How To Tell If Your Sterling Silver Jewelry Is Real 92.5 Published on: 14/11/2017 by Royi Sal Jewelry Team - 56 Comments If you’re considering buying 925 Sterling Silver and you are new to the jewelry industry, you will no doubt want to know the difference between pure silver and 925 sterling silver. Sterling silver is a popular metal used to make jewelry and other decorative items. Well, pure silver is not really made up of only silver. It has 99.9% of silver, and a small content composed of other metals such as copper. Sterling Silver, on the other hand, consists of 92.5% silver, and the remaining part consists of copper – mostly copper. This is the reason why Sterling Silver is popularly referred to as 925 Sterling Silver or just 925 Silver. The reason silver needs to be combined with other metals is that it is very difficult to make great designs with just pure silver, which is very soft and malleable. A bit of hardness has to be introduced, by adding other metals such as copper. That’s why jewelers are capable of making the most intricate and complex designs with 925 Sterling Silver. Why Would You Need To Learn How To Tell Apart? 925 Sterling Silver jewelry certainly does not come cheap. It requires quite an investment from your side, whether you are buying sterling silver pendants or rings. But it is a worthwhile investment as its value increases with time. What is very important though is not to be duped into buying fake 925 sterling silver jewelry from “unidentified sources”. This is a serious issue because many jewelers are known to sell fake sterling silver necklaces, rings, earrings and so on. Sterling silver is much cheaper than costlier metals such as gold, and yet, fake imitations of sterling silver jewelry are wildly sold in the market. For instance, it is common to come across silver plated jewelry that is sold as real sterling silver jewelry. These jewelry pieces have only a minimal silver content and are bound to deteriorate, sooner than later. A jewelry is considered to be fine silver if it contains 92.5% (or more) of pure silver but pure silver is too soft to be used without another metal. So copper and nickel are commonly incorporated to make up the remaining 7.5%. On the other hand, Silverplate is different from real silver because only the surface of the jewelry is covered with real silver and the rest of the item is made up of the copper or nickel alloy. 5 Steps To Help You Tell If Your Sterling Silver Jewelry Is Real 92.5 The “Hallmark” Test Inspect your silver jewelry all around for a mark known as a “hallmark” (you might need a magnifying lens for this). An imprint of the numbers “925” indicates that the jewelry piece contains 92.5% of pure silver. Other marks may be “Sterling Silver,” “Ster” or “Sterling.” Markings are normally found on larger parts of the jewelry piece where they can be engraved. The “Magnet” Test Hold a regular magnet above or near your jewelry piece. Pure Silver is not magnetic, so if your jewelry piece is drawn to the magnet, it is not real 92.5 sterling silver or more. Chances are that the alloy your jewelry piece was made has a different composition percentage. The “Weight” Test Another easy way to tell if your jewelry piece is real 92.5 Sterling Silver is by comparing it to an item of a similar weight that you know is made of real silver. If the weight feels the same, your silver jewelry piece is more likely to be genuine. The “Scientific” Test Here is where you have to pretend to be one of the MythBusters guys. Gather around some protective goggles and gloves and wear them. Then add a drop of nitric acid to a small silver part of your jewelry. If it turns green, it is not made of genuine silver. Nitric acid is a chemical with a high copper content, which discolors non-silver items. The “Easy Peasy” Test I left the easiest for the end. Try rubbing your silver jewelry lightly with a soft, light-colored cloth. If black marks appear on the cloth, the jewelry piece is likely to be genuine silver. Real silver oxidizes when exposed to air; this creates the tarnish that appears on the cloth when it is rubbed. In Royi Sal Jewelry we are proud of our fine 92.5 Sterling Silver jewelry crafts. That’s why since many years ago we mark ALL of our jewelry pieces with a 925 mark as a proof of Genuity. Additionally, we are open to all kinds of audits and lab tests as a proof of our quality transparency. For your next silver jewelry order, choose Royi Sal Jewelry. P.S. Like or Share this article with your friends and help to spread the love
Lee says 08/03/2018 at 16:32 Nice post, I am planning to buy an engraved necklace but don’t know how to tell if it is true sterling silver. Actually, I am going to give it as a gift, I hear that fake silver jewelry will turn your skin green so I need to confirm it before I give it out. Thanks Reply
Kookkai says 30/04/2018 at 14:12 Hi, Yes, As we are Silver jewelry producer, we stamp 925 on our every piece of silver jewelry Reply
Joan says 06/05/2018 at 22:46 What’s the difference between the 92.5 sterling silver and the 92.5 genuine italy silver? Reply
Kookkai says 10/05/2018 at 18:31 DearJoan, They both are sterling silver 92.5 My opinion 92.5 genuine italy silver is that jewelry made in Italy. Reply
