How to test silver at home
Methods for verifying the authenticity of silver.
When buying precious jewelry in a store, there is no doubt about its authenticity. But often we want to save money and purchase jewelry from currency traders or directly in the markets. In such cases, it would be a good idea to check whether the jewelry is real.
How to test silver for authenticity at home with iodine?
Iodine is an element that reacts with silver to form a salt. Silver iodide is the resulting salt, which has a characteristic color. This compound is insoluble.
Instructions:
- Keep in mind that the stain can only be removed after the test by sanding, so choose an inconspicuous area for the test.
- Soak a cotton swab in an alcohol solution of iodine and touch the inside of the ring.
- After this, remove the stick and rinse the ring. Look at the result. There should be a cloudy stain if the item is made of silver.
How to test silver for authenticity at home with iodine?
How to test silver for authenticity at home using sulfur ointment?
Sulfur also reacts with this precious metal, so the ointment can be used for tests.
Instructions:
- Apply a little ointment to an inconspicuous area. This could be the inside of the ring or clasp.
- Leave the ointment on the ring for several hours. After this, wipe off the product with a napkin.
- There will be a dark spot where the ointment was.
How to test silver for authenticity at home using sulfur ointment?
How to test silver for authenticity at home using bread crumbs?
Rye bread crumb is an ancient method for testing silver and gold.
Instructions:
- Mash the bread crumb in your hands and stick it around the decoration
- Leave the jewel in the bread for 2-3 days
- After 2 days, remove the bread and evaluate the metal; if it has darkened or oxidized, then it is not silver
How to check silver for authenticity at home with a magnet?
Products with a high iron content are highly magnetic, but alloys that contain little of this chemical element do not have magnetic properties. Silver is also not magnetic, so you can check whether this jewelry is real using a magnet.
How to check silver for authenticity at home with a magnet?
What reagents are used to test silver for authenticity?
Now you can purchase an authenticity test at any jewelry store. It consists of a special acid, which serves as a kind of indicator.
Instructions:
- Take a small file and run it through an inconspicuous part of the product.
- It is necessary to create fine scratches
- Drop the solution onto the scratch and look at the color of the drop
- Now evaluate the result using the table. Each color speaks about a certain composition of the decoration
- If you are concerned about scratches on your jewelry, use a touchstone. It can also be purchased at a jewelry store
- Run the jewel over the stone to leave a mark. Drop a solution from a test tube onto the trace and evaluate the result
What reagents are used to test silver for authenticity?
How to test silver for authenticity using nitric and acetic acid?
This acid is quite aggressive, so carry out the tests with gloves.
Instructions:
- Run the needle along the back of the decoration. It is necessary to leave a small scratch
- Apply a little acid to the damage and watch the reaction
- If green sizzling foam appears, then the decoration is fake
- If no foam appears, drop a solution of table salt onto the acid.
- If the metal is natural, a white cloud will appear, this is silver nitrate
- Acetic acid works similarly to nitric acid
How to test silver for authenticity using nitric and acetic acid?
How to check silver for authenticity at home with chalk?
You need to scratch the jewelry a little and rub it with chalk. If the decoration is real, then a black spot will appear where the chalk and decoration touch. If it is not there, then you have a fake in your hands.
How to check silver for authenticity at home with chalk?
How to test silver for authenticity at home using heat?
Silver conducts heat well and heats up quickly. To check the authenticity of silver, simply place a piece of jewelry on top of a piece of ice. You will notice that the ice will melt as if it were being heated.
How to test silver for authenticity at home by ear?
This method is quite dubious, since you need to have excellent hearing. It is worth throwing a silver piece of jewelry from a small height and listening to the sound. If it is voiced, then it is real silver, and if it is dull, then it is fake.
How to test silver for authenticity at home by ear?
How to check silver for authenticity at home with a lapis pencil?
