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Silver jewelry is one of the most versatile and most popular among metal crafts. After all, silver never goes out of style. It suits almost all stylizations — modern, formal and old-fashioned. Recently, however, many imitations of natural silver and so-called silver-plated jewelry have appeared. You will learn how to determine whether it is silver or not and whether there are impurities in it, you will learn from this article.
There are several ways to check the authenticity of silver. The simplest of them — before you buy your favorite ring, chain or earrings, you should carefully look at it and find a sample. 925th — guarantees the high quality of silver.
- When buying chains, bracelets or necklaces, be sure to pay attention to the buckle — a round and oval ring that connects the jewelry to the lock. Do not ignore the opportunity to try on. This will help to notice that the clasp itself is made of silver, but the rest of the product is not.
- On silver and gold earrings, the test is on either the outside or the inside on a shvenze — a stick that is part of the lock. If the model is curved, then usually the sample is placed on the hook.
- On rings, the sample is usually placed at the bottom from the outside.
Recently, they began to make an electronic test on jewelry, which is difficult to find without a magnifying glass.
Since silver is a good conductor, if you hold the jewelry in your hand for several minutes, holding it in your fist, it will heat up to body temperature. Or you can pour boiled water into a glass and lower the product into it for a few seconds. If it is really natural silver, then it will instantly become as hot as water. But if there is a stone in the jewelry, then you cannot check it in this way. It can get damaged.
If after a minute you rub the product on the skin, a dark mark appears on it, then it is made of 65% silver. The remaining 35% is zinc. When such rings or chains are worn for a long time, a dark stripe forms on the finger or on the neck. Another easy way to quickly distinguish silver from a fake is to drop the item from a meter high onto a hard surface such as laminate or parquet. If you hear a ringing vibrating sound, and not a quiet and deaf one, then this is silver.
Another home method how to find out if it is really silver or not, bring it to a magnet. If it is real, then it is a diamagnet.
Look at the color of the chosen decoration. If it is too shiny or vice versa — it has a matte metallic tint, it may be a fake.
Feel free to check the weight of the item. If it is very small, then it is not silver, but a low-value or non-precious material. To confirm this guess, a few scratches on the surface can be made with a sharp knife or needle. If it is soft, then the product is made of silver. A different color is visible under the first layer — this is not jewelry metal, nickel silver (an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc, which is also called “new silver”) or just silver-plated copper.
In order not to spoil the product, rub it on chalk. it is real silver if dark streaks remain on the chalk.
How to check silver iodine? Just drop a drop on the surface of the decoration alone. The reaction will occur in 1–2 minutes. The appearance of a light coating indicates that this is not silver. Instead of iodine, the same can be done by using sulfuric ointment, which will leave a speck of dark blue.
Now you have many ways how to find out real silver or not at home. To get a more accurate result, it makes sense to buy special reagents or seek the advice of a professional jeweler.
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