How to distinguish silver from fake

All the ways you can distinguish silver from fakes

All methods by which silver can be distinguished from counterfeits are based on the physical and chemical properties of a substance called argentum.

So, the first property that distinguishes silver is its high thermal conductivity.

In other words, this metal heats up quickly and cools down quickly. At home, checking the level of thermal conductivity is not difficult. You need to immerse the decoration in boiling water for a moment. A silver product will immediately heat up, but an ersatz item will be barely warm.

The second method is also related to physics. True, it is even easier to implement such a test. All you need is a decoration and a regular sewing needle. Lightly scratch the top layer of the ring with the point of the needle and look at the result. Real silver will not react to manipulation, and silver-plated bracelets and necklaces will remain unplated.

Let's move from physics to chemistry. We test silver by reacting it with other substances. The easiest way to check whether the set you purchased is real is to take a lapis pencil. Draw a pencil over the silver. If the metal darkens, then you have a surrogate. The precious metal should not react in any way to such an impact.

Don't have a lapis pencil handy? Then use the most ordinary school chalk. Rub your ring with a piece of chalk and look at the piece of limestone. If it turns black, then you own real silver jewelry. Well, if the chalk has not changed its color, then you have a surrogate in your hands.

Another way to find out whether you bought a fake or a precious item is to smear the jewelry with regular sulfur ointment. This product is sold in any pharmacy and costs a penny. Buy ointment, apply it to the metal and leave it for a couple of hours. Then rinse off the substance and look at the result. If the product darkens, then this is a real precious metal. A fake will either not change color or take on a different shade.

You don’t have zinc ointment on hand, but do you have iodine? This means that you have the opportunity to use another method to test your silver. Drip iodine onto the metal. If the product has not changed color, then you are holding precious metal in your hands.

Has your ring suddenly turned blue? Then you can start to get upset: for a silver item you were given jewelry made of zinc or with a very high content of this substance in the alloy.

By the way, if there is too much zinc in a product, it may even leave marks on the skin.

You held a silver bracelet in your hand and saw dark stripes on your palms - this is a piece of zinc jewelry. However, such obvious fakes are extremely rare. Fraudsters have become very good at counterfeiting jewelry. However, the test can give them away. Look carefully at the sample. It must be clear. In most cases, the number 925 is put on silver. Next to it there may be another sample depicting a girl in a kokoshnik.

Now you know how to easily check the authenticity of silver jewelry.

Finally, a couple of reminders.
First: silver jewelry cannot be too cheap; the price per gram of metal usually ranges from 20 to 60 rubles.
Second: it is much safer to purchase jewelry from large stores that care about their reputation.

According to legend, the Aztec ruler Montezuma had an amazing amulet: the skeleton of a small snake, “silvered” by natural processes, found in one of the silver mines. It was priceless in beauty and uniqueness and surpassed all creations of human hands. Moreover, he had magical and healing powers. The conquistadors, who had plundered countless treasures, hunted for a long time for the “silver snake,” but in vain.

They say that she crawled back into the depths of the mine so as not to get to the greedy looters. This is the way this metal is silver: it serves only those who like it.

Silver mirrors

Since time immemorial, people have mined silver and revered it not only for its beauty, but also for its magical and healing properties. Suffice it to say that such mystical objects as mirrors were originally made from metals, including silver.

The oldest of these mirrors is about 5 thousand years old and is a silver disk carefully polished on one side with a handle. Only very rich people could afford silver mirrors, as they were incredibly expensive.

By the way, people learned to make glass mirrors relatively recently - about 600 years ago, but for a long time they were not recognized by almost all religious confessions: it was believed that it was in glass mirrors that the satanic looking glass was hidden.

The Church, which at first considered glass mirrors to be a fiend of evil, was much more loyal to metal ones, especially silver ones. Many believers not only admired themselves in them, but also treated many diseases with them, ranging from mental illness to dropsy, smallpox and tuberculosis.

It was believed that metals of cold shades (silver, tin, iron) absorb hot, exciting energies and take away excess heat from the patient. Metals of warm shades act exactly the opposite.

By manipulating mirrors made of different metals, experienced healers sometimes saved sufferers from seemingly incurable ailments.

Ancient Greek doctors used a silver mirror to predict the outcome of a disease. To do this, they immersed the mirror in water to a shallow depth and forced the patient to look at his reflection. By how much his facial features were distorted in the mirror, they judged whether the person would survive or not.

Healing water

The union of silver with water dates back to ancient times. Even the Sumerian ruler Entemena in 2400 BC had a silver vase with a copper bottom. Over time, the water in it became saturated with ions of these metals and acquired healing and rejuvenating properties.

Even then, people not only knew about the wonderful properties of both metals, but also guessed that they were synergists and enhanced the antimicrobial effect of each other.

In some countries, silver coins were thrown into wells during their consecration to improve the quality of water, in some - into milk so that it would not go sour longer.

In the 5th century BC, the Persian king Cyrus drank water only from silver vessels during his campaigns, which saved him from many infections. Other commanders followed his example. So in 326, during the invasion of Alexander the Great into India, an epidemic of gastrointestinal diseases began among his troops.

Only the top of the army, who used silver cups for drinking, were not harmed. Ordinary soldiers, who were content with tin due to poverty, were not saved from infections.

On Maundy Thursday before Easter, it was customary for Christians to wash themselves “with silver,” and Epiphany water, blessed by immersing a silver cross in it, was used almost the entire year. It remains only to add that the knowledge accumulated over centuries formed the basis of a new direction of medicine - metal ion therapy, the essence of which is the treatment of various diseases with solutions containing metal ions.

Werewolf Collar

.Silver helped people fight not only illnesses, but also all kinds of evil spirits. Everyone has heard about the classic anti-werewolf remedy - the silver bullet. But a silver collar or the so-called “werewolf collar” was also in use.

It was a leather belt with sharp silver studs, fastened with piercing ends inward, to the neck.

Such a collar was consecrated in a special ceremony, and then put on the neck of a captured werewolf. According to legend, after this he could not completely turn into either a man or an animal, but remained something in between: the height of a man and with a human head, but with a wolf’s body and walking on his hind legs. The werewolf could not remove such a collar either himself or with the help of another werewolf and died from pain and loss of blood in terrible agony.

This is how the fathers took revenge on them for the insulted honor of their stolen daughters.

For decoration and health

Centuries have passed, but silver has not lost its popularity, although it has lost its ritual meaning. And today, many people enjoy wearing jewelry made from it, thereby improving their health at the same time.

This democratic metal, appropriate in any setting and for any outfit, only gets better with prolonged wear. Caring for it is easy. It should be stored in a place protected from light and dampness. Clean with a special paste and polish with a soft, lint-free cloth.

