When choosing jewelry in a jewelry store, the look certainly falls on silver. This metal is no worse than gold or platinum, and many girls like it much more, but its price is much more sparing. But it is this precious metal that is often faked, and in order not to fall for the scammers, one must be able to distinguish the original from the fake.
About silver
Silver has long been valued for its beauty and physical qualities. In nature, it occurs in the form of nuggets, sometimes reaching enormous sizes, the largest nugget found during smelting yielded 20 tons of pure silver. Unfortunately, most of the silver that can be detected is found in conjunction with other substances, which greatly complicates the smelting of pure metal from nuggets. If we talk about the physical properties of silver, then its plasticity is given special attention, 1 g of silver produces the thinnest wire 2 km long, and also because of which this metal is considered precious and used by jewelers - its ability to not oxidize under the influence of oxygen.
About cupronickel
Cupronickel is an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc. Outwardly, this metal is very similar to silver, which many people use when selling fake cupronickel under the guise of this precious metal. Often cupronickel made dishes, less often jewelry. But in this case, how to distinguish cupronickel from silver? Customer reviews and experts say that the first and most important rule is to think about where to buy it. The whole process should begin with this. You will not need to learn how to distinguish silver from cupronickel if the product was purchased at a large jewelry store. He will not allow himself to ruin his reputation by selling fakes. Pawnshops and those wishing to sell jewelry “on hand” are another thing, such, most likely, will sell a fake.
How to distinguish silver from another metal
Most often, a fake can be found on vacation, for example, in Egypt or Thailand. In such places, jewelry is more often bought in the markets. Of course, it’s worth trying out the local flavor , but it can be too expensive if you are gullible. The easiest way to determine if real silver is to heat the product, for example, rub it on the hand, silver has high thermal conductivity and will heat up much faster than any other metal. There are other ways to distinguish silver from other metals and cupronickel using a magnet, needle or chalk.
Tactile way
There are several tactile ways to distinguish silver from cupronickel and other fakes. One of them was described above, namely, to heat the product. But, besides the temperature, after heating the subject with the help of friction on the arm, it is worth paying attention to the skin. If there are no spots on it, most likely it is high-quality silver, but the dark traces remaining on the skin indicate that the product contains too much zinc, which is harmful to the body, and you should not wear such jewelry or use such dishes.
The authenticity of silver can also be determined by the weight of the product: silver is much heavier than other metals. It is best done by a professional, but an ordinary person can determine the authenticity by simply comparing the weight of the product with a similar silver one.
Try
Also, one of the easiest metal authentication methods that can be used right in the store is sample verification. For a fake, if it does, it’s worn or fuzzy. The “MSC” badge, which stands for magnesium, nickel, zinc — the composition of cupronickel alloy — can also be a difference between silver and cupronickel. For goods of different production, the marking may differ, however, no country of manufacture has a sample with just the inscription “925”, there are always other signs - images or inscriptions, it is counterfeits that most often meet a sample only in the form of a number. This will help those who are wondering how to distinguish nickel silver from silver, but there were no available tools, for example, chalk.
Magnet
A less reliable, but still valid, method for distinguishing silver from another metal is a magnet. Very often I insert silver parts into products made of ordinary, base metal. For example, it may be the links of a chain with a breakdown. In this case, a magnet can help, silver is never attracted to it. But this method is not reliable, since not only does a silver magnet not attract, but nickel silver and non-ferrous metals also do not respond to a magnet.
Needle
Another common way to fake jewelry or silverware is to coat a copper or other metal with a thin layer of silver. In this case, an ordinary needle can help distinguish a fake. It is enough to scratch the product with it, and if dark metal appeared inside, then this is definitely a fake. However, this method is not suitable for those who are afraid to spoil the appearance of the subject.
Sulfur ointment and lapis pencil
Sulfur ointment, which can be bought at any pharmacy, will also help to distinguish silver: when rubbing this substance with a silver product, a black trace will appear on it within an hour. The only negative - you have to wipe the silver from black. There is also a way to identify nickel silver alloy, for this it is necessary to draw a metal with a lapis pencil - it will leave a dark mark on the product.
Iodine
You can verify the authenticity by another means available at any pharmacy, namely iodine. Cupronickel and other metals do not change their appearance under the influence of iodine, poor-quality silver, a large percentage of zinc impurities, will change its color to blue, but real silver, if iodine is added, it will turn black. But this method is also undesirable for those who do not know how to clean silver. But do not despair, the Network has enough tips on how to do this. The most reliable of them is to use a special cleaning cloth or silver cleaning solution.
a piece of chalk
Another way that you can apply in a jewelry store before purchasing a product is to rub it with ordinary chalk. From contact with silver, the chalk is covered with a black coating. Unfortunately, this method will not help if the fake is covered with a layer of silver.
And one more rule that should be taken into account when coming to a jewelry store or even more so when buying jewelry from hand: before buying a product, it is worth knowing the silver rate. Such information can be very useful if you know how to use it.
It is important to remember that the price of jewelry or any other silver product cannot be less than or equal to the cost of silver of the corresponding weight. The price indicated by the seller also includes work. If the seller offers a heavy ring or pendant for a pittance, it's a hundred percent fake. Accuracy and attentiveness when choosing purchases will help to avoid unjustified expenses.