This product can be purchased at pharmacies and is used to treat skin ailments. To check the authenticity of silver, you need to put on gloves and lay out the jewelry on the table. Run a pencil over the product. If a dark spot remains, then this is a fake.
How to check the authenticity of silver at home using a silver test from a pharmacy?
This is a common test using a lapis pencil. How to check silver with this pencil is described above. True, now such a pencil is difficult to find in a pharmacy; this product was common during the Soviet era. You can use iodine or sulfur ointment. All this can be purchased at the pharmacy.
How to check the authenticity of silver at home using a silver test from a pharmacy?
How to identify technical and table silver at home quickly and accurately?
Technical silver differs in composition from real and table silver. Most often these are alloys that are used to make contacts. Most often, these alloys contain impurities of copper, nickel and iron. This silver is tested in the same way as regular silver.
How to test a silver sample at home?
The easiest way is to take a magnifying glass and look at the designation on the decoration. Nowadays they produce products with samples in the range of 800-999. The most popular products are those marked 925 and 875. You can independently determine the sample, but the accuracy of the method is low.
The sample can be determined using a touchstone:
- Take the product and scratch it. Apply a little reagent to the scratch and look at the color.
- If the metal is clean, the color will be bright red. If the color is beige, then this indicates 800 proof.
- Green – already 500th. The remaining colors will be given by the most common metals for silver plating. That is, yellow color indicates tin or lead, dark brown indicates brass, and blue indicates nickel.
How to test a silver sample at home?
How can you tell if a silver spoon is a coin or not?
The easiest way is to hold a coin or jewelry in your hand. If a mark remains on your hand, this indicates a high concentration of zinc. This product is of poor quality and quite fragile. Pure silver does not tarnish.
How to distinguish silver from jewelry?
There are many ways to distinguish real jewelry from costume jewelry:
- Look at the sample . This can be done using a magnifying glass
- Take the item to a pawn shop and ask them to check it. There is a whole set of reagents that can accurately identify a fake
- Chalk. Simply run chalk over the scratched decoration. If a piece of chalk has darkened, this means pure metal.
- Iodine. Simply apply some iodine to your silver item. A dark spot will appear on it. If this is jewelry, then there will be no changes
How to distinguish silver from jewelry?
How to check the authenticity of silverware, silver jewelry, rings, bracelets, chains, earrings, pendants at home?
The most common home methods will do, each of which is described above:
- Chalk
- Iodine
- Acid
- Bread
- Warmth
- Lapis pencil
How to check the authenticity of silverware, silver jewelry, rings, bracelets, chains, earrings, pendants at home?
Determining the authenticity of silver is quite simple, even if you are not a jeweler. Use one or more home remedies.
VIDEO: Checking silver
Source: https://soveti-masterov.com/instruktsii/kak-proverit-serebro-v-domashnih-usloviyah.html
How to determine silver at home - Answers to all questions
Counterfeiting silver is a rarer occurrence when compared to other precious metals. It's all about the lower cost of raw materials. But counterfeit goods sometimes pop up on the shelves of jewelry stores.
Buyers often complain that the surface quickly darkens, and the decoration is difficult to return to its original appearance.
To avoid such situations, you should study the basic points of identifying a high-quality alloy and how to check the metal for signs of counterfeit.
Stamp and hallmark
Products made from pure silver are visually beautiful, but are not practical. Due to the increased ductility of the metal, the product quickly ceases to shine in the absence of constant cleaning.
In the jewelry industry, alloys of various metals have long been used to increase the strength of products. To distinguish by the amount of additives added, a sample is applied to the jewelry.
An example of a sample on a silver ring.
A test (a stamp showing the content of impurities in silver) is placed on the inside of the product. Fineness - three numbers indicating the silver content in one kilogram of the alloy. For example, standard 925 means that 1 kg contains 75 grams of impurities and 925 grams of pure metal.