To restore the lost shine, knowledgeable people advise keeping it in water with chopped raw potatoes. For the same purpose, you can rinse with a soda solution (dissolve 50 g of soda in 1 liter of hot water) or warm soapy water with the addition of ammonia (1 tablespoon per liter of water). The exception is blackened silver: it is not recommended to clean it with ammonia.

Currently, silver alloys with a slight addition of copper are used in jewelry. The most common is 925 (92.5% silver and 7.5% copper). Less common are 875, 800, 750, and also in some cases 916 and 960.

Affordable, silver allows jewelers to fully express the scope of their imagination. And we can choose something we like and wear it with great pleasure. And with benefit: because we sometimes forget about the healing and magical properties of silver, they don’t disappear anywhere :) They just appear softly and imperceptibly. This “velvet” action makes you feel comfortable: calm and confident. As, indeed, one should feel under the protection of nature’s wonderful gift - silver :)

Source: https://astra-prognoz.ru/blog/serebro/

How to distinguish silver from fake - useful tips

In order not to be tormented by the question of how to distinguish silver from a fake, you need to buy products only in those jewelry stores that value their reputation.

magic box

But there are times when, in an inconspicuous souvenir shop, you come across original and unique products that you simply cannot pass by. Or the jewelry was given as a gift, but it’s somehow inconvenient to ask about the authenticity, because, as they say, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” How can you understand in such situations that you are holding jewelry made of silver and not another metal?

Real silver

Yes, on every product it is customary to first look at the sample, but today it is simply elementary to fake it. How to distinguish silver from a fake at home - remember the school course in chemistry and physics.

The main property of silver is its high level of thermal conductivity. If the decoration is placed in a glass of boiling water, it will heat up in just a second. No other metal or alloy with similar external qualities has this property.

The entire range of other tests will be based on chemical properties:

1. Lapis pencil (can be bought at any pharmacy) - draw a line on the silver, if there is no reaction, you have the original in your hands. A dark-colored stain forms on limestone. Dark stains form on nickel silver, which will be very difficult to clean off.

2. Sulfur ointment or iodine - drop a drop of iodine on the wrong side of the product; if it turns blue, it is a fake. The sulfur ointment should darken the silver within a few hours, and when cleaning, metal particles are removed along with the dirt. If silver darkens upon contact with the body, this is not an “evil eye”, but simply a high content of zinc in the alloy.

Silver plated jewelry

Some manufacturers resort to high-quality deception and cover the product with a dense layer of high-grade silver. How to distinguish silver at home from a fake in this case? And again physics will come to the rescue. Take the product and actively rub it on your clothes and bring it to your lips - the silver should heat up.

All chemical tests must be carried out at home, since the seller simply will not allow scratches or other impacts on the expensive item. Since you need to scratch it first and carry out all the above experiments.

Important: silver is not easy to scratch. A scratch on silver-plated cupronickel will vary in color.

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Source: http://dushadevushki.me/2018/03/08/kak-otlichit-serebro/

How to determine the authenticity of silver at home?

Silver jewelry and products made from this metal are very popular. Silver is cheaper than gold, but its appearance is no worse. The metal is considered noble and has a calm silver tint. It is especially suitable for girls and boys, as well as people with light hair and eyes. Therefore, it is not surprising that silver has so many fans. But often buyers get into trouble when they find out that the jewelry is not real.

Since such cases have become more frequent, it would be useful to learn how to distinguish silver from a fake. Moreover, in addition to jewelry made from this metal, people order interior items or accessories for decoration.

Silver products

Before purchasing a product

To understand whether it is silver or not, look at the back of the jewelry or accessory. If a thing is made legally, it must be stamped and hallmarked. They are located side by side in the form of an imprint. In different countries, the mark comes in different forms, but the sample of the product is necessarily indicated in numbers. The higher the standard, the more silver there is in the alloy from which the item is made.

If the jewelry was ordered from a jeweler, take the trouble to obtain documents that confirm the metal sample and guarantee the quality of the product. In other cases, when it is not known how genuine the jewelry is, there are several ways by which you can determine whether this item is silver or not.

What can they sell under the guise of silver:

• aluminum;
• costume jewelry;
• brass;
• zinc;
• nickel silver (copper, nickel, zinc);
• other low grade alloys.

Ways to identify a fake home

Test your jewelry with simple testing methods:

• If, after wearing a silver item for a long time, a mark remains on the skin, most likely the jewelry is made of zinc.
• The magnet method is unlikely to help. It is so obvious that silver is not counterfeited. Counterfeiters are sophisticated these days, so this simple method will be powerless.

• Immerse the silver item in boiling water. The fact is that silver quickly conducts the body, so it will become very hot in 5 seconds. But a low-quality product will remain warm.
• Scratch the decoration with a regular needle. If no traces remain, it is silver. If the top layer has worn off at the scratch site, you have a brass product.
• Silver bends easily and does not spring back. But it’s better not to use this method if you want to keep your item.
• A piece of chalk will also help identify a fake. If you run it over the decoration, it will leave black marks on the crayon. Has the chalk changed color? Then you have a fake in your hands.
• Real silver must react with halogens and iodine, among others. It is enough to apply a few drops of a regular pharmaceutical product and the jewelry will darken. Jewelers use this method to artificially age silver. Such a thing becomes like an antique. Please note that it will be difficult to wash off iodine. If the jewelry has become cloudy or has dirty stains, most likely you are looking at a silver substitute - nickel silver.
• At the moment, there is no point in identifying silver by smell, since there are a lot of modern flavorings that are added to fakes in order to hide the cheapness of the metals.
• Sulfur ointment, which is sold at the pharmacy, will also help in this matter. It is enough to apply it to a silver item, and it will darken somewhat. But the trick will not react in any way to such manipulation.
• A lapis pencil, which is rarely found in home medicine cabinets lately, can also help out. But after running it over the decoration, it should not change color or leave marks. The lapis pencil also distinguishes gold objects from fakes.

Testing silver with iodine

Of course, all these determination methods are designed for home conditions. They are imperfect and do not allow us to accurately confirm the authenticity of the product or indicate the sample.

In order to find out all the details, you can take the jewelry to a jeweler or appraiser. There, the item is manipulated with the addition of nitric acid and potassium bichromate: the solution is dripped onto the item and the degree of color change is determined. Normally, it should acquire a reddish tint. Depending on the intensity of the resulting color, the sample of the product is determined.

In addition to manual ones, there are also automated methods for determining authenticity. A special device has been developed with a sensor that shows not only the metal from which the thing is made, but also its sample. Remember that the most commonly found sterling silver is 925.

