How to evaluate genuine sterling silver jewelry – the characteristics of genuine sterling silver jewelry

Tips for evaluating genuine sterling silver jewelry:

Color
Silver with higher degree of purity will make the silver jewelry whiter. The silver-white surface appears shiny evenly and polished on the jewelry. If silver is mixed with lead, the jewelry usually becomes gray; if copper, the jewelry is not only short of glossiness on its surface, but also feels rough in its texture.

Weight

Silver has a higher density compared with aluminum and copper, so silver is heavier than the two. If a piece of jewelry is big in volume but light in weight, it is usually made of other metals rather than silver.

Hardness

Comparing silver with the commonly seen metals such as copper, lead and tin, copper is the hardest metal among the rest, whilst lead and tin are softer than silver.

[Hardness (left to right: high to low) copper> silver> lead, tin]

Scratch on an inconspicuous area of a jewelry with a needle, the head of the needle will slip on the copper jewelry, and it is difficult to leave marks on its surface. However, scratched marks are seen obviously on ornaments made of lead and tin. For silver jewelry, traces may be left but they are usually not that obvious.

Sound

When metal jewelry is dropped on the ground, a jewelry of sterling silver will produce a clear and melodious sound without bounce. A copper one will make a sharp and high-pitched noise with hasty and short echo hitting the ground. For those made of lead and tin, the sound produced is deep and short, and the jewelry does not bounce at all.

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