How to check a silver chain or. How to check silver for authenticity at home with iodine, sulfuric ointment, bread crumb, magnet, reagents, chalk, heat, by ear, a pencil, a silver test from a pharmacy, acid? How to determine to

14.05.2019

Silver authentication methods.

When buying precious jewelry in a store, there is no reason to doubt their authenticity. But often we want to save money and buy jewelry from currency dealers or directly in the markets. In such cases, it will not be superfluous to check whether the jewelry is real.

Iodine is an element that reacts with silver to form salt. Silver iodide is a salt formed that has a characteristic color. This compound is insoluble.

Instructions:

Keep in mind that the stain after the test can only be removed by sanding, so select an inconspicuous area for the test.
Soak a cotton swab in an alcohol solution of iodine and touch the inside of the ring.
After that, remove the stick and rinse the ring. Look at the result. A dull stain should remain if the item is made of silver.

Sulfur also reacts with this precious metal, so the ointment can be used for tests.

Instructions:

Apply a small amount of ointment to an unobtrusive area. This can be the inside of a ring or a clasp.
Leave the ointment on the ring for a few hours. After that, wipe off the product with a napkin.
A dark spot will remain in the place where the ointment was

How to check silver for authenticity at home with bread crumb?

Rye bread crumb is an old method of testing silver and gold.

Instructions:

Knead the bread crumb in your hands and stick around the decoration
Leave the jewel in bread for 2-3 days
After 2 days, remove the bread and evaluate the metal, if it has darkened or oxidized, then it is not silver

Products with a high iron content are excellent magnetically, but alloys in which there is little of this chemical element do not differ in magnetic properties. Silver also does not magnetise, so you can check whether this jewelry is real with a magnet.

Nowadays, you can buy an authenticity test at any jewelry store. It consists of a special acid that serves as a kind of indicator.

Instructions:

Take a small file and run it over an inconspicuous part of the product
Requires fine scratches to form
Put the solution on the scratch and see the color of the drop
Now evaluate the result using the table. Each color speaks of a specific composition of the decoration.
If you are worried about scratching your jewelry, use a touchstone. It can also be purchased at a jewelry store.
Swipe the jewel over the pebble to leave a trace. Drop the solution from the test tube onto the trail and evaluate the result

This acid is quite corrosive, so use gloves when testing.

AND instruction:

Run the needle along the back of the jewelry. A small scratch needs to be left
Apply some acid to the damage and see the reaction
If green sizzling foam appears, then the decoration is a fake
If foam does not appear, then drop a solution of sodium chloride on the acid
If the metal is natural, a white cloudiness will appear, this is silver nitrate
Acetic acid works in a similar way to nitric acid.

You need to scratch the jewelry a little and rub it with chalk. If the decoration is real, then a black spot will appear at the point of contact between the chalk and the decoration. If it is not there, then you have a fake in your hands.

How to check silver for authenticity at home with heat?

Silver conducts heat well and heats up quickly. To check the authenticity of the silver, it is enough to put a decoration on top of a piece of ice. You will notice that the ice will melt as if it were being heated.

This method is rather dubious, since it is necessary to have excellent hearing. It is worth throwing the silver jewelry from a small height and listening to the sound. If it is sonorous, then it is real silver, and if it is deaf, then it is a fake.

How to check silver for authenticity at home with a lap pencil?

This product can be purchased at the pharmacy and is used to treat skin ailments. To check the authenticity of the silver, you need to put on gloves and spread the jewelry on the table. Run your pencil over the item. If a dark spot remains, then you have a fake.

This is a normal pencil test. How to check silver with this pencil is described above. True, now such a pencil is difficult to find in a pharmacy, this product was widespread during the Soviet era. You can use iodine or sulfuric ointment. All of these can be purchased at the pharmacy.

How to determine technical and cutlery silver at home quickly and accurately?

Technical silver differs in its composition from real and table silver. Most often these are alloys that are used to make contacts. Most often, these alloys contain impurities of copper, nickel and iron. This silver is tested in the same way as regular silver.

