In the jewelry world, where gold, silver, and other precious metals are hot topics, common metals are often overlooked. Metals like stainless steel, which have become so commonplace that they're found all over the home (especially as trendy new kitchen appliances), don't get much attention. But today, I'm giving stainless steel the attention it deserves, because it's the 95th anniversary of the creation of this useful alloy.

On this date in 1913, English metallurgist Harry Brearley cast a steel alloy containing 12.8 percent chromium and 0.24 percent carbon. This alloy, which he called "rustless steel" was renamed "stainless steel" by his sponsor. Although researches in other European countries and America were also developing their own corrosion-resistant steel alloys, Brearley's formula was the first to carry the name "stainless steel." For more information on Brearley and stainless steel, check out this article from Wired.

––Katie