Samples of silver items:
| Try | Characteristics |
| 720 | Low standard silver, copper impurity. The most durable silver alloy used in industrial applications. Jewelry is not made from such silver, so it is inappropriate to undergo an assay inspection here. |
| 800, 830 | Production of silver cutlery. |
| 875 | “White gold” - contains no gold. Only silver and copper. |
| 916 | The alloy of this hallmark was used in the Soviet Union in the manufacture of silverware (not currently used in the jewelry industry). |
| 925 | Silver jewelry. |
| 960 | An alloy close to natural metal, soft and easily deformable (used to create relief compositions). |
| 999 | Pure silver, it is used to create collectible coins and bars (used in medicine and industry). |
Iodine
A drop of iodine and the product being tested are required. Iodine reacts chemically with silver. The process is accompanied by darkening at the point of contact between iodine and silver. The mark from a reaction to iodine is very difficult to remove, so the method is not very good. It is better to conduct the experiment on the inside of the object.
Reaction of silver to iodine.
- A drop of iodine on real silver will leave a dark stain.
- Iodine does not react with other metals. The surface where iodine was applied will remain unchanged.
Iodine stains are difficult to remove! Be careful, check from the inside of the products.
At home, it is not possible to determine the sample and silver-plated products. Aluminum and copper blanks coated with a thin layer of silver are often found. Iodine will leave a mark on such products, but the silver content cannot be determined in this way.
Testing with iodine is one of the effective methods for identifying fake silver at home. The remaining methods are more suitable for self-soothing or are less accessible for self-checking.
Store tests for silver (chrompic)
You can purchase a test to check metal in pharmacies or special retail outlets.
To use the reagent correctly, read the instructions and carry out simple manipulations. Before starting the experiment, you should wipe the selected area with a file or run the product over a stone made of silicon slate (so as not to spoil the appearance of the product) and treat it with a reagent. After a certain period of time, you can assess the condition of the metal by the color of the developed trace:
A drop of a special tester turned red - real silver (right). Has not changed color - fake.
Sulfur ointment, nitric acid, whiteness
The principle of testing is the same as when testing with iodine. We apply a drop of the reagent to the product, wait and see if the product reacts to the drugs:
- A real silver item will show tarnish where the substances were applied.
- Nothing will happen on a fake.
Reaction to chemical exposure.
You can check silver at home without any marks on the metal. A regular magnet is used for this. The reaction to the magnet will indicate a fake:
Magnetic testing - detection of gross fakes.
- A product made of real silver does not attach to a magnet.
- Fake ferrous metals will stick to the magnet.
Do not check chain locks with a magnet. The locks have a mechanism that responds to a magnet.
The method is very popular, but not very accurate; non-ferrous metals do not always react to a magnet.
Thermal method
One of the properties of silver is thermal conductivity, due to which the metal quickly heats up to ambient temperature. If you hold the product in your hand, it will almost immediately heat up to body temperature. When immersed in cold or hot water, the metal will quickly return to the same temperature.
Boiling water is a good way to test the quality of a silver alloy. When removed from a hot product, it burns the skin and quickly cools to room temperature. Fake silver removed from boiling water will be lukewarm.
How to distinguish silver from cupronickel
- A silver product contains a hallmark; a mark with the MNC symbols means cupronickel.
A distinctive feature of cupronickel cutlery. - Cupronickel can be recognized using ordinary water. You should pour it into a container and place the product there. After a short period of time, greenery will appear on things made from cupronickel, but silver will not change its shade.
- Cupronickel can be identified by its smell; it is characterized by the usual smell of copper.
To make the aroma stronger, you can rub the object of study.
- You can run a lapis pencil over the moistened surface of the object. A silver product will not show a reaction, but a dark spot will appear on cupronickel. If there is a suspicion that cupronickel is covered with a thin silver layer, you need to find the worn place and repeat the manipulations.
- Items made of cupronickel weigh much lighter than silver ones.
- Metal can be tested using iodine.
