HOW DO YOU KNOW IF AN OBJECT IS MADE OF SILVER?
On the market there is a large amount of jewelry that is plated but not silver, but made of steel, copper or nickel silver, sometimes with a light silver plating. There are some checks you can do to recognize if a piece of jewelry is silver.
- Using a magnet is a foolproof method to find out if a piece of jewelry contains low-quality metals. Quality silver has almost no magnetic effects (It is paramagnetic). If when you bring a piece of jewelry close to the magnet it sticks, it means that it is not silver.
- Due to the weight. Silver is a heavy metal when compared to others of lesser quality such as nickel silver or copper, which are usually quite light.
- Guarantee stamp
- Clean the product with a cloth. Real silver will leave some black marks on the rag as exposure to air or other chemicals… If no mark is left on the rag, the item may not be silver.
- Doing the boiled egg test. Boil an egg in water and rub the hard yolk on the silver jewelry. If the jewel becomes black, it is real silver. This reaction is due to the fact that the silver becomes sulfurized when it comes into contact with the egg. Next, visit our guide on how to clean silver to restore the jewel’s original shine.
- Doing the ice test. Place an ice cube on top of the silver jewel and observe the reaction. If the cube begins to melt, the jewel will be silver. If the ice does not melt at all, the jewelry will not be silver. This reaction occurs because silver has a very high thermal conductivity.
