How to distinguish fake silver from real. Himself a jeweler, or how to check silver for authenticity. Authentication of silver items

A real silver product is easy to distinguish from a fake and the article will help us deal with all the nuances. Let's get acquainted with the most effective ways to determine the authenticity of silver.

Stamp and test

Each product with a high content of precious metal has 2 hallmarks - the name of the manufacturer and the assay mark. Their presence indicates that the product is sold legally in the country.

The hallmark is placed on:

The state stamp consists of several elements:

Right profile of a lady in a kokoshnik;
The letter cipher of the state inspection of assay supervision in the lower left corner;
Try;
Standard frame.

Pay attention to the shape of the frame, it is an oval with cut sides. Let's say that the image is circled, and the sample is printed side by side in a rectangular frame or an oval frame with cut edges.

Foreign-made jewelry may have other marking methods adopted by the laws of the country of manufacture. For example, the traditional English brand is a walking lion, French products were stamped with the head of Minerva, a wild boar, a crab.

In order for the soft noble metal to gain strength, impurities of other metals are added to the alloy, usually copper, tin, nickel. Therefore, a sample is necessarily put on the finished product - a number that reflects the percentage of the content of the noble metal. The most common silver samples are 750, 800, 875, 916, 925, 960 and 999.

To create jewelry, 960 and 925 tests are most often used:

925 silver is called sterling, it does not lose its original appearance for a long time, does not darken even with prolonged wear.
The 800th test is considered a coin alloy, used in the production of coins, cutlery, quickly loses its presentation.

A personal name is an abbreviation that allows you to find out the manufacturer, place, year of manufacture. May contain letters and numbers. Antique items are decorated with the initials of the master.

If there was no sample, this does not mean that you are faced with a fake. Perhaps in front of you is 800 sterling silver. Products from it are allowed to be produced without an imprint. Some silver imitations are stamped with the MNTs stamp, which means "magnesium-nickel-zinc". The fake sample is applied unevenly, it is easy to recognize if you have a sample.

Thermal conductivity

Among all metals, silver has the highest thermal conductivity, that is, it quickly changes temperature under the influence of the environment:

Put a cool ring on your skin, it will instantly take its temperature.
Immerse the chain or necklace in a container of hot water, and then immediately remove it. Jewelry will not have time to change the temperature.
An ice cube will do the trick. If the item is large enough, place ice from the freezer on top.

Put the cool ring on your skin, it will instantly take its temperature

Physical properties

Consider the quality of the coverage.
Sterling silver must be white, with a bright polished sheen.
Blackened stylized antique and it doesn't shine as brightly.
Antique jewelry becomes covered with a black and gray coating over time. If the plaque is red or brown, you have another alloy in front of you, for example, brass or cupronickel.
Silver can be matte, but it shouldn't have any tint. A reddish tint is a sign of a large amount of copper in the alloy.
Throw a ring, earring or coin on the table.
When falling, a sonorous sound should be heard melodic, clear sound.
Silver spoons you can knock on each other.
Copper fakes knock dully, cheap alloys make a metallic sound, like small coins.
Rub the object with your palm.
Counterfeits with an admixture of zinc leave dark marks.
Silver plating can be rubbed gently to see the background color.
Put the jewelry in a glass of water for a few days. Genuine silver will remain pristine, but fake will rust.
Smell. This method requires you to have a sample.
Those who had silverware, remember their special, specific smell.
If there is a coating, scrape it off. Melchior, like other copper alloys, smells like copper.
Taste it.
At brass, cupronickel, uncoated nickel silver will have a metallic aftertaste.
Noble metals are tasteless.
Weigh. There are reference manuals for numismatists that contain data on ancient and modern coins. Weigh your sample, compare the resulting weight with the indicated one.

Antique jewelry becomes covered with a black and gray coating over time.

Checking with improvised means

If after examining the product there are doubts, you can conduct several tests using improvised means:

Be careful, traces of iodine are very difficult to wash off the surface of the jewelry. Most likely, the stain will remain forever.

Sulfuric ointment:

Apply ointment.
After 30 seconds, wipe off with a cloth or tissue. The place of application should darken.

Sulfur ointment is one of the most proven and safest ways to check. It is used against skin inflammation, so it can be applied without gloves. Sold in any pharmacy.

Lapis pencil:

Wet the tip of the pencil.
Put in a small drop.
If the drop turns black, this is a fake. Lapis is composed of silver nitrate and does not react with either silver or gold.

