Tips For Testing Silver Jewelry That You Want To Sell
Do you have a lot of silver jewelry that you don't wear anymore, and you are considering selling it? If so, it will help to follow these tips to make sure you are selling actual silver jewelry and not fake items.
Test If It's Magnetic
The first way that you can easily tell if a specific piece of jewelry is real or fake is to test it with a magnet. Real silver is not going to be magnetic at all, and fake jewelry tends to be magnetic. This is not the only test that you can do, but it is an easy way to identify if a specific item is real or fake with minimal work.
Check For An Odor
You may not have known that real silver is actually odorless. This doesn't help you identify real silver, but it is another way to easily eliminate items as being fakes. Some metals have a metallic odor associated with them which is a key giveaway that it is not real silver. You can sometimes smell the odor if the item is silver plated, rather than being made out of 100% silver.
Check For Flaking Material
You can also identify silver-plated items by looking for parts where the silver coating has flaked off. If you see a part where it looks like there is a different material underneath the surface, then you know you have a silver-plated piece of jewelry on your hands.
Perform An Acid Test
There is a way to test silver jewelry that is known as a nitric acid test. It works by rubbing the jewelry item on a test stone, which is preferably done by using a part of the item that is not typically visible just in case it makes a mark. You'll see some color left behind from the jewelry on the test stone, which is then covered with a small amount of nitric acid. If the item is made out of real silver, then the color left behind from the jewelry is going to remain on the test pad once covered with the acid. If it is a fake item, the color left behind is going to go away very fast.
Check For Markings
Many pure silver jewelry items have a marking somewhere on them where the purity of the silver is identified and stamped onto the material. This marking is often very tiny, but if it exists then you know exactly what kind of silver the item is made out of. Not all pure silver items have this marking, but it can be a good indicator.
For more information on selling silver, contact a professional near you.
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