A drop of the substance on an item placed in sunlight will show a dark spot on the silver. The trace is extremely difficult to remove, so you need to find an inconspicuous place for the experiment.
- One of the surest options would be to take the product to a jewelry workshop, where they will determine exactly what it is made of.
- How silver is determined for authenticity, how the sample is recognized in jewelry workshops. How to use special chemical liquids and analyzer:
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- Large video test of various metal products (aluminum, copper, chrome, stainless steel, silver) for the reaction of sulfur ointment. How to test silver at home video:
To protect yourself from purchasing a fake, it is better to purchase silver jewelry in jewelry stores. Here, upon request, the seller is obliged to present certificates of product quality.
The likelihood of purchasing low-quality silver will be minimal.
Source: https://school5mih.ru/kak-uznat/kak-opredelit-serebro-v-domashnij-usloviyah.html
How to tell if silver is real or not. How to check silver at home for authenticity
Carefully inspect the silver item. Silverware or jewelry must be stamped with numbers (800, 830, 875, 925, 960 or 999). If, for example, a piece of jewelry has a 925 standard, this means that the jewelry contains 92.5% pure silver. Even designer silver items are tested, but often the authors of such jewelry do not agree with this and leave their “brainchild” without marking.
The physical properties of silver are a sure way to distinguish the real from the fake
Silver is an excellent heat conductor. Take the product in your hands and it will quickly reach your body temperature. Or put an object in hot water and it will immediately become hot.
A magnet will help you find out whether there is silver in front of you or not. Apply a magnet to the jewelry: if the item is drawn to the source of magnetization, it is a fake. Real silver is not magnetic.
In addition, experts distinguish silver by its unusual smell. But, unfortunately, there are many chemical flavorings with which craftsmen skillfully disguise metals, passing them off as silver.
How to test a silver ring with a needle
Take a regular sewing needle and scratch the product you are testing (it is better to do this on the side where traces of the experiment will not be noticeable). If you have a real silver item in front of you, nothing special will happen to it, but a reddish color will appear on the surface of the silver-plated item (this is brass).
Is gold worn with silver?
Determining the authenticity of silver at home using sulfur ointment
In order to distinguish real silver from a fake, stock up on sulfur ointment, a small piece of sandpaper and a napkin. Gently sand a barely visible area of the cutlery, bracelet or earring with sandpaper.
Then apply sulfur ointment to the cleaned area and leave for several hours. Then remove the ointment with a clean, dry cloth. If you have a real silver object in front of you, the area treated with sandpaper will turn black after contact with sulfur ointment.
After this procedure, clean and polish the remaining dark stain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zO_poAblmw
If you drop a little iodine on silver, it will turn black. Only then it is very difficult to wash such a product
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.
You will need
- Jeweler's loupe
- Hot water
- Electric lamp
- Magnet
- Rubber gloves, pipette, nitric acid
Instructions
First of all, you should pay attention to the product labeling. Modern factory products will definitely have a mark on them; designer silver jewelry must also be marked in the assay office, but not all artists follow these rules.
On Russian-made products you can find the following hallmarks: 960,925,875,830,800. All of them indicate the percentage of silver in the alloy. Thus, a product marked 875 contains 87.5% silver. An alloy with 80% silver content is used mainly for cutlery.
silver is commonly called sterling silver throughout the world.
Other countries have different alloy standards, so products from abroad may have different numerical standards, in addition, some countries use markings such as STERLING, STER, S/S, SILVER. Don't forget about brands. Samples of hallmarks of famous masters and large companies are known to everyone who is interested in silver.
On silver items produced in the Soviet Union, a five-pointed mark was used as a hallmark; antique silver may display a leopard with a raised paw. If you are buying an antique silver item secondhand, inquire about the hallmarks available and check them through specialized websites.
Depending on the country, era, master, there are hundreds of hallmarks, hallmarks, marks and their combinations.