As you can see, there are valuation methods of different complexity and cost. Choose the method that suits your situation. If you are interested in finding out for yourself about the authenticity of a piece of jewelry, conduct some simple experiments at home. But if you are interested in selling an item, you most likely need documentary evidence, which can only be obtained from jewelers.

We recommend other articles

Source: https://DedPodaril.com/zoloto/imform/kak-opredelit-podlinnost-serebra-doma.html

How to distinguish silver from a fake: 8 ways - From problems

Silver is a noble metal from which both jewelry and household items and dishes are made. Although silver items are counterfeited much less frequently than gold items, sometimes there is a need to verify the authenticity of an item that is in your home or purchased for an occasion. We will tell you in this article how to determine the authenticity of silver at home.

How to determine the authenticity of silver?

In its pure form, silver is a very soft metal, so products made from it will be fragile. One of the purest samples, sterling silver, consists of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper.

The alloy is much harder than pure metal, which allows it to be used in the production of coins, jewelry and other household items. Each product that is positioned as silver must be marked with a hallmark indicating the purity of the metal.

However, if there is no mark on an item, this does not mean that the item is not silver, it is simply made in a country where the mark is not required or the item itself is not certified.

Important! To determine the quality of a silver item with markings, arm yourself with a magnifying glass and study the numbers on the mark. According to international standards, the product is marked with numbers: 925, 900, 800. The numbers show the percentage of silver in the alloy:

• The number 925 means that the alloy is 92.5% silver and the rest is copper.
• Stamps 900 and 800 mean that the product is 90% and 80% silver, respectively. Such alloys are considered coin alloys because they contain a high proportion of copper.

Sometimes even the presence of a stamp with numbers does not fully guarantee the authenticity of the product. Therefore, it is better to use the physical properties of the metal and test the item at home. Let's look at the basic simple methods that will help answer the question of how to test silver at home.

Method number 1. By appearance

Real experts are highly likely to determine the authenticity of silver by eye:

• The metal reflects light well, so it shines a lot. The metal color is silver-white. If the product is not cleaned, it becomes covered with a dark film and becomes dull, with a pink tint.
• If you rub cupronickel silverware, a metal of a different color (usually pink) will appear under the whitish top layer. Chrome has a bluish tint, and nickel alloy has a yellowish tint. Silver does not change color - it remains white both inside and outside.
• Check authenticity by touch: hold the item in your hand. Since silver conducts heat very well, after some time its temperature will become equal to the temperature of your body.
• You can distinguish silver from aluminum by weight: silver is denser, therefore, in your hand it will be much heavier than aluminum, since the second metal is very light.
• The product, which many scammers add zinc to, will leave a slightly noticeable residue on your hands. Rub your finger on the silver jewelry: if your hand remains clean, then this is a genuine product, and if a darkened coating from zinc remains on your finger, then a very small amount of noble metal is mixed with zinc in the product.
• If you have good hearing, then throw the object from a small height onto a hard, flat surface. The sound when falling should be ringing, loud, vibrating, but not dull.

Method number 2. Checking magnetic qualities

If you are just planning to purchase jewelry, you can use a magnet to determine its authenticity. Run a magnet over the decoration.

Important! A genuine noble metal is classified as diamagnetic and will not be attracted to a magnet.

If you need to check the authenticity of a metal ingot, then use a magnet as follows:

1. Place the silver bar so that its smooth side is inclined at 45 degrees.
2. Place a magnet on the smooth side.

Important! On a genuine bar, the magnet will slide down smoothly. The magnetic field of the magnet creates a braking effect, which slows down the sliding.

Method No. 3. Ice check

Silver has the highest thermal conductivity of all metals. The ice test works well on bars and coins, but poorly on small jewelry. Use this method if you are faced with the question of how to check a coin for silver left over from past generations.  

Keep the ice in the freezer until the test is completed, and then proceed as follows:

1. Get the ice.
2. Place a piece of ice on the silver object.
3. Watch the ice carefully: it will melt as if it were placed on something very hot, although the metal itself is at room temperature.

Important! If you notice that the metal has begun to change color over time, this may not be a sign of poor quality. Read in more detail in our separate publication about why a silver cross or other decoration made of such an alloy turned black.

Method number 4. Chalk check

This is one of the simplest methods for determining the authenticity of a metal:

1. Rub the silver item with chalk.
2. If the chalk turns black, you have real silver in front of you.

Method No. 5. Using a lapis pencil

Instead of chalk, you can use a lapis pencil to determine the authenticity of silver at home:

1. Wet the surface of the object.
2. Drag the tip of the pencil over the metal.

Important! After a few minutes, the noble metal should darken at the point of contact with the pencil.

Method number 6. How to test silver with iodine

Very few substances can attack noble metals. Iodine has the following properties. If you anoint genuine silver with iodine, a stain will form on it. The greater the concentration of silver in the alloy, the blacker the stain will be and the faster it will form.

Important! Use this method very carefully, as you can ruin a beautiful product. To experiment, choose an inconspicuous area and apply a minimum amount of product with a cotton swab. After applying iodine, immediately wipe it off with a cotton pad. And you can start cleaning silver from yellowness.

Method No. 7. Using sulfur ointment

Sulfur ointment is sold at the pharmacy. To check the authenticity of the metal, proceed as follows:

1. Lightly rub the piece with fine-grit sandpaper.
2. Apply a small amount of ointment to the surface.
3. Leave the item for 10-15 minutes.
4. Inspect the surface: a dark spot will indicate authenticity, but nickel and stainless steel will not have such spots.

Important! The method using sulfur ointment is risky, but effective. If silver has turned black under the influence of sulfur, you can return the item to its original color by boiling the item with pieces of aluminum foil and adding soda.

Method No. 8. Hydrostatic weighing method

This method is based on Archimedes' law. To implement this, you need accurate scales. The essence of the method:

1. First, weigh the item in the usual way and determine the dry mass.
2. Immerse the product in water and determine the mass in water.
3. Divide the dry mass by the difference between the two masses and get the density of the metal.
4. The density value for silver should be 10.5. If the density is about 7, you most likely have tin.

Did you know that today there are already many technologies for effectively and quickly cleaning precious metals? If you have a lot of such items, be sure to read about ultrasonic cleaning of silver.  

Method number 9. Chemical test

This method is used if you need to determine the authenticity of silver, but the product does not have a stamp. This method is used extremely rarely at the household level. It is used mainly by jewelers and laboratory workers. But if you decide to study chemistry, then buy a regular “silver test” reagent and rubber gloves, since you will have to work with caustic acids.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zO_poAblmw

Instructions for use of the reagent:

1. Remove the thinnest layer of silver coating from the object. To do this, run the file over the surface once.

Important! If you do not want to leave scratches on the product, then use a touchstone. You can purchase it from the same place as the test reagent kit. Rub the object against the stone to create a relatively large residue of metal (a few centimeters in length). In this case, apply the acid to the mark left on the stone.  

