Red Nymph Jewelry
Sterling silver catches the light like no other, which is why we love the look of sterling silver in flatware, vases, jewelry, and decorative accents. Real silver also has a high value in the market, so items made from the material tend to come with a higher price tag than those that merely look like silver. Knowing whether or not something is actually made of silver is important in terms of more than just cost: People who have an allergy or sensitivity to other metals have to make sure that their jewelry is real silver if they want to wear it without a negative reaction.
Shopping for silver at the flea market, estate sales, and yard sales means that you can find some great deals, but you have to know what to look for. “I always recommend that shoppers look at piles of what dealers are putting out as scrap piles of silver,” says one of my friend, who has authored five books on antique shopping and decorating with repurposed furniture. “I once purchased a silver tray for $5 from one such pile, took it to my silver dealer and got a check for $1,400. Sometimes, dealers don’t know what they have so leave no stone unturned!” Like other precious metals, silver has distinctive properties that can help you to identify it. These tests can give you a good idea as to whether the item you are holding is real silver or a convincing fake. Just remember that there are some tests that you can’t do unless you own the piece, and you don’t want to risk ruining the item if you intend to get more value out of it. With that said, these are some of the ways you can tell if an item is made from real silver.
Authentication Hallmarks
Look for markings or stamps on the silver. “The first thing you should look for when you found an item you suspect to be real silver, is markings like a stamp or hallmark,” explains a flea market expert . “A silver object that is to be sold commercially is, in most countries, stamped with one or more silver hallmarks indicating the purity of the silver, the mark of the manufacturer or silversmith, and other markings to indicate date of manufacture and additional information about the piece. International sellers of silver will stamp silver as 925, 900 or 800.” These numbers indicate the level of purity of the silver. Sterling silver has a purity of 92.5 percent or higher.
The Magnet Test
Most precious metals-like gold and copper-are nonmagnetic, and silver is no exception. Grab some magnets and see if they are drawn to your object. Silver is not noticeably magnetic, and exhibits only weak magnetic effects unlike iron, nickel, cobalt, and the like, If your magnet sticks strongly to the piece, it has a ferromagnetic core and is not silver. Fake silver or silver-plated items are generally made of other metals. This is an easy test that can give you a good idea on whether your item is real silver or not.
The Odor Test
Sterling silver is odorless, so go ahead and smell the piece in question. Does it have a noticeable odor? If you can smell sulfur or a distinct metallic fragrance, then it is not sterling silver. The item could be silver-plated, but a scent indicates that it is not made entirely of sterling silver. This is a great test to conduct for those of us who have a strong sense of smell.
The Polish Test
Silver needs to be polished on a regular basis. After checking for stamps and markings and using the magnet trick, pull out the soft white cloth you brought with you! Silver also oxidizes and tarnishes. Rub the tarnished piece as if polishing. If no black residue appears on your cloth, it’s not silver. Polishing the silver item is a very good indicator of its authenticity. Rust or a lack of oxidation indicates that the item is made of a different material from silver.
The Flake Test
Some items may be silver-plated, which means that they are covered with a layer of real silver. Does the item have flakes that reveal a different metal underneath? Can you scratch it with your finger nail and see another material below it? The item is plated with silver, but is not sterling silver. You can also take a few of the flakes and put them into acid. The acid’s color should remain the same if it is pure silver. Of course, this is not a test that you can do while at the store, so only do this test on pieces that you own.
The Ice Test
You will need to have access to ice in order to do this particular test: take a cube of ice and put it on top of the silver item. Silver has the highest thermal conductivity of any common metal or alloy, Even at room temperature, authentic silver products will melt the ice at an exceedingly rapid rate. If it melts fast(er), it probably is silver. It’s a simple, neat little trick that can tell you if you are dealing with sterling silver or a clever fake.
The clearest giveaway will be if the silverware is hallmarked by the manufacturer. If the silverware is plated it will be stamped as silver-plated. If it is solid, the typical alloy will be sterling silver and the manufacturer will stamp the piece sterling silver, meaning that it is 95% silver. Probably the best way to verify the alloy is to weigh the piece. Then you take a container of water on a scale, zero the scale and then suspend the piece in the water by a thread. The scale will read the weight of the water displaced by the piece. Then you divide the weight by the weight of the water displaced and the result is the specific gravity of the piece. The specific gravity of the piece and will fairly clearly indicate the metal alloy used.
There are several surefire ways:
1) hallmark. It’ll say “925” or “sterling”. NOTE: “China 925” is a new thing being added to fake silver. if it says “esp” or “copper core” or “ep” it most likely means it’s silver plated, which means very little silver (practically none). If there’s no hallmark, move to next step
2) temperature: silver is an excellent conductor of heat. Take a steel spoon from your drawer and the one you’re testing and put ice cubes in both. If it’s silver it’ll immediately start melting. conpare it to the steel spoon just to verify
3) nitric test: they make Little red bottles of silver test. If you can get some, it’s infallible. But I imagine with covid it’s hard to find
4) corrosion: look in any nooks and crannies. Do you see blue or green corrosion? If so, it’s not real silver.
there are other more subtle ways to check but these will hopefully get you close
If you’re confused, don’t worry. There are some things you can do to tell whether your silver flatware is the real deal.
1）Using a soft, light-colored cloth, buff your flatware piece. Authentic silver accumulates a layer of oxide when exposed to air and buffing it will remove this oxide and leave a black mark on your cloth. You won’t see this mark with silver-plated or sterling silver flatware.
2）Look at the surface of the item, particularly its handle. Silver-plated flatware will chip or wear away over time to expose the metal underneath.
3) Real silver will typically carry a hallmark, a number or symbol that tells you the silver content. (For example, a sterling silver piece will have “Ster” imprinted on it.) These hallmarks might be small, so you may need to have a magnifying glass for this work.
4) Keep in mind that very old silver pieces – pieces that predate the Civil War – may have no marks at all, while others might have the name and mark of the piece’s maker.
5) Silver-plated flatware, meanwhile, will have markings that say things like “silver plate,” “EP” or “EPNS.” Silver-plated flatware value is essentially negligible compared to real silver, although older, well-kept pieces might sell for more than newer ones.
6）Have the flatware inspected by a jeweler. Their normal test for determining the authenticity of silver is to place a very small drop of nitric acid on the piece (in an area that’s not noticeable). If your item truly is silver, the acid will create a green mark.
It’s a good idea to let a jeweler perform this test on their own. They have the expertise to examine your silverware without damaging it.