The jeweler will most likely conduct a simple and quick acid test that involves using a special solution. In this test, they place a drop of acid on the piece. If the color of the acid remains the same, you have a true silver piece.
Look for the 925 marking.Genuine sterling silver jewelry will be marked with these three numbers or STERLING or STER. Hold a magnet to the silver. If the magnet sticks, your jewelry is not real sterling silver.
The Magnet Test
"Silver is not noticeably magnetic, and exhibits only weak magnetic effects unlike iron, nickel, cobalt, and the like," says Martin. "If your magnet sticks strongly to the piece, it has a ferromagnetic core and is not silver." Fake silver or silver-plated items are generally made of other metals.
Q: Is Real Silver Required to Have a Stamp? A: Short answer, yes. The 925 stamp or hallmark is overseen by the United States government in order to protect consumers. It is illegal for any plated or fake silver item to be stamped or hallmarked with “sterling" or 925.
There is an exemption to the hallmarking rules whereby any sterling silver items that weigh less than 7.78 grams do not need to be hallmarked. This means that small items such as earrings and some light bracelets do not need to be hallmarked.
Markings
There are markings such as “S925”, “. 925”, and “925”. This gives assurance that the silver is indeed a 925 sterling silver. However, there are some sterling silver that don't have these marks so don't directly assume that the silver is fake if it doesn't have the mentioned markings.
Ice Cube Test
All you have to do is place an ice cube on top of the piece of silver and see how fast it melts. The ice melts rapidly, even at room temperature, if the silver is real. Thermal conductivity easily passes heat through. However, if the silver is fake, the ice will melt slowly.
If you do not see the sterling marking, the item is probably silver plated. Check the colouring of the item carefully; genuine silver is generally less shiny and colder in tone than silverplate. If you see places where the silver appears to be flaking off or turning green, the item is silver plated.
Apply a drop of acid to the scratched surface only.
Alternatively, use a drop of vinegar (which is highly acidic) on the scratched piece. If it's real silver, the surface won't get tarnished. If the silver is fake, it will tarnish.
Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver. In this form the metal is beautiful and suffers from minimal tarnish, but it's generally too soft and malleable for many uses, including making most silver jewellery. Instead fine silver is alloyed with copper to create sterling silver, which is 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper.
Your 925 silver is valuable and is certainly worth selling if this is something you wish to do. Though knowing how much your silver is worth can be difficult to determine without an appraisal. How much silver you are selling and the current value of silver can influence what your item can be sold for.
Pure silver, as you might have guessed, is made up of almost 100% silver. Because of this, it is very soft and pliable...not ideal for handmade jewelry like ours. Sterling silver, however, is composed of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, like copper, nickel, or zinc.
Most silver-plated items will stick to a magnet since they have a metal alloy base dipped in silver, but sterling silver will not.
Silver is a very reactive metal. It loses its original shine because it chemically reacts to your physical composition and environment. Sweat, sickness or a boozy weekend can all change your body chemistry causing your silver to turn black.
Is silver plate worth anything? Silver plate cannot be melted down and re-sold as sterling silver can, which makes it less valuable than sterling silver. However, there is value in silver plated items which comes less from the value of the silver content than the age, maker and quality of the item.
Just place a drop of bleach on the silver item. If it tarnishes after coming in contact with oxidising chemicals like bleach then it is real silver. Real silver will turn black when exposed to bleach.
In the event that you need to test the authenticity of silver with a magnet, you will want to use a small yet strong magnet. Ideally, you could use a Neodymium disc magnet or a similar bar magnet to carry out these tests.
Silver testing via acid solutions "Scratch and test" is the classic way of testing silver items. This method is best used on scrap gold to be smelted due to the destructive nature of the testing. NOTE: The scratch method can be used on silver jewelry pieces that are worn if the testing if done in an inconspicuous spot.
Since sterling silver has a lower percentage of silver than pure silver, sterling silver is less expensive. Of the three types of metals, it's typically the least expensive choice. You'll also find more jewelry options in sterling silver since it's a more accessible material to mold into different shapes.
Pure silver, like pure gold, does not rust or tarnish.
While jewelry that's made of pure silver or gold doesn't tarnish, cheaper alloys in fake jewelry will start to change colors and oxidize over time. If you have fake jewelry that's lost its original shine or color, there are easy ways that you can clean and polish it at home.