1. Prepare test acid: 1 part pure nitric acid and 1 part sodium dichromate or use a ready-made test.    
2. Apply acid to the part of the product from which a small layer of metal has been removed.
3. The surface will become shiny, as if it had been polished.
4. Evaluate the test results. Pay attention to the color of the surface on which the acid is applied. A color scale is included with the instructions for using the test. Typically, it looks like this:
   • The bright red color is pure silver.
   • Dark red - 925 silver.
   • Brown - 800 standard.
   • Green - 500 standard.
   • Yellow - tin and lead.
   • Blue - nickel.
   • Dark brown - brass.

Important! When regularly updating your jewelry arsenal, take care of proper care of them. We have already thought about this in advance. Choose suitable methods from our selection for how to clean silver at home.

material

All available and known methods have one significant drawback - they are superficial and do not provide a 100% guarantee that the product is not silver plated.

To make sure that an item is made of silver, you need to make a cut and check the quality of the precious metal at the cut site.

Therefore, there is only one piece of advice - try to buy silver products in trusted places. Let your life be genuine!       

Source: https://otproblem.ru/kak-otlichit-serebro-ot-poddelki-8-sposobov.html

Is it possible to distinguish silver from base metal?

Silver is a precious metal that has been used both in everyday life and on an industrial scale from ancient times to the present day.

Not only women's jewelry is smelted from this metal, but also contacts for particularly precise instruments. It is very important to learn how to determine the quality of metal. Of course, factory workers would never make a mistake and confuse silver with counterfeit. What should we do when we buy jewelry? Let's look at the main differences between precious metal and fakes, so as not to become another victim of scammers and purchase an imitation of precious metal.

Definitions of real and fake silver:

Silver - or Ag, according to the periodic table of Mendeleev, is a simple substance that has a silvery-white color.

Main characteristics of real silver:

• the substance is plastic;
• has good malleability and a certain degree of nobility;
• the melting point for silver is 960 degrees Celsius;
• the density of the substance is 10.5 g per 1 cubic meter. cm.

This metal has been known since the ancient times of Assyria and Babylon; at that time, silver was considered a sacred metal, and magical properties were attributed to it.

Later, during the Middle Ages, the precious metal was the object of attention of alchemists, who tried to turn this metal, like others, into the philosopher's stone. But from the middle of the 13th century, silver became known to everyone thanks to its main property - disinfection. And they immediately began to smelt it into kitchen utensils, souvenir spoons, etc. At the same time they began to produce silver coins.

Counterfeit silver

Indeed, these days silver is a very popular metal, and therefore is in the forefront in terms of the number of counterfeits. Instead of silver, metals such as aluminum, zinc or lead are often used. Jewelry and other things are made from these metals, and the product is already coated on top with precious metal. Often, counterfeits can be revealed by a poorly marked sample, which is not clearly visible or is completely blurred, erased, etc.

But darkening jewelry is not always a sign that you have fallen into the hands of scammers. If you clean your jewelry with toothpaste during the first darkening, it will definitely return to its original appearance, unlike a fake. You can always distinguish a precious metal from a fake; based on chemical reactions, over the years people have come up with many ways to check the quality of jewelry.

How to distinguish a fake from a jewel?

You will need a lapis pencil. Run it over the silver jewelry: if the surface is darkened, then it is a fake. If there is no such pencil, then rub the product with regular school chalk; the real product will not change, but the chalk should turn black.

Sulfur ointment will also help distinguish a piece of jewelry from a fake. You can buy it at any pharmacy, but the experiment will take a couple of hours. Rub the product with ointment and leave for 2-3 hours. Wipe off the ointment and look at the product: if it turns black – it’s real, no changes have occurred – it’s fake.

An easier way to distinguish a fake from a real piece of jewelry is to scratch the piece with a needle. If a silver-plated item is scratched with a needle, it will immediately give itself away. But it is worth remembering that some scammers put a fairly thick layer of silver on top of the base metal, and it can be difficult to recognize a fake. In this case, run the needle along the thinnest part of the product.

A regular iodine solution will also help you distinguish a fake. Apply a drop of iodine to your product and wait a few minutes. If the surface has not changed its color, then it is genuine silver, but if the metal turns blue, then this may indicate either that this is a fake or that there is too much “other” metal in the alloy.

At home, you can tell whether it’s a fake or not using boiling water. Place the product in boiling water for 1 second, and then touch it carefully. The fake silver will remain lukewarm, but the real silver will be hot as it heats up very quickly.

Of course, no one in the store will allow you to conduct such experiments with jewelry. When buying jewelry, turn it in your hands; if after such actions you still have dark spots on your hands, then this is a sign of a large amount of zinc in the alloy.

Carefully examine the hallmark on the item; usually the silver hallmark is considered to be 925; sometimes the hallmark is set in the form of a girl with a kokoshnik. As mentioned above, the sample should be clearly visible; if your eyesight is poor, then any jewelry store is required to provide you with a magnifying glass.

And the main advice is to make such purchases only in large jewelry stores that have confirmed their reputation. If there is a chain of jewelry stores in your city, then visit it; the chain of stores already speaks about the quality and status of the organization.

Source: https://oserebre.ru/proby-serebra/kak-otlichit-poddelku.html

How to distinguish silver from fake?

The best way is to shop only in large stores that value their reputation.

But there are situations when in a small shop some seemingly silver item has attracted attention, and one really wants to buy it. Or they gave you a piece of jewelry, but it’s inconvenient to ask if it’s really real? There is a good saying that you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

What to do when you really need to know what you are holding in your hands - fake silver or jewelry, but going to a jeweler is inconvenient?

Real silver

Expecting that a fake can be distinguished by a sample is simply ridiculous. It is unlikely that scammers will not think about this and will not put a 925 standard on a product with a low argentum content.

To solve the problem of how to distinguish silver from counterfeit or silver plated, you need to remember your school knowledge of physics and chemistry.

One of the main physical properties of metal is high thermal conductivity. Just put the decoration in boiling water for a couple of seconds and it will immediately heat up. No metal or alloy similar in color and quality will change the temperature so quickly.

Other tests are carried out on the basis of chemical properties - they check how the metal reacts with other substances.

If you draw a line on the surface of the product with a lapis pencil - it can be purchased at a pharmacy - there should be no reaction. When exposed to chalk, a dark stain will appear on the limestone. The metal will remain as light and shiny. An alloy of a different quality will darken, for example, dark stripes will appear on cupronickel, which will not be so easy to clean.