Pure, among metals, has the highest thermal conductivity coefficient. Therefore, the higher the sample, the purer it is, the faster the product heats up. You can put two spoons into hot water - cupronickel and, presumably, silver, the second should heat up faster. A ring, earrings, chain, made from jewelry, become hot very quickly, it is even recommended to take them off before a bath or sauna so as not to get burned.
Another property of silver is its highest light reflectivity. Place the silver item under bright light and see if it reflects it better than cupronickel or metal spoon or as well as other silver jewelry of the same standard. Do not forget to remove the patina from the control silver product, if this does not contradict the artistic decision, which will certainly dull the inherent bright shine.
The following test is very popular - if you rub a silver item with a clean, soft, light cloth, dark spots will remain on it. Its effectiveness is highly questionable for a number of reasons.
Firstly, contrary to popular belief, silver is not oxidized by oxygen, but actively reacts with sulfur-containing compounds, which, in varying quantities, are found in the environment and natural secretions of the human body.
The amount of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur produced by the body is different for everyone, which is why there is a myth that silver “anticipates” the owner’s illness and darkens. Secondly, as a rule, silver alloys contain copper, but it just enters into an oxidation reaction with oxygen contained in the air.
Accordingly, the purer the alloy, the less oxidation and, accordingly, the lower the effectiveness of the “tissue” test. And lastly, third. Manufacturers, well aware of the properties of silver and its alloys, protect products from oxidation in order to maintain their presentation by covering it with a thin layer of nickel, clear varnish, galvanic rhodium plating or a thick layer of special wax.
It’s not without reason that they say that not everything shiny is a jewel, so you should know how to identify silver at home. Our age of technological progress, the emergence of ever new chemical developments, makes it possible to fake almost everything.
Yes, this is not the most expensive of noble representatives. However, increasing the mass of objects, it is often diluted with various impurities. Even a jewelry store is not a guarantee of the authenticity of jewelry.
So, how can you recognize the real thing at home or not?
We learn to determine the authenticity of silver by its characteristic properties
First of all, when you take a silver item, carefully examine it. A ring, chain, bracelet or spoon must be stamped or hallmarked. These are three small numbers outlined by a rectangle. Unfortunately, neither the presence of such a mark nor the purchase of jewelry in a specialized store is a guarantee that the bracelet or set is genuine.
Therefore, you need to have some knowledge that will protect you from purchasing a low-quality product. Take the item in your hands. Silver is a good conductor, so it instantly warms up from the warmth of the palms. Place the item in a glass of boiling water. After a few seconds, try to carefully remove it. Be careful, it's hot. A real precious metal will reach the same temperature in an instant.
If your hands remain clean upon contact with a silver object, it means the metal is of high quality. A low-quality alloy diluted with zinc will result in blackened palms. Often, under the guise of pure jewelry, dishonest sellers try to sell items made of copper or brass that have a silver-plated surface.
An ordinary needle will help bring deceitful traders to clean water. Place the needle in an inconspicuous area of the jewelry. The top layer of coating will be erased, exposing the insides. If the color under spraying remains the same, then everything is fine.
And if a red or yellow tint appears, you have an alloy of brass or copper with a silver-plated surface.
Source: https://paris4u.ru/kak-uznat-nastoyashchee-serebro-ili-net-kak-proverit-serebro-v/
How to check silver for authenticity at home: top 8 ways - Site about
Counterfeiting silver is a rarer occurrence when compared to other precious metals. It's all about the lower cost of raw materials. But counterfeit goods sometimes pop up on the shelves of jewelry stores.
Buyers often complain that the surface quickly darkens, and the decoration is difficult to return to its original appearance.
To avoid such situations, you should study the basic points of identifying a high-quality alloy and how to check the metal for signs of counterfeit.
Determining the authenticity of silver products
Silver is not just a chemical element from the periodic table, but a noble metal with unique antiseptic and chemical properties. It has been known and widely used by man since the dawn of civilization. Due to its natural properties, it aroused interest among shamans, healers and alchemists, who attributed magical powers to the metal.
