Articles made out of precious metals are usually assayed before they are put up for sale. This is done in order to determine the amount of pure metal in the article. Silver articles may be made out of an alloy of silver and some other metal to give it strength. Different marks may be used for indicating the fineness of the metal, maker of the article, country and year of assay. The Silver from different countries may be distinguished by its fineness. A Silver standard is followed in many countries for determining the fineness of Silver in an article. The decimal system where a decimal number indicates the quantity of Silver in parts per thousandth is commonly used.
Silver is found in abundance in China and hence Silverware and jewellery are very common in China. Floral patterns were mostly used in the early period on Silver articles. In terms of antique, decorative boxes, jewellery and other culinary articles were produced in the ancient period and are popular collectibles today.      
Chinese Silver has a Silver standard of .900. It is an alloy of Copper, Zinc, Nickel, Cobalt, and Silver. It is used for making jewellery.