Is Your Silver Jewelry Real?

Posted by Phoenix on August 31st, 2021

Archie had been eyeing a skull pattern silver necklace in a local jewelry store for months. He was eagerly waiting for his paycheck to arrive. Once that happened, he spared no time to buy it. But after a few days of wearing, Archie could see that the jewelry was losing its shine. That shouldn’t happen! So, he visited his mother’s jeweler to check the purity of the necklace. Turned out, what was sold to him as pure sterling silver jewelry had more metal alloys in it than 92.5% silver (sterling silver purity). 

Now, Archie is not the only one ever duped by a seller with fake or low-purity silver jewelry. You can become a victim of a similar scam as well unless you know how to make out the fake from real. That’s what we are going to teach you.

Test the Purity of your Silver Jewelry

You don’t need to go to a jeweler every time after buying a silver bracelet for men, sterling silver biker rings, or silver necklace for men. A few simple hacks can help you determine the real thing. If it turns out to be a bad deal, you can always charge the buyer and return the product, getting a refund. But before going that far, here are a few purity tests for silver jewelry. 

• Do you have a magnet at your place? If yes, then this is one of the simplest silver purity tests to conduct. Just take the magnet and hover it over the silver jewelry. In case the metal does not respond to the magnet, congratulations, you bought genuine jewelry. But if the magnet succeeds in attracting the silver, it means that the fabricator has mixed the silver with nickel, iron, or cobalt (the usual concoctions for fake products). You know what to do then. Get a purity certificate from a local jeweler and get your refund. 

• Sterling silver rings for men or any jewelry for that matter must have a hallmark. In this case, it should say .925, which means that the piece has 92.5% pure silver metal in it. That is the purity standard for superior quality silver jewelry. Any reliable seller should vouch for a hallmark in case you are buying online. If you are buying from a physical store, don’t forget to check the inner edges of the jewelry for the hallmark. Only after you are sure of the .925 stamp, then make the payment. 

• This might sound a bit difficult to come by, but one of the most effective methods; the acid test. You need to source the acid and put a drop of it on the jewelry. If the color changes then it is a fake, but if it remains unchanged then you got yourself a pure silver accessory. 

• Other hacks include fading of the jewelry. If the shine fades too fast, then something is wrong with the purity. 

Next time you shop for men’s cuff bracelets, silver chains, or rings, make sure to test the purity at home or check for the hallmark when buying. Online stores usually provide you with a purity certificate, so you are pretty safe when buying from reputed stores.