How to determine silver for authenticity at home?

Silver is a noble metal, from which are made as jewelry, and household items, utensils. Although forging silverware is much less common than gold, but sometimes you need to make sure of the authenticity of an item that is in your house or purchased on occasion. How to determine silver for authenticity in the home, we'll tell you in the article.

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How to determine the authenticity of silver?

In its pure form, silver is a very soft metal, so the products 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 makes it possible to use it in the production of coins, ornaments and other household items. Each product that is positioned, as silver, must be marked with a mark indicating the metal sample. However, if the subject is not stigmatized, it does not mean that the product is not silver, it is simply manufactured in a country where the label is not required or the product itself is not certified.

Important! To determine the quality of a silver product marked, arm yourself with a magnifying glass and examine the numbers on the stamps. According to international standards, the product is labeled with numbers: 925, 900, 800. The figures show the percentage of silver in the alloy:

• The figure 925 means that the alloy has 92.5% silver, and the rest - copper.
• Stamps 900 and 800 mean that the product is 90% and 80% silver, respectively. Such alloys are considered to be coin, since they contain a high proportion of copper.

Sometimes even the presence of a stigma with numbers does not give a complete guarantee of the authenticity of the product. Therefore, it is better to use the physical properties of the metal and check the object at home. Consider the basic simple ways that will help answer the question of how to check the silver of the house.

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Method # 1.In appearance

The present specialists with high probability determine the authenticity of silver by eye:

• Metal reflects light well, therefore it shines strongly. The color of the metal is silvery white. If the product is not cleaned, it is covered with a dark film and becomes dull, with a pink tinge.
• If you rub the silverware, a metal of a different color( usually pink in color) 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 it remains white.
• Check the authenticity to the touch: hold the object in your hand. Since silver conducts heat very well, after a while its temperature will be equal to the temperature of your body.
• It is possible to distinguish silver from aluminum by weight: silver is denser, hence - in the hand it will be much heavier than aluminum, since the second metal is very light.
• A product, in which many scammers mix zinc, will leave a slightly noticeable plaque on their hands. Rub your finger on the silver ornament: if the hand is clean, then it's a genuine piece, and if there is a darkened coating on the finger of zinc, a very small amount of noble metal is mixed in the product with zinc.
• If you have a good hearing, then throw the subject from a small height to a solid, flat surface. The sound in the fall should be sonorous, loud, vibrating, but not deaf.

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Method # 2.Checking the magnetic qualities of

If you are only going to purchase jewelry, then you can determine the silver for authenticity by a magnet. Spend on the decoration of the magnet.

Important! Genuine noble metal belongs to the category of diamagnetics and will not be attracted to the magnet.

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

1. Place the ingot of silver so that its smooth side is inclined at 45 degrees.
2. Place the magnet on the smooth side.

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

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Method # 3.Ice check

Silver has the highest thermal conductivity among all metals. The ice test works well on ingots, coins, but badly on small jewelry. Use this method if you have a question about how to check a coin for silver left over from previous generations.

Keep ice in the freezer until the test is carried out, and then proceed as follows:

1. Remove the ice.
2. Place a piece of ice on a silver object.
3. Watch the ice carefully: it will melt, as if it was put on something very hot, although the metal itself has room temperature.

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Method # 4.Chalk check

This is one of the simplest methods for determining the authenticity of metal:

1. Rub a silver product with chalk.
2. If the chalk has turned black, this is silver.

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Method # 5.Using a pencil

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

1. Moisten the surface of the object.
2. Draw the tip of the pencil over the metal.

Important! After a few minutes, the noble metal should darken at the point of contact with the pencil.

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Method # 6.How to check silver with iodine

Very few substances can act on noble metals. Iodine - has such properties. If you anoint the original silver with iodine, then a spot is formed on it. The greater the concentration of silver in the alloy, the blacker the stain and the faster it will form.

Important! Use this method very carefully, because you can ruin a beautiful product. For the experiment, choose a low-profile area and apply a minimum of cotton swabs. After applying iodine, immediately wipe it with a cotton pad.

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Method # 7.Use of sulfuric ointment

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

1. Slightly rub the product with fine-grained emery paper.
2. Apply a small amount of ointment to the surface.
3. Leave the subject for 10-15 minutes.
4. Inspect the surface: a dark speck will indicate authenticity, and on nickel and stainless steel there will be no such spots.

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

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Method # 8.Hydrostatic weighing method

This method is based on Archimedes' law. To implement it you need an accurate balance. Essence of the method:

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

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Method # 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 extremely rare. It is used mainly by jewelers and laboratories. But if you decide to do chemistry, then buy an ordinary reagent "test for silver" and rubber gloves, since you have to work with caustic acids.

Instructions for the use of the reagent:

1. Remove the finest layer of silver coating from the object. To do this, once through the surface nadfilem.

Important! If you do not want to leave scratches on the product, then use the test stone. You can buy it in the same place as the set of reagents for the test. Rub the object on the stone so that it produces a relatively large metal residue( several centimeters in length).Acid in this case, put on the trail, which remained on the stone.

1. Prepare assay acid: 1 part pure nitric acid and 1 part sodium dichromate or use a ready test.
2. Apply the acid to the part of the product with which a small layer of metal has been removed.
3. The surface will shine, as if it had been polished.
4. Evaluate the test results. Pay attention to the color of the surface on which the acid is applied. A color chart is attached to the test application. Usually, it looks like this:
   • Bright red color - pure silver.
   • Dark red - 925 test of silver.
   • Brown - 800 test.
   • Green - 500 sample.
   • Yellow - tin and lead.
   • Blue is nickel.
   • Dark brown - brass.

All available and known methods have one significant drawback - they are superficial and do not give a 100% guarantee that the product is not silver-plated. To make sure that the object is made of silver, it is necessary to make a nail and check the quality of the noble metal in the place of the nag. Therefore, only one piece of advice - try to buy silver products in proven places. Let your life be genuine!