Once lapis was widely distributed, but now it is not sold in all pharmacies. This is an outdated remedy for cauterizing warts and papillomas, if it gets on open skin, a black spot will remain for a long time.

Take stationery chalk, rub the decoration with it.
Postpone.
Check the result after a few minutes. If the chalk turns gray, this is a real noble metal.

Bleach:

It is believed that if you pour a small drop of bleach and wait a few minutes, the product will react with acid and darken. But a lot depends on the composition of the bleach. Silver is a low-active metal, so household chemicals may not have any effect. Imitation can be irrevocably spoiled, especially with chlorine.

Vinegar:

Silver is a low reactive metal, so household chemicals may not have any effect.

According to the electrochemical activity series of metals, silver is an inactive metal, therefore it does not react with 9% vinegar. Most alloys will not react with such a weak acid without heating.

Copper is also a low-active metal, so vinegar will not damage products with a high copper content. Cupronickel cutlery is even recommended to be soaked in acid if a plaque has formed.

Needle:

Make a deep scratch with a needle.
Take a close look at whether the color of the core differs from the coating.
A yellow or red tint indicates that a coating has been applied.

Magnet:

Take a strong magnet and pass it over the surface of the object.
Silver has almost no magnetic properties, but a fake made of steel or nickel will immediately attract.
It should be noted that metals with a high copper content are also non-magnetic.

Nitric acid:

This option is only suitable for those who are familiar with chemistry.

Under the action of nitric acid, a violent reaction occurs with the evolution of gas, silver dissolves, an aqueous solution of silver nitrate and nitric oxide is formed.
Such an experiment should not be carried out at home.

The most reliable way to determine whether your jewelry has jewelry value, you can call checks with iodine, sulfuric ointment, lapis pencil, needle, chalk.
Iodine is not safe for the product stains remain for a long time, they are almost impossible to wash.
The lapis pencil is very handy, the reaction comes quickly, but it will have to be specially ordered, since it is not sold in all pharmacies.
Using a needle, you can find out if a spray has been applied, but the scratch can no longer be reduced.
Chalk does not damage the product.
The darkening remaining after the sulfuric ointment can be wiped with ammonia or put in a soda solution. Another option is to boil it with a piece of ordinary aluminum foil.
Not everyone can determine the taste, sound or weight of silver. In addition, this requires a large sample, such as a ring or a coin.
Checking with a magnet will not give the desired result if the base material of the alloy is copper. So, cupronickel, brass will not be attracted to a magnet.
Bleach and vinegar were useless, nitric acid is not suitable for home use.

The most reliable chemical test is a professional probe. The simplest set for testing precious metals costs less than 1000 rubles. It can be purchased at jewelry workshops, some pharmacies, online stores.

Reacting with silver, the substance becomes blood-red, blackens or turns green on a fake. The reagents are convenient, they penetrate through the coating of any thickness. Be careful, the probe is very caustic and may irritate the skin.

How to distinguish silver from a fake, cupronickel and platinum on your own when buying or at home? There are several ways to test based on the chemical and physical properties of this noble metal. All products, jewelry or household items should have a test indicating how much of this metal is in the alloy.

It is put on all products made of alloys, which include precious metals. The sample is placed in the assay office, its presence is a confirmation of the quality of the product. The test happens, 960, 925, 875, 830 and 800.

The larger the number indicated on the product, the more silver in the alloy. If the thing is old and there is no sample on it, then there are several tricks that can confirm or refute guesses about the price of the thing.

Sometimes low-value jewelry made of silver is passed off as white gold. Silver jewelry looks like platinum. This noble white metal is often used to coat inexpensive metal items to give them a beautiful color and sheen. 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 is indicated, then it can only be silver. Platinum has samples of 375, 500, 585, 750, 958. The numbers indicating the samples of silver and white gold are different, and if you remember them, then there will be no mistake.

If someone passes off a metal thing as a jewel, then to confirm the words of the seller, 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.
Silver items can be confused with cupronickel. This alloy is also not magnetic and outwardly very similar to precious metal. To distinguish silver from cupronickel, you need to carefully consider a metal object. The letters MNTs are engraved on the cupronickel, and the product made of precious metal has a sample on which there are numbers and a woman's head crowned with a kokoshnik. If we weigh two similar things from cupronickel and silver, then the precious metal will be heavier than an alloy of copper, zinc and nickel, which is called cupronickel.
The questionable object must be momentarily lowered into water with a temperature close to 100 °. The high thermal conductivity of silver allows the metal thing to heat up quickly. Cupronickel alloy cannot heat up that quickly. Its low thermal conductivity has made it popular in cutlery making.
If a piece of jewelry with a silver coating is offered, then it must be remembered that it is easily damaged by exposure to sharp metal objects. It is enough to draw a line with a sewing needle so that a trace remains on the jewelry.