The easiest way is to take a magnifying glass and look at the designation on the decoration. Now products are made with samples in the 800-999 range. The most sickly popular are products with the stamps 925 and 875. You can independently determine the sample, but the accuracy of the method is low.

You can determine the sample with a touchstone:

Take the product and scratch it. Apply some reagent to the scratch and observe the color.
If the metal is clean, the color will be bright red. If the color is beige, then this indicates the 800th test.
Green is already the 500th. The rest of the colors will give out the most common metals for silvering. That is, yellow color speaks of tin or lead, dark brown - brass, and blue - nickel.

How do you know a silver spoon, a coin or not?

The easiest way is to hold a coin or piece of jewelry in your hand. If a mark remains on the hand, this indicates a high concentration of zinc. Such a product is of poor quality and rather fragile. Pure silver will not darken.

There are many ways to distinguish real jewelry from costume jewelry:

Look at the sample... This can be done with a magnifying glass.
Take the item to a pawnshop and ask to be checked. There is a whole set of reagents that can accurately identify a fake.
Chalk. Just run the chalk over the scratched decoration. If a piece of chalk has darkened, this is pure metal.
Iodine. Just dab some iodine on your silver piece. A dark spot will appear on it. If it is jewelry, then there will be no changes

The most common home methods will work, each of which is described above:

Chalk
Iodine
Acid
Bread
Heat
Lapis pencil

Determining the authenticity of silver is easy enough, even if you are not a jeweler. Try one or more home remedies.

VIDEO: Checking Silver

Science in our modern age of technological progress does not stand still, because every day more and more new ways are being invented to turn it to the benefit of humanity in general and specific people in particular, including those who are not the most clean in terms of relations with the law and conscience - scammers selling silver, silver-plated and made "silver" jewelry. In order not to become their victims, you need to resort to the services of specialists, or at least know how to determine silver at home. This is what our article will be devoted to.

First, you need to know the properties of the material itself, from which women and men jewelry are made. Silver is a noble metal with high thermal conductivity properties, bends well and does not magnetise. Knowing this, you can offer several ways of how to identify silver at home:

jewelry, rings and silver cutlery easily absorb the warmth of the hand, and if a part of the item is dipped in hot water, then very quickly everything will become as hot as this water;
if you bring a magnet to a product made of real silver, then it will continue to lie in its place, since magnetization is not characteristic of noble metals;
the third method refers to a kind of extreme measures, which it is better not to resort to without - unlike a brass counterfeit, a product made of real silver can be bent.

In addition, there are a number of other ways to identify silver at home, such as:

rub the silver in your hands - if the product leaves traces, it means that it contains zinc, which indicates the low quality of the metal;
scratch with a needle - if the silver slides, exposing the base of another metal, then you have a fake;
rub with chalk - after contact with real silver, the chalk begins to turn black (it also works with silver-plated objects);
anoint one sold in any pharmacy, - real silver darkens when it comes into contact with sulfur (as in the previous case, it can also work when the item is simply silver-plated). The color is restored after boiling the object in a solution of soda with a piece of aluminum foil;
drip with iodine - when in contact with it, the silver turns black, and the higher the sample, the faster the reaction will occur. Another thing is that such blackness cannot be washed off later;
check the chemical reaction - drop it and then drop it with a solution of sodium chloride, as a result of which a curdled precipitate of silver chloride should appear in the drop (viewed under a magnifying glass). If the precipitate is crystalline, then we have lead chloride, and the object is a fake.

Some people are able to identify silver by its smell, but now this method has to be relied on less and less, because the scent of this metal can be imparted to the product by a fragrance.

We considered several options for how to determine silver at home, however, each of these methods allows a certain error, especially if they are applied by a layman. Therefore, to determine the sample and quality of silver, we advise you to contact a specialized jewelry store or pawnshop, where for a small fee they will give you an accurate answer to the question of whether the item is silver, silver-plated or a fake.

