With genuine interest in silver, many people collect sterling silver jewelry. Sterling silver contains at least 92.5% of pure silver. Jewelry acquired from unknowledgeable persons or outright criminals can result in fervent dissatisfaction. Brass or copper covered with an electroplated layer of sterling silver shines nicely for awhile, many times labeled 'SP' (silver plated) and might be worth buying if we know that it is plated. But when others deceive by charging pure sterling silver prices on unlabeled jewelry, we will likely get a little upset when we discover fraud. Collectors and anyone intent on certainly knowing the quality of the silver that they purchase learn how to test for authenticity and purity, leaving no room for question.
Silver-looking pieces contain base metals polished up to resemble silver. But sterling silver jewelry is generally labeled '.925' for its purity or may be marked 'SS' (sterling silver). We shouldn't assume anything about the content of silver if the jewelry lacks these markings. Many times, a clasp reveals the '.925' or 'SS' that we can better see with a jeweler's magnifying glass. We must then check the color of the clasp against the color of the rest of the piece because we just don't know that one plus one equals two pieces of sterling silver. Check the pendant, too, if the piece includes one.
Our Testing Kit should include a jeweler's file, as well. The tests we do will only detect the presence and purity of silver. Without scratching an inconspicuous place on the piece, enough to remove a slight portion of the plating possibly present, our test when done directly on the metal will only show the silver content of the thin layer covering the jewelry. Conversely, sometimes sterling silver, itself, is plated with fine silver, 99.9% pure, giving even a greater brilliance to the shine.
We must handle the most useful part of the kit with caution-nitric acid; the corrosive nature of the sour substance can severely burn us. Keep sodium bicarbonate or baking soda with a first aid kit to neutralize the remaining acid after flushing with a lot of water, in case of skin contact.
Our kit should also include a rectangular acid testing stone, black in color. With this set-up, we must press the piece of jewelry we want to test firmly against the black stone and scratch it along the stone for about an inch. We want a large, thick, noticeable mark brought to bear on the black stone. When we expose a drop of the acid used in the test to the deposit of silver scratched on the black stone, the chemical reaction will produce one of a variety of colors, which will indicate the presence of silver and its purity. Consider the black color background of the stone in your visual check of the following colors you may see. You shall see a creamy color when the reaction conveys a 90 to 100% silver purity, a gray color conveys 77 to 90% purity, and a light green conveys 65 to 75% silver and probably means it's a plated piece of base metal. You can also scratch through the possible plating in an inconspicuous place on the jewelry, and apply a drop directly to the piece. It will, however, dull it there and leave a mark where where we apply the acid.
Check online for a choice of suppliers to obtain a kit. Test some unique silver bracelets.
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