A lot of people love to buy jewelry is made from sterling silver but most of the time it is difficult to tell the difference between a fake one and an original one.
Original sterling silver is malleable and will not cause any kind of skin reaction. Also, a lot of people already know that sterling silver is quite expensive so making a fake one is one way to get a lot of money.
Make sure that if you want to invest in sterling silver, you are buying an authentic 925 Italy silver Jewellery otherwise you’ll be doing nothing but wasting your money.
Sterling silver jewellery does not have to be 100% pure silver as a matter of fact that might not even be a good one at all.
Anything 100% pure silver will be extremely soft because pure silver requires to be mixed with a harder metal base such as copper to give it stiffness and a little bit of body. This mixture is what allows jewellery designers to be able to mould and also shape their silver into whatever design they want.
When you purchase an original sterling silver, you will notice markings on it that read “925” or “925 Italy silver” or “925 Italy”. Whenever you see these marking on your sterling silver, you can rest assured that it means your silver is original because it is illegal for any jeweller to sell jewellery with these markings that are not original.
Whenever you want to purchase your sterling silver jewellery make sure that you’re patronising a trusted or an accredited jeweller.
How to tell a fake sterling silver from the real ones?
An original sterling silver jewellery will come at a very high price there are no two ways about that. Nevertheless, regardless of the price, it is a very wise investment to make especially if you’re someone who desires to keep it for the use of future generations.
This is the reason why it is imperative that you ensure the sterling silver jewellery you want to buy is an authentic one and not one that is caught with above 7.5% base metal that makes it 925 Italy silver.
Over the past few years, the sales of fake sterling silver have become a significant problem. From earrings to necklaces and rings fake silver has continued to increase in the jewellery industry.
The worst part of the entire situation is that unscrupulous jewellery dealers will often sell their fake silver jewellery for the same price or even higher than the price of original sterling silver all in an attempt to hold general public.
Usually fixed sterling silver jewellery is made up of pieces of jewellery created from base metal and then plated with impure silver which is less than 92.5% then it is further polished to imitate the shine of real silver.
As you continue to use your fake sterling silver, the plating will gradually deteriorate with time and review the ugliness that has been hidden.
If you are considering investing in this amazing kind of jewellery, then it is very important that you learn the skill of how to identify original 925 silver. Not only will these skills save your skin from unnecessary allergic reactions and bad odour that would show up as a result of the bad days metal it would also give you value for your money.
The good news here is that there a couple of tests you can do in your home to check if the jewellery you have purchased is made of real sterling silver. Check out the examples below and see which works best for you.
1. Use a soft white cloth
Get a soft white fabric and use it to rub against the surface of the piece of jewellery you have bought. If after rubbing the clot on the jewellery you noticed some black marks on the cloth then you have most likely purchased an original sterling silver jewellery.
The reason why your white clothes will come back with a black mask is that the surface of original sterling silver oxidised quickly and that causes it to leave black marks and blemishes on white garments.
This explains why you are always advised to polish your sterling silver regularly or wear them as often as possible and if you want to keep them in a box and show that it is worn with minimal air and light.
2. Use nitric acid
For a very long time, nitric acid is one of the ways people have used to check if a piece of jewellery is fake or real.
The reason why nitric acid has become a very useful tool is that noble metals such as platinum silver and gold do not react to any kind of acid. Meanwhile, a base metal such as aluminium or copper will often get heavily affected by the corrosive nature of acid.
When you are applying nitric acid to jewelry that is made of base metal what you would notice is an instant change from their faux- shine to an ugly red or green. If you’re purchasing from a reputable jeweller, then he or she will have no problem with allowing you to perform the acid test in the store before purchase.
Whenever you request to do a nitric acid test, and your jeweller tells you no, then you have to immediately work out of that store because such a jeweller is suspicious. You can also try the nitric acid test at home what we have to do is make a small scratch on the surface of your jewellery somewhere people will not easily notice.
Once you have made the scrape add a drop or two of nitric acid and watch what happens in a couple of minutes (before you carry out this test ensure that you are wearing safety gloves and glasses).
If after putting a few drops of nitric acid the sports turn a creamy kind of white then you are lucky enough to have purchased an original sterling silver, but if it turns red or green, then you have every right to demand your money back.
3. Use an ice cube
This is my favourite home test method for checking for the genuineness of sterling silver jewellery. If your sterling silver jewellery is one with a flat surface, then this should be a very easy test for you to carry out.
Take an ice cube and put it on the surface of your silver if you notice the ice cubes begin to melt immediately when you have purchased a genuine sterling silver jewellery.
4. Use a magnet
Unlike most kinds of metal, silver is not magnetic. Get a powerful metal preferably one that is made from neodymium and pass it over your new sterling silver jewellery to see if it would stay back or stick.
Expects that the jewellery would slide off the magnet. And if it does, you can rest assured that you have purchased a real sterling, but if it sticks to the magnet, then you have got nothing but an ordinary metal.
5. Check the label
This is by far the simplest test you can carry out to be sure if you have purchased a piece of real or fake jewellery.
Read the inscription on the jury as I have earlier mentioned an original sterling silver would come with hidden markings. Make sure that on the marking you see the figure “925”. It could be “925 silver” or “925 USA” or “925 Italy silver”. Regardless of what is after the 925, be sure that the figures are correct.
These are the easiest and most accurate ways you can check to be sure you have purchased an original product. We hope that you find them very useful.
If you have any other tips, you would like to share, or suggestions and opinions that you would like to share with us, please do not hesitate to leave a comment in the comment field provided below. Also, we would greatly appreciate it if you share this article on social media so that your friends can also learn from it.