The following test can be carried out after purchasing iodine or sulfur ointment at the pharmacy. You can use iodine without leaving the counter. It is enough to drop a drop onto the inside of the “suspicious” object. This is no longer necessary, since if the item turns out to be an alloy of some low-noble metals, it will turn blue, and fakes sometimes look very nice.

The sulfur ointment should be applied for a couple of hours, and also to a small area. In this case - if it is real - the silver will darken, and with each cleaning, not only the impurities are removed, but also the precious metal.

Some scammers become so impudent that their “silver jewelry” gets dirty, leaving marks on the skin. If traces remain on the skin after touching, then this is not an “evil eye,” as they will certainly try to explain, but a large amount of zinc in the alloy.

More often than not, an expensive product has to be distinguished from a cheap one made using silver plating - in this case, they may not have skimped on the top layer, and the chemicals will react as if they were real argentum. What to do in such a situation?

Again, remember the physics course and rub the product with force several times, and then bring it to your lips. A silver-plated item will not heat up.

The last way to determine silver plating can only be used at home - it is unlikely that the seller will allow the buyer to scratch an expensive item, even from the inside. But this method is one of the most effective - if there is a sprayed layer, then a scratch will remain on the product.

HOW TO DISTINGUISH SILVER FROM CUNKELLIOR?

Lovers of something ancient and noble, who walk around flea markets, hoping to find an expensive item for pennies from a “poor old lady” who is barely surviving on her pension, often find themselves deceived.

They thought that they had purchased a silver cigarette case, dish, decoration, and then it turned out that it was cupronickel, albeit of a pre-war type.

You shouldn’t offend old women who turned out to be more savvy than the self-confident young man. You just need to know how to distinguish cupronickel from its noble brother, and you won’t feel deceived.

First of all, the item should be carefully examined. It is difficult even for an experienced fraudster to score large letters MNC breakdown 925. A real silver product is much heavier than cupronickel, but if you have never held an item of this scale in your hands before, this knowledge will be of little help.

Carefully, without attracting attention, you can scratch the thing.

At the site of damage, the color of cupronickel will differ from the rest of the surface. The surest way is to carry a lapis pencil with you at all times. It doesn't take up much space and works instantly. A dark mark will appear on the ersatz argentum.

Having a sensitive nose, you can distinguish the quality of metal by smell. Cupronickel products smell acridly sour – copper – especially if you rub them first. Silver is neutral.

When you find a fork or spoon at home, it’s extremely easy to decide. You need to put the item in water and forget it for a couple of days. A product made of cupronickel will turn green.

INSTEAD OF MORE NOBLE METALS

Fraudsters try to pass off cupronickel or zinc alloy as silver, and the latter as white gold and platinum. Thanks to the fact that they have now learned how to produce rhodium-plated silver, and it quickly gained wide popularity, they often succeed in this.

How to distinguish white gold from silver, what special knowledge do you need to have?

You should not go for a high standard - the highest number on the hallmark that is used to mark white gold is 750. Also, the hallmark may have a hallmark of 580. All other numbers mean that the product is fake.

You can rely on your inner feeling; it deceives much less than it seems. If you put precious metals nearby, you will see that white gold has a much softer shine. But gold is harder to the touch, more massive in weight, and does not leave any marks on paper or skin.

If the product was given as a gift, you can dip it in vinegar. Gold dissolves only in aqua regia, a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acid. If the vinegar becomes cloudy, then the alloy is of low quality.

The reagents - iodine and lapis - cannot distinguish white gold from silver. These substances do not form a trace on noble metals. But again you can remember chemistry and thermal conductivity - gold heats up quickly, but not as much as silver.

How to distinguish platinum from silver? By weight, platinum is 2 times heavier, but if you don’t have a pharmacy scale at hand, this knowledge is unlikely to be useful.

A rotten egg will help you cope with the task of identifying platinum. When you know that you will have to act as an expert, you need to prepare in advance. Platinum, if put into a spoiled product, will not change either color or quality. Platinum, unlike fakes, is neutral towards nitric acid - a drop of this substance on the surface will not leave a mark.

Platinum also has very low thermal conductivity, you can rub it, put it in boiling water for 10-15 seconds - it will remain cool. To heat it on a lighter - so that the fingers holding objects become hot - you need to spend 10-15 seconds, and then the heating will be uneven.

Information on how to distinguish silver from palladium is unlikely to be used in practice. Palladium is purchased only in special stores; it is made to order, so it is unlikely that they will exchange it for silver or platinum.

Geologists and analytical chemists, in order to distinguish noble metals from each other by quality, use a touchstone - a plate of fine-grained silicon shale, inert to aggressive acids.

The test sample is pressed forcefully into the touchstone so that it leaves a line, and then it is exposed to various reagents. Exposing the palladium mark to a mixture of aqua regia and potassium iodide will leave a red-brown mark.

Unlike platinum, palladium is soluble in nitric acid, its molecular weight is higher than that of silver, but lower than that of platinum.

So analytical chemists can always determine exactly what metal was brought to them for examination.

Jewelers will be able to tell no less accurately what alloy the product is made of. If you want to be 100% sure that you have a noble metal in your hands, you should contact a professional.

Source: https://uroki57.ru/blog/43014248628/Kak-otlichit-serebro-ot-poddelki-

How to check whether silver is real or not?

You inherited beautiful cutlery from your grandmother, and you are wondering: are they valuable silver or cheap pieces of iron? Or did you purchase silver jewelry somewhere, but something about it confuses you? Then let's set up a mini-laboratory at home and conduct simple experiments, during which we will find out whether your item is silver or an alloy of some inexpensive metals.

A few facts about silver

1. This is a noble metal that is used to make not only jewelry, but also dishes and household items.
2. Silver itself is a soft metal. For greater strength, copper is added to it. In such an alloy, the share of silver is 92.5%, and the share of copper is 7.5%. This is where the numbers on the silver sample come from - 925.
3. When buying a silver product, you need to find a standard on it - 925, not lower. This mark indicates the high quality of the product and is a guarantee that it will not darken over time.
4. A tag must be attached to the product with information about the sample, weight, stones and their size (if it is jewelry), as well as the manufacturing plant.
5. A quality silver product should not contain zinc. The tag should say "ZinkFree". Zinc negatively affects the skin, leaving dark marks on it, and reduces the durability of silver. Silver items with zinc darken faster during use.

Products made from silver are counterfeited much less frequently than those made from gold.

But they are still faked. Let's find out the quality of silver objects based on the chemical properties of this metal.

By the way, read this article too: How to distinguish a ring from a ring

Experience with a needle

Take a needle and scratch the product with it. If the silver layer comes off easily, leaving a surface of a different color underneath, then it is a fake.