Application of chemical methods

All precious metals are inert and do not combine with most chemicals. Iodine cannot stain them. If a blue spot appears on the product instead of iodine, then zinc predominates in the decoration.
Zinc leaves dark spots on the body after wearing. If there are stains, then the product contains precious metal in minimal doses.
Silver nitrate in medicine is used 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.
School chalk will turn black from exposure to silver ions.
Silver items will darken when interacting with sulfur. When a sulfur-containing ointment is applied to the metal, a reaction will occur and an oxide film is formed.
If a chemical test is carried out, then a chrompeak will help to identify Argentum. It is applied to a cleaned surface, a reaction occurs that gives a red spot at the site of application of the reagent. Chrompeak is a strong oxidizing agent and a poisonous substance, so it must be handled with care.

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

Properly 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 the perfect appearance. They do not stain the skin, do not darken from wearing and contribute to the improvement of human energy.

I have never had this question before (up to a certain point, of course). Well, what's so difficult! There is a test, so everything is in order. But no, as it turned out. Fraudsters are not stupid, so they will not miss the opportunity to expose product test, even if there is almost no silver. Plus, samples appeared relatively recently, so on old things them at all it can not be. Once I got burned, so I share the information that I always use now.

How to distinguish fake silver at home

This is where I needed the knowledge of physics, which I hated at school. Main physical property of silver is his high thermal conductivity. There is no other metal similar in appearance to silver, which would change its temperature at the same rate. Therefore, we simply omit the decoration into hot water and evaluate what is going on.

This also includes products with silver: just silver plated thing fast won't heat up. One of the most effective ways to determine authenticity is small scratch. If there spray layer, then he will be erased.

Personally, I feel sorry for specifically scratching things, albeit with good intentions, so I bought lapis pencil. The thing is small, convenient to carry, helps with a bang. If the dash remains in place dark trail, you have real silver.

How to spot fake silver in a store

I don’t like to look stupid at all, so I can’t imagine how I will heat the ring in a jewelry store, breathe on it, draw dashes on it. And the seller is unlikely to like the idea of scratching the product in the store. Therefore, in order not to make experiments at home, get upset and run to swear with scammers, you should learn to distinguish silver from a fake. before the purchase.

In order to understand what kind of animal is in front of us, you need to pay attention to:

color;
weight;
tactile sensations.

Professionals just need to look at the product to determine the authenticity. Real silver is very very shiny. By the way, he often rhodium plated for protection against oxidation and mechanical stress. Such coverage does not rub off and does not leave marks.

Often they try to sell aluminum under the guise of silver, so keep in mind that silver is much denser and weighs much more than aluminum.

After you take a silver item in your hands, its temperature quickly compares with body temperature. But if you supported the thing and noticed a small coating on your hands, then know that a large amount of zinc was mixed there.

In general, the surest way to protect yourself from fakes is to purchase jewelry in large specialized stores. And if there is even the slightest suspicion of authenticity, then it is better to refuse the purchase.

Silver is a noble metal used to make both jewelry and household items, utensils. Although counterfeit silver items are much less common than gold items, sometimes it becomes necessary to verify the authenticity of an item that is in your home or purchased for the occasion. How to determine the authenticity of silver at home, we will describe in the article.

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, which is positioned as silver, must be marked with a hallmark indicating the metal sample. However, if there is no stamp on the item, this does not mean that the item is not silver, it is simply made in a country where the label is not required or the item itself is not certified.

Important! To determine the quality of a marked silver item, arm yourself with a magnifying glass and study the numbers on the hallmark. 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 contains 90% and 80% silver, respectively. Such alloys are considered coin-operated 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. Consider the main simple ways that will help answer the question of how to check silver at home.

