How to determine the quality of silver and check the authenticity at home?

Popular wisdom says that not all that glitters is gold. And in fact it is. It is impossible to guarantee that a gold ring acquired by hand is a genuine jewel. The same is true for silver.

Today, silver jewelry and objects are sold on almost every corner. But here's the trouble. It is not always possible to find a proof of the authenticity of a precious metal on a product, which is why you have to contact a jeweler for a paid consultation.

Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to find genuine silver today. Although it is not the most expensive representative of precious metals, its cost increases, along with its weight. In simple terms, in order to gain a large amount for the product, various impurities are added to silver, respectively, the mass of the product becomes larger - and the price increases.

Employees of jewelry stores, providing advice, report the presence of impurities in certain products. But unscrupulous sellers of small jewelry outlets on the market prove the authenticity of silver in words, trying to distract the attention of buyers from the lack of sample. It is only at home that the owner of the new silver jewelry has some doubts. The advice of a jeweler immediately comes to mind, but you can find out if the silver is fake or not at home.

The first step is to inspect the product. Every thing made of silver has an engraved test. This indicator is represented by small numbers in a rectangular border. Unfortunately, in the age of innovative technologies, such a mark does not give a 100% guarantee of the naturalness of the product. Any unscrupulous seller with some equipment can engrave a sample on any metal.

The first way to check the authenticity of silver can be done at the time of purchase. The selected product must be taken in hand and held in a clenched fist for several seconds. As you know, silver is one of the best heat conductors. Coming into contact with the human body, the noble metal instantly warms up.

The second method of thermal testing will require a glass of boiling water. In just boiled water, you need to lower the silver item and after a few seconds get it out. If this is an original, the product instantly acquires a temperature similar to boiling water.

When buying a silver item, each person examines it from all sides. And after studying the external characteristics, you need to check your hands. If they remain clean, then the selected silver is the original. If the fingers and palms have turned black, then the silver has been diluted with zinc.

Quite often, unscrupulous sellers offer customers silver-plated copper and brass jewelry that looks like real silver. In such a situation, the most common needle will help to find out the quality of the object. Its tip must be held in an inconspicuous part of the decoration. In products with spraying, the surface layer will be erased, revealing the real inside. If the sprayed color is the same, it means that the item is made of high quality precious metal.

Few people know, but you can recognize a fake by sound... It turns out that this noble metal has a sound that stands out clearly against the background of the muffled grumblings of its fellows. The ringing of silver is light, long lasting, creates vibration.

In the distant past, our ancestors could distinguish real silver by its smell. It is impossible to describe what the precious metal smells like. The smell remained in the memory, and it was impossible to confuse it with other metals. However, today this method has no relevance. In the age of innovative technologies, even the scent of a precious metal can be faked.

Another way to test a silver piece requires daylight. Natural silver has the ability to reflect rays. If you take, for example, a silver spoon and put it in the sun, it will sparkle with bright colors and dazzle the human eye.

A very common method of verifying the authenticity of silver. Everyone knows that objects that contain a high content of iron are magnetised. And here alloys with a small amount of chemical elements do not possess this property. It follows from this that silver does not magnetise.

Quite an interesting way to test using ordinary iodine. However, to conduct this experiment, you will need to remember some of the rules of physics and chemistry.

When iodine reacts with silver, salt deposits called silver iodide are formed. The color of the derivative is similar to that of iodine liquid.

• Before proceeding with the experiment, it is necessary to select the most inconspicuous part of the product, since after the test a stain will remain on the test area, which will be removed by grinding.
• It is necessary to moisten a cotton swab in an iodine solution, then touch the selected area of ​​the product.
• Then rinse the product, and after drying, check the result.If a cloudy spot remains at the site of contact with iodine, the silver is genuine.

A small scratch must be made on the product, then chalked over it. If you hold real silver in your hands, the scratch area will turn black.

Testing silver with acetic acid is not safe. Strong gloves are required to perform this test. There are a number of steps to follow:

• it is necessary to make a small scratch with a needle;
• apply a small amount of acid to the scratched area, then pay attention to the reaction;
• if the foam turns green and starts to sizzle, it means that there is a fake in your hands;
• if there is no reaction, it is necessary to drop a solution of sodium chloride on top of the acid;
• if authentic, a white haze will appear.