Although, if it is a high-quality fake, then the color of the alloy may match the color of silver. Therefore, let's continue the experiments.

Experiment with nitric acid

Wear gloves before starting the experiment!

Go over an inconspicuous area of ​​the product several times with a sharp tool. Apply nitric acid to the scratch. Observe the color change of the treated area. If it turns beige, it is 925 sterling silver; if greenish, it contains more than 7.5% copper. If the silver is completely free of impurities, then this place will turn black.

Lapis pencil experiment

If it is difficult to make a cut on a product, then we will try to determine its quality without resorting to sharp tools.

You can easily buy a lapis pencil at a pharmacy. You should wear gloves before using it. Let's make a few strokes on the metal and wait a while. If the metal is not real, it will turn black.

Experience with sulfur ointment

Another drugstore product can help us determine the authenticity of a silver item. Sulfur ointment should be applied in a thin layer to the product and lightly rubbed in. Leave for 3 hours. Then wipe with a sponge and rinse in water. Now let’s see: if the silver is real, then it will noticeably darken. A fake may turn green or yellow. Or not change color at all.

Boiling water experience

Silver has high thermal conductivity. It heats up quickly and cools down immediately.

Therefore, boil water and place the silver item in it for 10-15 seconds. Get it out. You can't hold the product in your hands because it's too hot? Great! So the silver is real! Moreover, it will cool down in seconds. The counterfeit product will remain barely warm.

Magnet experience

This experience will be very useful if you want to check the quality of a silver chain. Unscrupulous manufacturers can make its links from different metals.

In this case, take a powerful magnet and move it along the lengthwise chain at a distance of 3-5 mm. If it consists entirely of silver, it will remain motionless.

Experience with iodine

Place the product on a flat white surface. Apply iodine to an inconspicuous area. If it has not changed color, then the product is fake. If it turns blue, it means there is zinc in the composition.

A high-quality alloy should turn black when exposed to iodine.

Chalk experience

For the experiment you will need regular white chalk. Rub it thoroughly over the product being tested and study the behavior of the limestone. If it turns black, then the item is genuine. If it remains white as before, you have a counterfeit in your hands.

Ice experience

This experiment is suitable for testing large silver items (spoons, coins).

It is necessary to remove the ice from the freezer and place a piece of it on the test item. Now we look: if the ice melts, as if it were lying on something hot, then the item is of high quality. After all, silver, as we remember, has high thermal conductivity, which means it quickly reaches room temperature.

Important!

If after the experiments dark spots remain on the product, they can be removed by boiling the object in water with soda and pieces of aluminum foil.

After these experiments, you should have no doubt about the quality of your silver products. And to ensure that there are even fewer of them, we advise you to purchase silver not at the market or spontaneous fairs, but in specialized stores.

Happy shopping to everyone!

Source: https://KakOtlichit.ru/accessories/jewellery/silver.html

Several ways to distinguish real silver from fake

Silver jewelry is loved by many men and women, some even love it more than gold jewelry. High-quality silver rings, earrings and chains can be quite expensive, but at the same time they will serve more than one generation and can become a family heirloom.

Recently, this trick has become popular: jewelry is made from non-precious alloys, plated with non-pure silver (less than 92.5%) and polished, which allows you to achieve the effect of real silver. Unscrupulous sellers sell such “silver” under the guise of real silver, and the price is comparable to the cost of jewelry made from precious metal. But after a while, the outer covering is destroyed and the deception is revealed. So how can you tell real silver from fake?

Sample check

The most obvious test is to check the sample. Jewelry and products made from real silver must be marked simply with the numbers “925” or with the designation of the metal - 925 Silver. Foreign-made products may also have a mark indicating their origin - 925 Italy Silver or 925 USA, etc.

It is prohibited to sell hallmarked jewelry if it is not made of precious metal. If a product is marked IS, which means International Silver, then it is not made entirely of silver, but is simply coated with it.

Checking with a white cloth

If you have doubts about the quality of the product, you can wipe the surface of the jewelry with a soft white cloth. If after manipulation there are black marks left on the material, then it is most likely silver.

The fact is that real silver quickly oxidizes and turns black. Owners of silver jewelry are familiar with this property of the metal, which is why they have to be polished after long-term storage.

By the way, when silver is not in use, it should be kept in a box so that the metal does not come into contact with air and light.

Magnet check

Unlike most metals, silver is not magnetic. If you hold a powerful magnet close to silver jewelry, it will not stick to it. Otherwise, they will try to pass off the fake as a precious metal.

Ice Cube

Another test that is easy to do at home, but the surface of the silver item must be flat. You need to place an ice cube on the silver. If it starts to melt immediately, then you can be sure that the jewelry is silver. The fact is that, compared to other noble metals, silver has a higher thermal conductivity, which justifies the advisability of such a home test.

Nitric acid

In jewelry, nitric acid is used to determine the authenticity of items made from precious metals. Noble metals (platinum, gold, silver) do not react to acids.

If nitric acid is dropped onto a piece of jewelry made from a non-precious metal, it will change its color (from green to red, depending on the composition of the alloy), and the artificial shine will disappear. If a jeweler refuses to conduct a nitric acid test, this is a reason to think about it.

You can also do the test at home. To do this, you need to scratch the product in some inconspicuous place, drop nitric acid and wait a couple of minutes. If the stain turns creamy, the item is silver; if it turns greenish, it is a fake. The only disadvantage of the method is that nitric acid is a substance that you can’t just buy in the nearest store; you need to look for organizations that sell it. And you need to wear glasses and protective gloves when working with acid.

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Source: https://www.syl.ru/post/style/74408

How to distinguish silver from other metals at home: 8 ways

Silver refers to a noble metal that has increasingly been subject to counterfeiting lately. Therefore, in today’s material we will look at how to distinguish silver from other metals. Traditionally, all actions will be carried out at home. Please share your experience through the comment form.

Ways to distinguish silver from other metals

Before determining the authenticity of silver, choose a method suitable for selling it at home.

No. 1. Dark marks on the skin

Since silver can be checked for authenticity using a simple and understandable method, let’s start with it. If after wearing the jewelry you notice that there are dark marks left on the skin, most likely this product is made of zinc.

No. 2. Boiling water

If there are no stones in the jewelry, lower the silver into boiling liquid. Leave for literally 5 seconds, then remove. If you have the real thing in front of you, it will be very hot. The fake will become barely warm.

No. 3. Needle

Arm yourself with a needle. Run it over an inconspicuous area and evaluate the result. If the top layer has come off in the area of ​​abrasion, it is not silver, but a brass fake. Our precious metal will remain without traces.