Only a silver bullet can kill a vampire and a werewolf. Products made of precious metal can protect against evil spirits, restore youth and cure all diseases. Today, silver is widely used both for household needs and in industry, technology and medicine. It is used to make rings, earrings, dishes, cutlery and contacts for electrical products.
Due to the extreme popularity of the metal, it is often counterfeited. How to identify silver? The first thing you should pay attention to even during the purchase, in order to prevent the possibility of being deceived, is the manufacturer’s mark or, in other words, the sample. It must be of high quality and clearly visible.
It cannot be faked with your own hands; this requires special technical equipment. The hallmark is a small factory-made rectangle, inside of which there is a three-digit number indicating the proportion of silver in this product.
To determine the authenticity of silver, it is not necessary to have deep knowledge of jewelry, to have technical equipment and special conditions.
The most common silver samples
The quality of silver depends on the degree of impurities it contains. The most common samples are 750, 800, 875, 916, 925 and 960, and 720 sample is also found in Russia. Due to the high copper content, the alloy 750 and 800 has acquired a slightly yellowish tint and oxidizes quite easily when in contact with oxygen. It is often used to make cutlery.
875 standard is an indicator of low quality silver, but due to its low cost, it is quite widespread. 916 alloy is used in the production of enamel-coated cutlery. The most common is 925 sterling silver. It is of the highest quality and is widely used both in the manufacture of jewelry and cutlery.
The highest breakdown is considered to be 960.
If you become the owner of a silver product without a factory mark, then there are many ways to check its authenticity.
One of the most faithful and reliable is to contact a jewelry workshop, where an experienced employee, after conducting a professional test, will determine the authenticity of the product. But you can try to check the quality of silver yourself.
How to determine the authenticity of silver at home?
You can find out if silver is real using a magnet - the precious metal is not attracted.
- Silver is determined at home using sulfur ointment, which is quite affordable and can be purchased at any pharmacy. After applying the ointment to the product, you should wait a couple of hours. Over time, genuine metal should change its color and turn black.
- To find out at home whether silver is real, you can experiment with iodine. If you apply a drop of iodine to a piece of tableware or decoration, it should also turn black, and the more saturated the color, the higher the standard of silver. Although manipulations with iodine can lead to damage to your favorite product.
- You can try making a small scratch in an inconspicuous place. If a reddish stripe appears in this place, then this product is not made of silver, but of brass. You can quite often buy silver-plated brass or copper at small layouts and spontaneous markets.
- You can also check the quality of silver this way. There should be no traces left upon contact with skin. If, after removing the jewelry, you notice dark marks at the points of contact with the skin, then most likely you are wearing a fake.
- Real silver has a high degree of thermal conductivity. When such a product is lowered into hot water, it instantly becomes the same temperature.
- Determination of silver is also possible using chalk. To do this, you need to apply regular school chalk to the product. If the silver is real, it will turn black.
Of course, none of the above verification methods will give one hundred percent guarantee and confidence in the authenticity and quality of the product. Therefore, it is better to buy the so-called “silver test”. This is a common reagent, simple and safe to use.
It is on open sale, so there will be no problems purchasing it. Using this test, you can easily and with high accuracy determine not only the authenticity and quality of silver, but also the approximate sample size of the product.
In addition, such a check is considered the safest.
Recently, cases of counterfeiting of precious metals, both in the domestic and international markets, have increased. Because technical equipment is constantly being improved. Therefore, if you decide to purchase silver jewelry, try to approach this issue extremely seriously and responsibly. Try to buy precious jewelry, cutlery, cutlery, dishes and other silver items in trusted stores, and not in kiosks and displays in markets.
Also, to determine the authenticity of the jewelry is the manufacturer's brand mark - sample. Such simple precautions can protect you from scammers and save your money, nerves and time.
Source: https://oserebre.ru/proby-serebra/kak-opredelit.html
