Did you know that the earliest finding of jewelry goes back to around 25,000 years ago? If you recently bought new jewelry and are wondering how to tell if jewelry is real silver, we are here to help. We have put together this short guide to share how to tell if something is silver plated or solid silver.
Keep reading to make sure you are never duped while buying jewelry.
1. The Magnet Test
An easy and quick way to figure out if your jewelry is authentic silver is to test it with a magnet. If the piece of jewelry is not drawn to the magnet then it is more than likely silver. If the piece is very attracted to the magnet then it is silver plated or made of metals that look like silver such as nickel, iron, or cobalt.
Keep in mind that sometimes the magnet test is not 100% accurate because some metals will have weak magnetic properties making you believe that you indeed have silver in your hands.
2. Inspect for Tarnish
Take a close look for any visual signs that indicate if the piece is real or not. Look for things such as tarnish because real silver can have tarnish due to oxidation. If you notice tarnish but also a few flakes then this might be a sign that your silver is fake and not worth anything.
This article goes over how much real silver is truly worth. Keep in mind that sometimes tarnish can be faked by adding bleach to the piece of jewelry. Real tarnish will have subtle blackening around folds and crevices while, forced tarnish or petina will look a lot darker and will have a sharper contrast.
3. Ice Reaction
Grab two pieces of ice and place one piece in a metal pan and the other piece of ice on the silver piece that you want to test. If the ice on the jewelry piece melts much faster than the one in the pan then you have an authentic silver piece.
If you notice that both pieces melt at the same speed then more than likely your piece of silver is fake. The reason is that silver is the metal with the highest thermal conductivity. This is why it is widely used in solar panels.
Now You Know How to Tell if Jewelry Is Real Silver
We hope that now that you know how to tell if jewelry is real silver, you can make informed decisions while you are out shopping for new pieces of jewelry to ensure that you are not being taken for a fool. If you are ever in doubt you can always contact a jeweler near you and have them perform a professional acid test that uses a special solution.
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