Method number 1. By appearance

Real experts with a high probability determine the authenticity of silver by eye:

The metal reflects light well, so it shines a lot. The color of the metal is silvery white. If the product is not cleaned, then it becomes covered with a dark film and becomes dull, with a pink tint.
If you rub cupronickel dishes, then a metal of a different color (usually pink) will appear under the whitish top layer. Chrome - gives a bluish tint, and nickel alloy - yellowish. Silver does not change color - both inside and outside remain white.
Check the authenticity by touch: hold the item in your hand. Since silver conducts heat very well, after a while its temperature will equal the temperature of your body.
You can distinguish silver from aluminum by weight: silver is denser, therefore, in the hand it will be much heavier than aluminum, since the second metal is very light.
The product, in which many scammers mix zinc, will leave a slightly noticeable coating on their hands. Rub your finger on the silver jewelry: if the hand remains clean, then this is a genuine product, and if a darkened coating from zinc remains on the 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 sonorous, loud, vibrating, but not deaf.

Method number 2. Checking magnetic qualities

If you are just going to buy jewelry, then you can determine the authenticity of silver with a magnet. Swipe over the decoration with a magnet.

Important! Genuine noble metal is categorized as diamagnetic and will not be attracted to a magnet.

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

Place the silver bar in such a way that its smooth side is tilted at 45 degrees.
Place a magnet on the smooth side.

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

Method number 3. Ice check

Silver has the highest thermal conductivity of all metals. The ice test works well on bars, coins, but badly 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 very moment of the test, and then proceed as follows:

Take out the ice.
Place a piece of ice on a silver object.
Watch the ice carefully: it will melt as if it had been placed on something very hot, even though the metal itself is at room temperature.

Important! If you notice that the metal began to change color over time, this may not be a sign of its poor quality. Read more in our separate publication about one or another piece of jewelry made from such an alloy.

Method number 4. Chalk check

This is one of the easiest methods to determine the authenticity of a metal:

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

Method number 5. Using a chalk pencil

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

Wet the surface of the item.
Run the tip of the pencil across 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 precious metals. Iodine - has such properties. If you anoint genuine silver with iodine, then a stain forms on it. The greater the concentration of silver in the alloy, the blacker the spot will be and the faster it will form.

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

Method number 7. Use of sulfur ointment

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

Lightly rub the product with fine-grained sandpaper.
Apply a small amount of ointment to the surface.
Leave the item on for 10-15 minutes.
Examine the surface: a dark spot will indicate authenticity, but there will be no such spots on nickel and stainless steel.

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

Method number 8. Hydrostatic weighing method

This method is based on the principle of Archimedes. For its implementation, accurate scales are needed. The essence of the method:

First, weigh the object in the usual way and determine the dry weight.
Immerse the product in water and determine the mass in water.
Divide the dry mass by the difference between the two masses to get the density of the metal.
The density value for silver should be 10.5. If the density is about 7 - in front of you, most likely, tin.

Method number 9. chemical test

This method is used if you need to determine the authenticity of silver, and the product without a stamp. This method at the household level is used extremely rarely. It is mainly used by jewelers and laboratory workers. But if you decide to go into chemistry, then buy the usual reagent "test for silver" and rubber gloves, as you will have to work with caustic acids.

Instructions for using the reagent:

Remove the thinnest layer of silver plating from the item. To do this, swipe once on the surface with a needle file.

Important! If you do not want to leave scratches on the product, then use the touchstone. You can buy it in the same place as the test kit. Rub the object on the stone to get a relatively large piece of metal (several centimeters in length) on it. In this case, apply acid on the trace that remains on the stone.

Silver is a noble metal that has been increasingly counterfeited in recent years. Therefore, in today's material we will look at how to distinguish silver from other metals. Traditionally, all activities will be carried out at home. Please share your experience via the comment form.

Ways to distinguish silver from other metals

Before you determine the authenticity of silver, choose a method suitable for home implementation.

No. 1. Dark marks on the skin

Since you can check the authenticity of silver in a simple and understandable way, let's start with it. If, after wearing the jewelry, you notice that dark marks remain on the skin, most likely this product is made of zinc.

No. 2. Boiling water

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

No. 3. Needle

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

No. 4. Chalk

To understand how to distinguish silver, you need to use simple chalk. Guide them through the product. Black marks should remain on the chalk, so you can distinguish silver from other metals. If you performed the procedure at home, but nothing like this happened, then hold a fake in your hands.

No. 5. Iodine

If 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 clean from silver. If during the procedure the product has become stained and cloudy, it is a fake.

No. 6. Sulfuric ointment

Before you determine whether or not silver is in front of you, you need to buy sulfuric ointment at the pharmacy. At home, apply the product on a silver item. You should see the decoration darken a bit. 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 on the silver. There should be no marks left on the pencil.

No. 8. Nitric acid

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