No. 4. Chalk

To understand how to distinguish silver, you need to use simple chalk. Run it over the product. Black traces should remain on the chalk, this is how you distinguish silver from other metals. If you carried out the procedure at home, and nothing like this happened, then you are holding a fake in your hands.

No. 5. Iodine

If the silver is real, it will react with iodine. Apply a little alcohol solution to the jewelry; it should darken. Keep in mind that iodine is difficult to remove from silver. If during the procedure the product acquires streaks and becomes cloudy, it is a fake.

No. 6. Sulfuric ointment

Before you determine whether it’s silver or not, you need to buy sulfur ointment at the pharmacy. At home, apply the product to a silver item. You should see the decoration darken a little. Fakes do not give any reaction.

No. 7. Lapis pencil

You can conduct an experiment using a lapis pencil; it can also be purchased at a pharmacy without any problems. Swipe across the silver. There should be no marks left on the pencil.

No. 8. Nitric acid

To conduct the experiment, you need to take the decoration and choose an inconspicuous place. Make a small cut. Add nitric acid. If the silver is of the highest quality, it will turn black at this point.

If you do not know how to distinguish silver from other metals, you should use the above methods. Conduct experiments at home. If you are afraid of ruining your jewelry, you can take the silver item to a jeweler, he will accurately determine whether it is a fake or not.

Source: https://more-vsego.net/kak-otlichit-serebro-ot-drugih-metallov-v-domashnih-uslovijah-8-sposobov.html

Expert advice: how to distinguish silver from a fake

How to distinguish silver from fake, cupronickel and platinum yourself when purchasing or at home? There are several testing methods based on the chemical and physical properties of this noble metal. All products, jewelry or household items must have a test indicating how much of this metal is present in the alloy.

It is placed on all products made from alloys that include precious metals. The sample is taken in the assay office, its presence confirms the quality of the product. The fineness is 999, 960, 925, 875, 830 and 800.

The higher the number indicated on the product, the more silver in the alloy. If the item is old and there is no hallmark on it, then there are several techniques that can confirm or refute guesses about the price of the item.

How to check a metal item

Sometimes low-cost jewelry made from silver is passed off as white gold. Silver jewelry looks similar to platinum. This noble white metal is often used to coat inexpensive metal products to give them a beautiful color and shine.

In order not to confuse platinum with silver, you need to look at the sample. Platinum hallmarks do not match silver hallmarks. If the product indicates 925 standard, then it can only be silver. Platinum has hallmarks of 375, 500, 585, 750, 958.

The numbers indicating the hallmarks of silver and white gold are different, and if you remember them, there will be no mistake.

1. If someone passes off a metal item as jewelry, then to confirm the seller’s words, you need to check its magnetic properties. Silver is not attracted. If a metal thing is attracted by a magnet, then it is not silver.
2. Silver objects can be confused with cupronickel. This alloy is also non-magnetic and looks very similar to precious metal. To distinguish silver from cupronickel, you need to carefully examine the metal object. The letters MNC are stamped on cupronickel, and on the product made of precious metal there is a sample with numbers and a female head crowned with a kokoshnik. If you weigh two similar items made of cupronickel and silver, the precious metal will be heavier than the alloy of copper, zinc and nickel called cupronickel.
3. The questionable object must be momentarily immersed in water at a temperature close to 100°. The high thermal conductivity of silver allows the metal item to heat up quickly. Cupronickel alloy cannot heat up so quickly. Its low thermal conductivity has made it popular in the manufacture of cutlery.
4. If you are offering jewelry with silver plating, you must remember that it is easily damaged by sharp metal objects. It is enough to draw a line with a sewing needle to leave a mark on the jewelry.

Application of chemical methods

1. All precious metals are inert and do not combine with most chemicals. Iodine cannot stain them. If a blue spot appears on the product in place of iodine, then zinc predominates in the decoration.
2. Zinc leaves dark spots on the body after wearing. If there are stains, then the product contains precious metal in minimal doses.
3. Silver nitrate is used in medicine to cauterize warts and papillomas. You can buy it at the pharmacy under the name lapis.

   It leaves traces on ordinary alloys, and noble metals do not react with it. It is enough to run a wet lapis over the object to understand what metal is used for decoration.

4. School chalk will turn black from exposure to silver ions.
5. Silver items will darken when interacting with sulfur. When a sulfur-containing ointment is applied to a metal, a reaction will occur and an oxide film will form.
6. If you conduct a chemical test, chrompic will help identify Argentum.

   It is applied to the cleaned surface, a reaction occurs that gives a red spot at the site where the reagent was applied. Chrompic is a strong oxidizing agent and a toxic substance, so you need to work with it carefully.

You can determine Argentum without having a sample on it with the help of jewelers. They have the ability to determine metal using special methods. It is recommended to purchase silver items at official sales points, and not in various shops selling costume jewelry.

Correctly chosen real jewelry made of this noble metal can retain its radiance and beauty for a long time. Careful wearing of rings and earrings, bracelets and brooches will help maintain an ideal appearance. They do not stain the skin, do not darken when worn, and help improve human energy.

Source: https://gdeserebro.ru/problemy-resheniya/kak-otlichit-serebro-ot-poddelki.html

What could be instead of silver?

The alloys that were once created specifically to replace it are very similar to silver - cupronickel and nickel silver. They are based on copper and nickel, with iron and manganese (nickel silver) and zinc (nickel silver) present as impurities. This is a classic option; in modern imitations you can find anything - even tin, lead and even mercury.

In the countries of Southeast Asia, cunning artisans dilute the alloy with copper so much that the products acquire a distinct reddish sheen. When buying a piece of handicraft you like, you need to take it out into the sunlight - in the shade the yellowness is not so noticeable.

Tibetan silver, thanks to the light hand of traders, became synonymous with purity. But bad luck - Tibet is not rich in silver mines. The same nickel silver is hidden under the euphonious name. There is at best a third of noble metal there. More often than not, not at all.

Leningrad silver inspires confidence, like everything that is produced in the city on the Neva. This is how it happened historically. But in this case it is brass jewelry. High quality. Conscientiously silver plated. The plant that produces it, as they say, is “out of business”; the substitution of labels is the work of cunning resellers.

Inserts made of tin, lead and copper can appear in coins and other fairly massive items. It is not uncommon for “nugget” ingots to be filled with a heavy iron nut or bolt. A huge number of “surprise” bars are sold via the Internet, and the palm in this area has long and firmly belonged to the Chinese.

How to recognize silver

Both folk tricks and completely scientific methods of non-destructive testing will help to distinguish noble metal from imitation. But, according to experts, none of them is a 100% guarantee. The solution is to apply these methods not one at a time, but in combination. If the results of all tests coincide and indicate that the metal is silver, they can be trusted.

