Among numerous types of jewelry, sterling silver jewelry is considered as an affordable but gorgeous and wonderful accessory for every jeweler. Therefore, it is included in the product category of multitude jewelry brands. However, some beginners in this industry seem to lack experience about sterling silver jewelry when finding suppliers and unfortunately purchase fake ones. This article is here to help readers avoid this unexpected situation.
Below are some methods including fundamental and advance to spot fake sterling silver jewelry.
Magnetic test
Use a strong magnet in particular, such as a neodymium rare-earth magnet. Silver is paramagnetic and exhibits only weak magnetic effects. If your magnet adheres to the item strongly, it contains a ferromagnetic core and is definitely not sterling silver. It's worth noting that there are a few other metals that don't attach to a magnet but may be made to seem like silver. It is preferable to do the magnetic test in combination with another test to ensure that the core is not made of another metal.
Bleach Test
With a bleach or polish test, you may determine whether your sterling silver jewelry is genuine or not. Although genuine silver oxidizes and tarnishes when exposed to bleach, it will regain its natural gleam after being polished with a towel. If, on the other hand, your jewelry does not tarnish when exposed to bleach, it is comprised of fake sterling silver.
Observation
Also, sterling silver, unlike gold and platinum, tarnishes. As a result, if your silver jewelry never discolors, even after a long period of inactivity, it's likely that it's not genuine. In the interim, you may put it to the test by vigorously rubbing a white cloth against the metal. Even though the jewelry now displays no obvious symptoms of corrosion, genuine sterling silver will nearly always leave at least a trace of black residue.
Chemical test
To get the most accurate assessment, retailers can use chemicals like nitric acid to test on jewelry. However, this could negatively damage your jewelry so you should consider carefully before doing this. A nitric acid test is normally done on an unnoticeable area of the piece of jewelry. Rub the area thoroughly until the surface plating has been erased. Place a couple of drops of nitric acid onto the area and wait a few minutes. If the liquid turns cloudy grey, then the item is sterling silver. If the liquid turns green, then the item is silver plated.
That are some common ways to spot if sterling silver jewelry is fake. And one important thing to keep in mind is that make sure brands finding a reliable supplier to provide good quality jewelry. Shinera as an experienced and reputed sterling silver jewelry manufacturer from Vietnam is proud of providing genuine materials and meet the requirements of multitude of customers from all over the world. So, if you have any plans with a sterling silver collection, don’t hesitate to let Shinera know, and we would be happy to collaborate with you.