Authenticating silver with nitric acid provides the most accurate results. However, it is necessary to apply the liquid in minimal doses on the most inconspicuous place. Thanks to nitric acid, it will be possible to determine not only the authenticity of silver, but also to identify its alloy.

Make a small scratch and apply nitric acid over it. If the scratch area turns green, then it is a brass or cupronickel alloy. If the scratch turns black, it is a fake jewelry with a low silver content. If a creamy shade is formed at the inspection site, it means that it is natural 925 sterling silver and above.

This medical device is used not only for the treatment and prevention of skin problems, but also allows you to check the authenticity of silver. To use it, you must put on gloves on your hands. Lay out the decorations to be checked on the table and draw over them with a lapis pencil. If a dark spot appears in the place of the pencil, then it is a fake.

It is very difficult to carry out tests to identify a sample of a precious metal with your own hands. But if not distracted by extraneous matters, it is quite possible.

• Recognize the percentage of natural silver present in your favorite jewelry, help chromepick... Its other name is potassium dichromate. This reagent is used for the determination of silver from 500 samples. The surface of the item being inspected must be cleaned of grease and various contaminants, and then wiped with a dry cloth. Then drip a few drops of Chroma Peak onto the silver, then wipe them with filter paper. In no case should you rush. An interval of 3 seconds between actions will be sufficient. If the product meets the sample value from 500 to 750, a light brown stain will remain in the place of the wiped drops. The appearance of a red tint indicates a fineness higher than 750. A product with a saturated bright red color of the spot after the reagent is silver 916 and higher.

• Another method for determining the sample of silver will require use of silver nitrate... First of all, the test item must be cleaned of greasy stains and dirt, then a small drop of the reagent must be applied to its surface. Next, monitor the color change of the liquid. A light gray shade indicates that the sample is in the range of 750-916. A drop of reagent that turns white indicates the low quality of silver.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to give a 100% guarantee of the correct result even with such verification methods. After all, it happens that your favorite ring or chain is only slightly silver plated. Accordingly, only the cut will help to find out the authenticity of the product and the sample rate.

Today there is a special device used by professional jewelers. With its help, you can determine the preciousness of a metal and reveal all its qualities.

Special attention should be paid to technical silver. When creating it, an alloy used in the manufacture of contacts is used. Accordingly, the technical variety is different from real and table silver.However, to check it, you can use the methods presented earlier.

Silver is a fairly popular metal that can be compared to gold in demand. Arriving at a jewelry boutique, it is not difficult to distinguish between gold items, for example, cupronickel. The yellowish sheen cannot be confused with other metals. But silver in this matter requires a more scrupulous approach. It is not always possible to understand that ordinary iron is displayed under the guise of silver.

First of all, you need to get acquainted with the differences between silver and platinum. Fraudulent sellers who want to profit from the gullibility of their customers offer them silver jewelry and other items under the guise of real platinum. The reason for the deception lies on the surface. Platinum is a more precious metal than silver. And ignorant people, trusting the seller, buy ordinary silver items at huge prices.

The main difference between silver and platinum is the size of the items. Platinum is a very expensive material, therefore, making miniature jewelry out of it is unprofitable. Plus, platinum is much heavier than silver. Special attention should be paid to the color of the product. Silver has a grayish tint, platinum is slightly lighter. When sunlight hits it, it glows white. In a similar way, silver is distinguished from white gold.

It is much more difficult to tell the difference between silver and tin. Visually, they are very similar, it is impossible to find differences even with an armed look. And in terms of weight, both metals practically do not differ. The same goes for palladium. Tests with iodine and nitric acid will help determine silver.

In terms of color saturation, silver is very similar to cupronickel. And it is very difficult to determine the difference between them by eye. Their main difference is magnetism. Cupronickel, as you know, is an alloy of non-ferrous metals, namely copper, nickel, iron and manganese, which has magnetic properties. Silver cannot boast of magnetic properties.

You can only distinguish silver from brass by color. Brass has a reddish tint, slightly reminiscent of rust.

It is much more difficult to determine the naturalness of silver compared to surface silvering. The surest way to identify the original of a product is a trial. Products that have undergone the silvering procedure are not branded, since a small fraction of the precious metal was used in their creation.

There is another test for determining the naturalness or silvering of products. But it can take several weeks to verify it. If the product is rusty, it means that it is made of surface silver-plated brass.

For information on how to check silver at home for authenticity, see the next video.