How to Check If Your Silver Is Genuine

When you buy silver garments from trusted retailers, you will get a certificate of authenticity together with your purchase. The silver piece will also have a stamp saying what is the silver content in the garment. The most common stamp is 925, which indicates sterling silver (92.5% of pure silver in the garment). The pure silver garments do not exist as silver itself is a very soft metal, which can't be used for manufacturing on its own. Some garments might also have another stamp which will indicate the brand of the piece. It can be a picture, a sign or initials.

But it is not always when you buy new silver garments from official retailers. Sometimes you buy used or pieces at thrift stores, garage sails or charity shops. In this case, certificates are usually missing, unless it is a very valuable antique piece. Some old pieces might laso lack stamping, which does not necessarily mean that they are not made of real silver. It can happen because the stamping can wear of or not be there from the beginning (for example, is the piece come from the country where stamping is not obligatory).

In this case, you might want to test your silver piece to find out if it actually has any value. There are many ways of doing it, and the easiest is to bring your piece to a pawnshop or a silversmith and ask to find out the value of it. You can also do it yourself at home, and the majority of such tests are pretty reliable.

The most reliable test you can perform is a chemical analysis test. You will need a special kit for it, which you can purchase online. Follow the instructions to perform the test and get results. Bear in mind, that in this case you will have to scratch the surface of the piece, so choose a spot on the back of your garment, where it  won't be noticeable.

There are also tests which involve simple techniques. For example, you can test your silver piece by testing its' magnetic qualities. For the best results, use a strong magnet. As silver has weak magnetic qualitites, it shouldn't stick to the magnet.

You can also use bleach to test your silver garment. To perform it, simply put a small drop of bleach on your silver piece. It the spot where you applied bleach will turn dark (tarnishes), then the item is made of silver. You can also rub some chalk on your silver garment (chalk will turn dark if silver is genuine) or drop iodine, reaction will be the same as with bleach. Keep in mind that it is harder to wash off iodine, so if possible, choose other methods.

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