Sterling silver is a widely popular jewellery type which is worn by men and women to upscale their look. People are of the view that sterling silver and silver are the same but they are actually two distinct materials with different care techniques, prices and lifespans. Sterling silver is an alloy which contains 92.5% of silver and the remaining 7.5% of other metals usually copper to increase the hardness of silver. As pure silver is very soft it cannot be used in jewellery making that is when sterling silver came into existence.
Source: https://www.quora.com/What-is-sterling-silver-jewelry/answer/Harsh-Garg-59