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This article was co-written by Edward Lewand. Edward Lewand is a trained gemologist & appraiser with over 36 years of experience in the jewelry industry. He completed his gemological studies at GIA in 1979, New York and now specializes in real, antique and heritage jewelry consulting and certification. He is an appraiser with the American Association of Appraisers (AAA) and a senior appraiser with the American Association of Gem and Jewelers.
There are 10 references cited in this article that you can view at the bottom of the page.
This article has been viewed 2,570 times.
Perhaps you have a piece of silver you just bought online through an unreliable website, or picked it up by a friend. Maybe you just want to check if a family heirloom you’re not entirely sure is real silver. Whatever the reason, you need to know how to test silver. Silver is a versatile chemical element. Sterling silver is composed of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals, mainly copper. This silver is harder than pure silver. Pure silver is quite soft and is often referred to as “bare silver.” Products are often mistaken for silver when they are silver plated (only coated with a thin layer of silver). Scroll down to step 1 below to start trying on your silverware. [1] X Research Source
Steps
Find the confirmation mark closed on silver
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Find the confirmation mark. Items advertised as silver sold internationally are often stamped based on their silver content. Be careful if the item is not stamped. It is possible that it is still real silver, but made in a country where no stamp is required. [2] X Research Source
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Find the international silver grading mark. Use a magnifying glass to look at the silverware. Silver sold on the international market will be stamped with the numbers 925, 900 or 800. These numbers indicate the percentage of silver in the item. The number 925 means that the item contains 92.5% silver. The numbers 900 or 800 indicate the silver content of 90% and 80% respectively, often referred to as “coin” silver. [3] X Research Sources
Magnetic test
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Try with a magnet. Use strong magnets such as rare earth magnets made of neodymium. Silver is paramagnetic, which means it has a very weak magnetic effect. If your magnet sticks to the item, it has a ferromagnetic core and is not silver. [4] X Research Sources
- Note that there are some other metals that are also not attracted to the magnet and can be used to counterfeit silver. It is better to combine the magnetic test method with another method to be sure the core is not another metal.
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Slide the magnet over the silver ingot. If it’s a silver bar, you can use another magnet test to see if it’s real silver. Tilt the silver bar at a 45-degree angle and let the magnet slide down. The bar magnet will slowly slide down the surface of the silver ingot. It may sound strange, but silver is paramagnetic, and rare earth magnets generate eddy currents in silver that act as an electric field current to create a braking effect, slowing down the magnet’s downward slide. magnet. [5] X Research Sources
Try silver with ice
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Find some ice cubes. Leave the ice in the freezer until you need it to test the silver. Although silver and ice cubes seem unrelated, this test is based on the fact that silver is the best conductor of heat among the common metals or alloys, followed by copper. [6] X Research Sources
- This test is suitable for testing coins and silver bars, but it is more difficult to test silver jewelry.
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Place the ice cube on the silver object. Do not take your eyes off the stone. Ice will begin to flow immediately as if placed on a hot object rather than on a room temperature object. [7] X Research Sources
Sound test
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Use the sound test with coins. Silver makes a great bell-like sound when tapped, especially when struck against another metal object. If you want to hear real silver before you try it, look for US 25 cent coins issued before 1965. These coins are 90% silver, while 25 cent coins issued after 1964 are made of copper alloys. -nickel. The old coin will have a high-pitched, raspy and clear sound, while the new coin will have a dull sound. [8] X Research Sources
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Drop your coin onto a flat surface from a height of about 15 cm. If the coin sounds like a bell, it means you have a real silver coin in your hand. If the noise is cloudy, it is likely that the silver in it has been mixed with other metals.
Chemical analysis
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Do a chemical analysis test. Use a chemical analysis test if there is no sign that the object is silver. Wear gloves, as you will have to use corrosive acids to test the purity of the object. Acids are substances that burn the skin.
- Note that this method may cause slight damage to the silver object. If you suspect it is a high value item, it is best to determine the silver content using one of the other methods described in this article.
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Buy a silver acid test kit. You can buy this product on sites like Amazon or eBay, or at jewelry stores. The acid silver test is very effective for pure silver, but if you suspect that the item is silver-plated, you must use a jewelry file to scrape a spot to expose the under-plating. [9] X Research Source
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Find a hidden spot of the item to be tested and scrape a small spot. This will expose the metal underneath for acid testing. Use a metal file to scrape a deep spot under the plating on the outside of the silver. [10] X Research Source
- If you don’t want to scrape or leave an acid stain on your silver, you can use a slate. Blackstone is usually available in a silver test kit or sold in the same store. Rub a silver object on the surface of the stone to make a relatively large mark on the surface of the stone. This streak is about 4 cm wide.
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Apply a drop of acid to the shaved surface. If acid comes into contact with any unshave, it will also affect the outer polish of the silverware. If you’re using slate, you’ll be putting acid on the rub on the stone.
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Observe the small acid surface. You will have to analyze the color that appears after the acid is applied to the silver surface. Follow the step-by-step instructions and color scale in the test kit. Usually the color scale of the test kit will be as follows: [11] X Research Source
- Bright red: silver
- Darker red: silver 925
- Brown: silver 800
- Green: silver 500
- Gold: lead or tin
- Dark brown: brass
- Blue: nickel
Try with bleach
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Put a drop of bleach on the item. Silver will tarnish extremely quickly when exposed to strong oxidizing agents such as ordinary bleach. [12] X Research Source
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Observe to see if the material is dull or unresponsive. If it quickly tarnishes and turns black, the object is silver.
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Note that silver-plated objects may also pass this test.
Advice
- If you are using a chemical test to determine the quality of silver, be sure to wear gloves, as nitric acid is extremely corrosive.
- Try to buy silver from reputable places, such as stores that sell quality jewelry.
Warning
- Use water to wash if the skin is exposed to nitric acid as it is corrosive. After washing it thoroughly, sprinkle baking soda on it.
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This article was co-written by Edward Lewand. Edward Lewand is a trained gemologist & appraiser with over 36 years of experience in the jewelry industry. He completed his gemological studies at GIA in 1979, New York and now specializes in real, antique and heritage jewelry consulting and certification. He is an appraiser with the American Association of Appraisers (AAA) and a senior appraiser with the American Association of Gem and Jewelers.
There are 10 references cited in this article that you can view at the bottom of the page.
This article has been viewed 2,570 times.
Perhaps you have a piece of silver you just bought online through an unreliable website, or picked it up by a friend. Maybe you just want to check if a family heirloom you’re not entirely sure is real silver. Whatever the reason, you need to know how to test silver. Silver is a versatile chemical element. Sterling silver is composed of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals, mainly copper. This silver is harder than pure silver. Pure silver is quite soft and is often referred to as “bare silver.” Products are often mistaken for silver when they are silver plated (only coated with a thin layer of silver). Scroll down to step 1 below to start trying on your silverware. [1] X Research Source
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