Silver is a noble and highly demanded metal in our area, which we constantly encounter in our daily life. Despite the fact that it is counterfeited less often than gold jewelry, the question of how to check silver for authenticity is still relevant. Below you will learn about the most effective counterfeit detection methods.

What you need to know about silverware

The first thing you need to find out about the present is that it always has a sample. A kind of stamp is put on the silver product, and this is not always the 925 standard. A similar figure is most often found in the CIS.

In each country, there can be a sample from 800 to 999. To find out more precisely about a product on hand (especially when it comes to an ancient and valuable item), you can always find what a particular stamp means.

A master of his craft will always be able to distinguish real silver by its appearance:

like some other noble metals, silver perfectly reflects light, from which you can notice a strong shine on it;
it has a peculiar silvery-white tint;
if you do not take care of silver for a long time and do not clean it, it seems to be covered with a dull dark film and acquires a pinkish tint.

By eye and touch

Are you unsure of the true value of your jewelry or silverware? Then you should definitely familiarize yourself with the methods described below, which will help you learn how to check the authenticity of silver at home. Despite their simplicity, they are quite effective.

With careful consideration, it is not particularly difficult to determine the authenticity of silver. Here are some simple options:

Shade	It is quite simple to distinguish the rubbed ordinary cupronickel dishes from silver ones. Metal of a different color begins to show through under the slightly whitish top layer. For example, chrome will give off a light blue, nickel alloy - a barely noticeable yellow tint. Silver, on the other hand, will not lose its color, remaining white both outside and inside.
Temperature	You can also determine the authenticity of an accessory with your own hands, just by touch. Since silver is, like, an excellent conductor of heat, it heats up very quickly and takes on your body temperature almost immediately. This method can hardly be called accurate, but people who are familiar with precious metals definitely know how to use it.
The weight	Distinguishing silver from aluminum is simple - just rely on their weight. The first material is much denser and, accordingly, heavier than ordinary aluminum. The product made of silver will be immediately felt in the hand.
Plaque	If the product is made of zinc, it will definitely leave a subtle plaque on your hand (if you hold it for a long time). Of course, this does not happen with silver.

Other ways to check

If you don't trust your tactile sensations, you can use more detailed methods. How to identify real silver?

Option 1. Magnetic experiment

You can use a magnet to determine the value of the metal in front of you. This experience is based on the fact that real silver does not magnetize.

So all you need to do is hold the magnet over to the item being tested - if it doesn't react to the item, chances are it's true silver. However, keep in mind that if you can get a super-powerful magnet, even this metal will react a little to it.

It is worth remembering, among other things, that there are many non-magnetic materials similar to silver. So such a test will not give 100% probability and should be carried out in conjunction with other tests.

Option 2. Slip test

This option is best suited for inspecting ingots. And it will also need a magnet. You need:

Install ingot on a flat surface with an inclination of 45 degrees.
Put on an ingot the magnet so that it can slide down.
For real silver, the magnet will slide very smoothly.

Someone may notice some inconsistency, because it was stated above that silver is non-magnetic. The point is that in this case, the direct magnetic field of the magnet itself will create a braking effect, which will contribute to deceleration.

Option 3. Ice check

Ordinary ice will help to check the authenticity of silver at home. Just don't stick it out of the freezer until you're experimenting.

This option is best suited for bars and coins, but it does not work correctly on small accessories.

Take the ice out of the freezer.
Put it down on the tested metal product.
Being on real silver, the ice will melt as if it were placed on something hot.

Option 4. Iodine-sulfur test

There are not many precious metals that are affected by other substances. For example, if you anoint true silver with iodine, a stain will remain on its surface.

It is worth noting that this method should be used with extreme caution, as there is a risk of damaging the jewelry dear to the heart. For its implementation, it is worth using a cotton swab dipped in a small amount of iodine, apply the product to an inconspicuous area and rinse it off immediately.

