Electrical contact system

A system including a contact tip that includes an arcing surface 26, a base surface 24, and a graded structure 40 is presented. The graded structure includes a first region 50 comprising a first surface 52 proximate to the arcing surface 26, a second region 60 comprising a second surface 62 proximate to the base surface 24, and an intermediate region 70 disposed between the first region 50 and the second region 60. A concentration of silver in the graded structure 40 decreases from the first surface 52 to the second surface 62. A method of forming a contact tip includes preparing starting materials for a first region 50, an intermediate region 70, and a second region 60 of the contact tip. The starting materials of the first, intermediate, and second regions are sequentially added to a container to form a graded blend of starting materials. The graded blend of starting materials are compacted and heat-treated to form a contact tip having a graded structure 40.