How To Check The Purity Of Silver Jewelry

By Gemexi Team | Jewelry

• Updated On Mar 18, 2020

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Silver is one of the precious metals that has been used for ages for various purposes. We all have seen silver coins, wear silver jewelry and the few lucky ones even eat in silver utensils. But like everything that glitter is not gold, similarly, everything that sparkles is not silver. Items made of impure silver have been traded all over and that’s why to make you aware of your purchase, here we tell you some quick ways to check the purity of the silver.
 

Turning of skin into green

This is one of the easiest and obvious tests to check the purity of your silver jewelry. If stains of green and black color appear underneath your ring or necklace then understand that the silver used in the making of your jewelry is not pure. Generally, these stains appear when copper or another oxidizing metal is mixed with silver. When you wear it, due to sweat, oil or lotion on your skin, the metal oxidizes and leaves the greenish-black hue.
 

Check for various marks

Silver items including silver jewelry, all have certain stamps regarding the purity of the silver. For example; if there is a stamp of .925 then it means that the item is graded at 92.5% purity. There are also stamps of 900 and 800 which respectively means 90% and 80% purity. The benefit of the stamp is that it stands as proof of the grade of metal you are buying. Always buy the silver items with stamps on it. If the stamp is missing then there is a chance of ingenuity. When buying a ring, look for the stamp inside the band, in case of a necklace, you can find the stamp on the clasp or on a tag.
 

Ice test

Those who don’t know, silver is a metal that conducts heat far better than the other metals. This means that ice can help you identify the purity of your silver jewelry. Just keep an ice piece on your silver jewelry and if melts instantly like as if it has been placed on some heated pan then congratulations! Your silver item is 100% genuine.
 

Magnetic attraction

Another easy way to test silver is to touch it with a magnet. What you have to do here is simply buy a magnet made of neodymium, ideally, keep it in an angle of your silver jewelry and then see if there is a pull or not. If the jewelry sticks to the magnet, sadly, it means that there are metals mixed in it or maybe it is just silver coated. The amalgamation can be of any metal, nickel, cobalt or iron. It is these metals that cause reactions on the skin. Also, along with magnet tests, perform other tests as this test can’t be trusted wholly.
 

Chemical testing

Chemical analysis is the accurate ones but then beware while using this test you may end up damaging your silver jewelry. The less invasive but still 100% effective is a silver acid test. Here, you have to buy this specific acid, put a few drops onto the item and then wait for a color to appear. If the acid becomes red, your item is genuine sterling silver. If it becomes brown or green then the concentration of silver is only 80% or 50% respectively. And besides these, if you see altogether different color then the item in question is indeed only silver plated or made up of different metal entirely.
Silver is a precious metal and the items made of it really look beautiful and lustrous. Whenever you buy silver jewelry, always check for listings, reviews and authenticity certificates. The reputation of the jewelry seller matters a lot. If you are looking for one such genuine silver jewelry website, do check GEMEXI. Here you will find a wide range of handmade silver jewelry items.

 

 

• Tags:
• Wholesale Silver Jewelry
• Jewelry By Healing
• 925 Silver Jewelry
• Affordable Gemstone Jewelry
• Handmade Silver Jewelry