6% silver and 18 precious metals, including small amounts of platinum and gold. This is a proprietary silver blend unique to Altus flutes, and was inspired by the preferred metallurgy of the great French flute making tradition. This silver alloy creates a flute capable of producing a wide array of complex tonal colors.

Altus Handmade Silver Series Model 1807 - Altus Limited

950 Silver – The 950 silver alloy, which contains 95% silver and 5% other metals, is similar to Sterling silver, but is more pure. The greater purity offers a clearer sound with better projection. Nagahara flutes and Alcon headjoints use 950 silver.

970 Pristine Silver – Pearl Flutes uses 970 Pristine silver, which offers excellent projection and a dark tone color compared to other silver alloys.

Pearl Handmade Maesta Flute in Silver

997 Pure Silver – 997 Pure silver is made of 99.7% silver. The higher amount of silver in the alloy means that pure silver is denser than Coin, Sterling, and Britannia silvers. The higher density lends pure silver flutes great projection and a colorful sound. Altus and Sankyo both manufacture handmade flutes and headjoints in 997 Pure Silver.

998 Pure Silver – Very similar to 997 pure silver, the 998 pure silver alloy consists of 99.8% silver. 998 pure silver is used primarily by Burkart flutes, who describe it as having “the tonal depth, color, and projection of a platinum flute, the warmth of a gold flute, and yet speaks with the shimmer and brilliance of a silver flute. The resonance of this flute is the result of its extraordinary 99.8% pure silver tube that is both hard and reflective.”