A sulfur-based ointment can also cause a similar reaction. You can buy it at the pharmacy. You need:

Rub the product lightly fine-grained emery paper.
To apply a small amount of sulfuric ointment on an inconspicuous area.
Leave the remedy for about 10-15 minutes and carefully examine its surface.
Dark spot indicates silver on the product. On ordinary stainless steel or nickel, there simply will not be such a stain.

Option 5. Chemical test

Another way to find out silver at home is to use a special chemical test. Do not be afraid, you yourself will not have to "chemistry" - everything you need can be bought at the pharmacy. Be careful when using this method, otherwise you risk damaging the surface.

The instructions for using the chemical kit are as follows:

Wear protective gloves to neutralize the skin of the hands from chemical burns.
Find the most inconspicuous spot on the product and scratch it a little. This can be done with a thin needle or metal file.
Apply purchased acid in place from which part of the layer has just been removed.
Evaluate the results of the test... You can analyze them according to the scale presented below.

You can learn even more useful information on how to identify silver without going to the experts from the video in this article.

Conclusion

Now you know several effective ways to test silver at home. With them, you will always be sure of the authenticity of your favorite accessories. And if some points seemed unclear to you, ask clarifying questions in the comments.

Silver is a beautiful noble metal from which jewelry, coins, interior items and dishes are made. And although silver items are counterfeited less often than gold items, sometimes it becomes necessary to verify the authenticity of the metal. How to check silver at home, read our article.

Pure silver has a silvery-white metal tint and is highly reflective. However, if left untreated, it darkens and becomes dull.

Test and brand

In order to check the silver for authenticity, first of all inspect the product for the presence of a sample and a stamp.

The brand may look arbitrary, and sometimes be completely absent on the product. As for the sample, silver items that are sold on the international market must necessarily have a marked stamp indicating the sample of the metal. The most common numbers are 800, 830, 875, 925, 960; pure silver - 999-proof.

Do not be upset if you could not find marks on the product - this does not mean that you have a different metal in front of you. Such a product may simply not be certified or produced in a country where the stamp is not required.

The numbers on the marking indicate the percentage of silver in the alloy. For example, the fineness 925 says that the alloy contains 92.5% silver, and the stamp 900 indicates 90% silver.

There are other ways to test silver. Let's consider them in more detail.

Magnet

Silver, like gold, belongs to diamagnets, therefore, using a magnet, you can quickly check silver for authenticity.

Bring a magnet to the item - if it is magnetised, then it is either a silver-plated item or made of a different metal. If the item is not magnetised, the chances are very high that you are looking at real silver.

Checking with a magnet may not give the desired result if the base material of the alloy is copper. So, cupronickel and brass (copper alloys) will not be attracted to the magnet

Thermal conductivity

Silver has the highest thermal conductivity among metals - it heats up quickly and gives off heat just as quickly. Try temperature tests on the product.

If you have a coin or bar in your hands that needs to be verified for authenticity, use ice

Take an ice cube, place it on the product and observe carefully. If the ice melts quickly, as if it were put on something very warm, then silver is in front of you. This test is suitable for flat items; it does not work well on small jewelry.

A small piece of jewelry can be checked by simply picking it up - in a few seconds the silver piece will acquire the temperature of your body. If a silver object is immersed in hot water for a moment, it will heat up to liquid temperature in a matter of seconds.

Remember that high-temperature exposure darkens silver, and in order to restore it to its original appearance, you will have to clean the product

Voicing test

This test is suitable for checking coins. When tapped, silver emits a ringing sound (especially if you knock on it with another metal). If you already have a proven silver coin, its ringing can be taken as a standard.

Gently tap on the silver piece (you can use another coin for this): if you hear a beautiful, open ringing when tapping, then this is real silver. If the sound is dull, it means that there is little or no silver in the alloy.

The silver service can become a family heirloom and be inherited from generation to generation.

Lapis pencil

You can buy a lapis pencil at a pharmacy. It is often used to test precious metals at home.

Wet the product and make a line on it with a lapis pencil: if the metal changes color, then this is a sign of a fake. Since lapis is composed of silver nitrate, it does not react in any way with either silver or gold.