A magnet will expose the fake, which contains some iron. Let us remind you that only copper is legally present in silver jewelry.

By rubbing the product against your palm, you can find dark traces - a sign of zinc.

Draw a needle over the surface if you suspect that it is silver-plated brass - the coating on it does not adhere firmly. This method can both recognize a fake and leave a scratch on a truly silver product. Sellers are not happy with this method.

Sulfur in contact with silver produces a coal-black substance - silver sulfide. Pharmacy sulfur ointment or veterinary sulfur is suitable (diluted with water 1:1). The surface of the product is degreased and cleaned with a soft cloth (required!). Apply a drop of the composition in an inconspicuous place and heat it slightly. The result will be visible in 10-15 minutes. The black-red color of the oxide indicates a large number of impurities, the absence of reaction indicates a fake.

Iodine is for those who are used to acting with certainty (and who don’t mind spoiling the product). The surface is degreased and cleaned. One touch of iodine will be enough: it will darken, which means it’s not a hoax. Under direct sunlight, the result will appear instantly - and it will be very difficult to remove it. The principle of black and white photography is based on the reaction of iodine with silver.

It is useless to look for lapis pencil in pharmacies - it is poisonous and is no longer available for sale. But no one bothers you to order it online. Price with delivery – within $10.

Lapis is silver nitrate, AgNO3. Silver will not react with itself - there will be no trace left on it from the lapis pencil. But base metals will undergo a substitution reaction - for example, a gray color of the sample will indicate zinc, blue-green will indicate copper, lead, tin and others will give a black trace.

After sulfur, iodine and lapis, an article on how to clean silver will be relevant

However, silver objects change color without human intervention - by oxidizing naturally. Noble patina – black, without shades. Oxides of greenish, red and other colors indicate a fake or an impressive percentage of impurities.

Chalk is a weak abrasive, but it easily removes the patina film from silver, while it itself acquires a gray color. Ersatz does not clean as easily because oxides adhere much more tightly to all other metals. It is useless to rub rhodium-plated jewelry with chalk - the rhodium coating is precisely intended to protect against oxidation and mechanical stress.

The following 3 methods are for those who have skill in handling acids. Please be careful!

Mix potassium dichromate with nitric acid in the cold in a 1:1 ratio. The resulting assay acid is used to apply a touch to the product (the surface has been degreased with alcohol). Silver is painted red; the thicker the shade, the greater the proportion of precious metal. Coloring begins if the proportion of Ag is 0.33 or higher.

Assay acid can be replaced with sulfuric acid. Add 1 part sulfuric acid and 1 part potassium bichromate (red blood salt) to 10 parts water. Apply a drop of the resulting mixture to the grease-free surface and immediately rinse with water. A bright red stain, the color of blood, will remain on the silver and will be easily removed, leaving a lighter area. Other options: surface corrosion (zinc and tin), yellowing (lead), brown stain (nickel silver), etc.

Dissolve a piece of ingot in nitric acid (the reaction produces brown acrid smoke), then add a solution of NaCl (table salt). A lot of curdled white sediment fell out, darkening in the light, which means the ingot was silver.

The use of the so-called touchstone requires practical skills, the presence of the actual touchstone (Lydian) and reference samples. Therefore, it is incorrect to recommend this method for home use.

Thermal conductivity is precisely the quality of silver that will help out the “home expert”. Even just held in the palm of your hand, the metal becomes warmer in a split second.

If you touch boiling water with a silver spoon, the handle will immediately become hot. You can use boiling water to check any solid (not chain) products, provided that they do not contain stones, especially pearls and turquoise.

Siberian Old Believers know an ancient method based on the thermal conductivity of silver. Breathe onto the metal once and immediately apply it to your lips. Real silver manages to warm up in one exhalation, while base metal remains cold.

The electrical conductivity of this substance is well known to everyone about whom one can say: “third-handed soldering iron.” Industrial metal detectors are based precisely on the property of electrical conductivity. First, the resistance of the product is measured without electrolyte, and then with electrolyte.

Based on the difference in indicators, the share of silver is calculated. As well as gold, palladium and other platinum group metals. Portable devices (gold detectors) are commercially available.

They are expensive, but for businessmen and treasure hunters such an electronic assistant will be just right.

The Silver Test reagent is not common, but is found in electronics stores and radio markets. You can always buy a silver test at large online auctions.

This is what a set of tests for precious metals looks like:

A graduated beaker and precise scales will help determine the density of the metal in the product. Weight is divided by volume. The density of pure Ag is 10.49 g/cm3.

The ringing of silver can be heard if the product is large enough. The sound of any imitation alloy compared to the “voice” of silver is an indistinct rattling.

What does silver smell like? In its own way, like any metal. You need to rub a product that is known to be genuine on the fabric and immediately smell it. Subsequently, it is difficult to confuse this smell with something else.

Silver is silver, but what kind?

There is a category of people for whom the age and origin of a product is much more important than the chemical composition - these are numismatists, collectors and antique dealers. And while experienced people can spot a fake “offhand,” a beginner can spend a lot of money on a remake.

Counterfeit coin that failed the test

A careful study of the catalogs will help you avoid disappointment - everything of any significance is described in detail in them. The above recognition methods will also not be superfluous. Although numismatists have their own specifics - for example, having discovered an 18th century coin made of the purest noble metal, they will be disappointed: at that time money was minted from low-grade alloys, which means the find is not genuine.

What is the difference between a counterfeit coin and a counterfeit one? Interest Ask

The edge (edge) of a coin can tell a lot. If the edge is worn off, it was definitely adjusted “to weight”.

The ringing sound of a “correct” minted coin differs from the dull sound of cast counterfeits. But lately they have been casting them less and less - scammers have acquired equipment for minting.

The relief of images may be erased over time. But then the coin itself will be thin (counterfeits are often thick). The details should not be blurred or merged; their absence is even more alarming.

Old master marks are often cut from small objects and soldered into larger ones. If you breathe for a test, the seam will give itself away.

By the way: the Russian sign “woman in a kokoshnik” originates from the mark of the famous Trading House of the Grachev brothers, founded in St. Petersburg in 1866. The photo below shows the trademark of the supplier company of the Supreme Court.

***

Over thousands of years of communication with white metal, people have come up with many ways to distinguish real silver from a fake. But, despite their diversity, the final answer can only be given by destructive control, i.e. sawing.

However, if it is a familiar thing in the house or a favorite decoration, then it does not matter whether it contains a little more silver atoms or a little less. The main thing is to like it.

Silver paperweight "Russian Bear"

Source: https://TheDifference.ru/kak-otlichit-serebro-ot-poddelki-2/