Sterling silver is an alloy metal that contains 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals. Recently, the price of 925 sterling silver has skyrocketed. A piece that used to cost you $8 will now cost you as much as $30. Due to the high cost, purchasing sterling silver jewelry is a great investment. When making your purchase, you should be aware that there are some jewelry dealers who pose silver jewelry as genuine sterling silver jewelry. Because of this, you need to be careful when purchasing.
sterling silver testing
There are a lot of tests that you do to find out if you are buying the real units. Some of these tests include:
smell test: This test works best when you buy large pieces of jewelry. You should rub the unit you are looking to buy and smell it. If the drive has a metallic or brassy smell, it’s definitely not real. A real jewelry should not have any smell.
rub test: Here you should rub your jewelry with a soft white cloth. If you find black marks on the garment after rubbing it, you are on the lucky side as it is a real unit. Real silver oxidizes when exposed to air and this causes it to deteriorate over time. This is the reason for the black marks.
nitric acid test: Nitric acid is an inexpensive acid that you can easily get at your local store or online. When you buy the jewelry, ask the jeweler if you should have the test. Nitric acid has no effect on real 925 sterling silver; so if the jeweler is selling you the actual unit, you won’t have a problem with you trying on the jewelry.
magnetic test: This is probably the easiest test. You need to get a magnet and place it near the jewelry. Genuine sterling silver is not attracted to magnets.
mark-test: Here look for the marks on the surface of the jewelry. An actual unit will have “Sterling Silver”, “925” or “Ster” markings on its surface. The markings must not be covered with any coating.
Tips to increase your chances of buying the real units
To increase your chances of purchasing real silver jewelry, you need to keep a number of things in mind. One of the things you need to do is be careful which dealers you work with. Whether you’re shopping online or offline, make sure the dealers you’re working with are trustworthy and have a proven track record. This requires that you take your time to do your research.
Another thing that you should do is buy the jewelry in the company of an expert. The expert will not only guide you on the best places for him to shop, but also guide him on the right units for him to choose.