Lapis pencil is a somewhat outdated tool, and it is not possible to buy it at every pharmacy.

Sulfuric ointment

You can check silver for authenticity at home using sulfuric ointment (sold in pharmacies).

Apply the ointment to a small area of the product and wait 2 hours. Remove it from the surface with a dry napkin and carefully examine the treated area: if the surface has darkened - you have silver in front of you, if it has acquired a different shade or remains unchanged - the product is made of a different metal.

The test with sulfuric ointment is carried out in another way: a small area of the product is rubbed with fine-grained emery paper and smeared with sulfuric ointment. After 15 minutes, evaluate the result. If a dark spot remains on the treated area, then there is a high probability that you have real silver in front of you. Metals such as nickel or stainless steel will not interact with sulfur ointment, and stains, accordingly, will not remain on the product.

To remove the darkening remaining after the sulfuric ointment, you can wipe the product with ammonia or put it in a soda solution.

Iodine and chalk

You can test silver with iodine.

In order not to spoil the product, carefully apply a small drop of iodine to the inner surface of the metal - a dark spot will remain on real silver. You can remove a trace of iodine after testing in the following way: put the product in a bowl with grated potatoes or sprinkle with starch - under the influence of starch, traces of iodine will change their color and acquire an imperceptible bluish tint, merging with the color of silver.

Silver is not only checked with chalk, but also cleaned. Crushed chalk is mixed with ammonia and a soft cloth is rubbed over silver items

A similar test can be done with regular chalk. Rub the silver with a piece of chalk: a dark spot will form on the metal at the point of contact. If blackness does not appear, this is a fake silver.

You can clean the jewelry with the help of available tools. How to do this, read our article "How to clean silver at home."

Bleach

You can check your silver with regular bleach. By reacting with a strong oxidizing agent, silver darkens. Using a toothpick, gently apply a small drop of bleach to the inside of the item to be tested. A dark stain will remain on the silver.

Keep in mind that silver-plated items will also pass the test.

Vinegar

You can test silver with vinegar.

Pour a 9% table bite solution into a bowl and lower the product into the container for a few seconds. Since silver is a low-reactive metal, it will not react with vinegar. If a white coating appears on the product or other changes occur, this is a fake.

A bite can clean silverware and dishes to a shine

Nitric acid

You can check silver with nitric acid - this test is considered one of the most accurate.

Wear gloves and a face shield, select an inconspicuous area on the garment, scratch it slightly to remove any protective coating, and apply a drop of nitric acid. If in front of you is a low quality silver alloy - cupronickel or silver-plated brass - a greenish stain will remain on the product. This is due to the high level of copper in the product. Under the influence of nitric acid, silver will turn dark, and sterling silver (925-proof) will acquire a creamy color.

Today in jewelry stores you can buy a professional silver test and conduct a chemical experiment at home.

Physical impact

You can check silver for authenticity by physical impact.

Rub the test piece in your hands for 1 to 2 minutes. If you have high-quality silver in front of you, then after rubbing your hands will remain clean, if there are zinc impurities in the product, barely noticeable dark spots will remain on your fingers.

Try testing silver with a needle. If you suspect that there is a silver-plated product in front of you, lightly scratch the inconspicuous (inner) area with a needle: a thin layer of silver can be easily removed from a fake, but nothing will happen to genuine metal.

All the methods described above will help to determine the authenticity of a silver product with a certain degree of probability. To get a 100% guarantee, take your item for examination to professionals: they know exactly how to test silver.

Brand check

Products that are intended for sale in the international precious metals markets must be marked, that is, have a stamp that indicates the purity of the metal. If there is no stamp, this does not mean that this is a fake - it is quite possible that the product itself is not certified or was made in a country that does not require a stamp.

Magnetic test

If you take a magnet that is equal in size to a silver bar, then there should be no interaction between them due to the fact that silver is paramagnetic. Only a very strong and large magnet can make silver interact with it, and even then such an interaction will be hardly noticeable. It is worth taking note of this information: in the world there are quite a few materials similar to silver in their properties, including magnetic ones, so it will be better if you combine the magnetic test with others. The advantage of this manipulation is that a small magnet can be taken with you to a store / shop and tested on site.

