How to distinguish sterling silver jewelry from silver-plated jewelry?
In theory, sterling silver is silver jewelry with a content close to 100%. However, the hardness of silver is low and the texture is soft, so in the process of making silver jewelry, other metal elements will be added to increase the hardness of silver jewelry. Currently, the mainstream 925 silver jewelry (containing 92.5% silver and 7.5% Copper) followed suit. Subsequently, a large number of imitations appeared, which is the silver-plated jewelry we often refer to, which makes it difficult to distinguish the authenticity from the fake. However, after learning the following four tricks, you can easily distinguish between silver-plated and sterling silver jewelry~
1. look
There seems to be no difference in the appearance of silver-plated and 925 silver jewelry, but there are still some subtle differences. Because silver-plated jewelry contains copper or lead elements, the surface color is not uniform, often with a bit of blue-gray; while the color of sterling silver jewelry is white with a little warmth, and it will not appear very rough. The more silver jewelry you see, the easier it will be for you to tell the real from the fake from the color.
2. Weigh
Weighing may sound like an unreliable method, but it is quite effective in distinguishing silver-plated jewelry from sterling silver jewelry. The metal density of silver is very high, and some metals similar to silver, such as aluminum and copper, are far less dense than silver. So we can weigh silver jewelry of the same size at the same time, and the heavier side is the sterling silver jewelry. However, for silver jewelry inlaid with jewelry, this method of judgment is not so accurate.
3. Clip
Many other metal elements are added to silver-plated jewelry, so the hardness is much higher than that of pure silver jewelry. We can use a small clip to clamp the two separately. If it is pure silver jewelry, there will be less obvious marks on the surface; on the contrary, silver-plated jewelry will basically not leave any marks because of its high hardness and wear resistance.
4. Mark
Sterling silver or 925 silver jewelry will have some markings on the inside, but silver-plated jewelry will not. For example "full silver" or "s925". However, many foreign brands will not have these marks printed, so for domestic silver jewelry brands, this method can still be effective quickly.