Home check

How to check the sample of silver at home? You can define it with a chrome pick. It is required to drop a drop of reagent onto silver and observe its reaction. If the fineness of silver is above 600, then it acquires a brownish-red hue, and the higher the fineness, the lighter the chrompeak becomes. Around 800, the color will be orange. If the 875th sample is higher, then it will already be red; after passing the 900th sample, it becomes already blood-red. This method allows you to find out the sample of the product with an error of up to 20 units.

Vinegar check

How to test silver at home with vinegar? Vinegar does not react to silver, so if you have doubts about what metal the cutlery or jewel is made of, you can dip them into the vinegar itself. True, here you need to be careful if you omit an item that is considered a family value. After all, the reaction can be very violent, and the thing will literally evaporate.

Iodine test

How to test silver at home with iodine? Testing with iodine is more benign. If you drop a drop on silver, and a black speck appears, then this confirms that the silver is real. Since this stain will be very problematic to remove, it is better to check it in an inconspicuous place so that you do not have to pore over cleaning it later. In such and similar checks, one must be careful because another metal may be silver-plated, which in its physical properties is similar to silver.

Thermal conductivity test

How to check the authenticity of silver at home? Silver is one of the best metals to conduct heat. Thanks to this property, there were once ideas to make power lines from silver, but due to possible attempts on them, they abandoned such an idea. But you can test silver for thermal conductivity. You need to take it in your hand and grip it well, it will instantly take on the temperature of the human body. If the metal is immersed in water, it does not matter whether it is warm or cold, then it will immediately take its temperature, which can also be used for authentication.

Definition by quality

How to check silver at home? There is one more, so to speak, household method of checking. It is necessary to take a thing made of silver or a silver ingot and turn it over in your hands, and not once or twice, but well. If the hands remain clean, then this indicates the good quality of the material. But if they are stained, then the silver is diluted, most likely with zinc. A negative property of such zinc alloys, in addition to dirty hands, is also the fragility of the jewelry. Many might argue that real silver jewelry can turn black as well, but blackening does not happen quickly. In addition, blackness can be removed by wiping the product with a special cream.

Features when verifying the authenticity of silver

How to check silver at home? As mentioned above, the metal can be silver plated, which will not allow the above methods to be called those that work 100 percent. In such cases, you can try to remove the silver with a needle. If it comes off, it means that in front of you is a metal that was silver plated, while real silver has too strong a molecular bond inside itself to be broken with a needle.

Use of special chemical mixtures

In jewelry stores, and sometimes in ordinary stores, you can find special chemical mixtures with which you can determine the authenticity of silver, even at home. To do this, just follow the instructions and compare with what happens.

As you can see, there are different possibilities to check if the real silver is in front of you, and it is not at all necessary to go to the jeweler for this. There are different ways: easy, difficult, almost instant, and there are some that will take time. But after several checks, it will be possible to safely say that the authenticity or fake of the metal has been established.

How to check silver for authenticity at home with bread crumb?

How to check silver for authenticity at home with heat?

How to check silver for authenticity at home with a lap pencil?

How to determine technical and cutlery silver at home quickly and accurately?

How do you know a silver spoon, a coin or not?

VIDEO: Checking Silver

What you need to know about silverware

By eye and touch

Other ways to check

Option 1. Magnetic experiment

Option 2. Slip test

Option 3. Ice check

Option 4. Iodine-sulfur test

Option 5. Chemical test

Conclusion

Test and brand

Magnet

Thermal conductivity

Voicing test

Lapis pencil

Sulfuric ointment

Iodine and chalk

Bleach

Vinegar

Nitric acid

Physical impact

Related videos

Brand check

Magnetic test

Home check

Vinegar check

Iodine test

Thermal conductivity test

Definition by quality

Features when verifying the authenticity of silver

Use of special chemical mixtures