Joan says 18/05/2018 at 00:18 I soaked my genuine earring (that i bought from known online shop) 92.5 italy silver from so called “agua oxinada” and after a day or two i was shocked with the result. My genuine earrings got tarnished both the earring itself and most of all the lock of the earrings. So i threw it in the garbage, can’t use it anymore though. While the earrings that i bought from overseas in a chinesse online shop, it didn’t change the color. I soaked it too from “agua oxinada” for two days and yet it did not fade or tarnished or whatever both the lock and the earrings. Could you give me the answer to this. Thank you Reply
Kookkai says 22/05/2018 at 13:19 Hi Joan, I guess, The earrings from Chinese online shop been plated by Rhodium so its shelf life is longer Reply
Joan says 06/06/2018 at 12:35 Is rhodium cheaper or expensive? The earrings that i bought from chinesse online store is so much cheaper. Reply
Nicolette Lynne Heneke says 11/06/2019 at 18:11 It is because there is a possibility that the base metal in NOT real 925 Silver! It could be some other metal coated with rhodium. Or it could be that the seller has very little overheads and passes these savings on to the customer. Only time will tell Reply
Robert says 02/10/2019 at 09:28 A 925 stamp can be imprinted by anyone and so just having that stamp doesn’t equate to a hallmark. A hallmark in the U.K. for example is one where it has first been tested by one of four assay offices with scientific equipment and then it is stamped with 3 marks. One for 925, one sponsors mark for the company who has sent this to that office and third mark from the Assay office themselves. The assay office stamp will be either a Lion, A Rose, An anchor or a Castle: London, Sheffield, Birmingham & Edinburgh respectively. Reply
silver jewellery online india says 21/08/2018 at 19:56 Very nice article. Thanks for sharing. Its very informative. Reply
Hotler says 09/03/2019 at 07:22 Bgm cara pesan atau mau membeli cincin perak asli ? Dan bila dipakai cincin perak asli apakah warnanya memudar atau tidak akan pudar ? Tks Reply
Raj Singh says 13/03/2019 at 14:39 Very informative post . Most of the people get confused in 925 sterling silver. By this post you proved that silver is the new gold. Reply
devs says 25/03/2019 at 15:09 Hi Raj Singh It’s our delight sharing this blog post. Thanks for your admiration. We will be posting more jewelry news and tips throughout the year. Stay tuned. Reply
consultora estratégica en sistemas de gestión says 17/05/2019 at 13:56 Sin duda en el articulo he encontrado unos buenos consejos. Gracias Reply
brad thompson says 04/07/2019 at 16:19 Wow, what a blog! You have shared a detail description about checking the sterling silver is real or not. Your blog is sharing a detailed knowledge about checking the metal. Thanks for sharing this helpful testing guide. It was worth reading it..:) Reply
Angela Waterford says 30/07/2019 at 04:43 I’m considering to buy some 925 Sterling silver necklaces for my child since she’s allergic to most metals. I think I’ll go to a jewelry store and ask them if I can put a magnet next to it to see if it’s real. Thanks for the tip that I should try weighing it with my other silver items so that I can assess if I should buy her that type of jewelry or not. Reply
Amanda says 02/08/2019 at 02:58 Just a correction: nitric acid does not contain copper. It is made up of nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen. When it reacts with nickel, the result is a green corrosion product, and with copper it is blue. Reply
Brad Thompson says 13/08/2019 at 17:49 A helpful & worth reading blog! Finding the real silver jewelry may sometimes tend to be a difficult task. You are sharing an amazing knowledge about finding the real silver jewelry. Thanks for sharing this. It was worth reading it…:) Reply
Carmela says 19/08/2019 at 14:45 “El ácido nítrico es un químico con un alto contenido de cobre” Eh.. no. El ácido nítrico está compuesto por hidrógeno, nitrógeno y oxígeno. Ni un sólo átomo de cobre. Reply
Jacob Dewitt says 20/08/2019 at 07:16 How do you know if something is nickel or silver? Niether are attracted to magnets. Reply
Dylan Peterson says 09/09/2019 at 22:51 It’s useful to know that jewelry made of high-quality silver will not be magnetic. My wife wants to get a new ring for an event in a few weeks, and she wants to make sure that the necklace that she gets is the real deal. I’ll share this information with her so that she can bring a necklace with her when she goes to the jeweler. Reply
Dennis Hahn says 09/10/2019 at 17:11 Efficient blog! The things that you have mentioned for identifying sterling silver jewelry real is much helpful. You are sharing a detailed knowledge about silver jewelry. Thanks for sharing this. It is worth following…:) Reply
Emily Ava says 18/10/2019 at 19:01 Danke für das Teilen!! Das ist wirklich eine großartige Erklärung Reply
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Sharon Walker says 08/01/2020 at 12:32 Very interesting , I know have information on 925 Silver. Thank you for your help. Reply
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Chris Pederson says 29/09/2020 at 03:13 Thanks for explaining how fine silver jewelry is when it contains more than 92.5% pure silver. My wife loves jewelry, especially silver because it is said to protect her. I don’t know how but I bet she would live fine silver. Reply
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Millie Hue says 08/02/2022 at 13:22 Thanks for pointing out that a silver piece of jewelry would have to contain 92.5% or more pure silver. I will keep that in mind since I plan to buy a silver skull ring for my brother. It’s for his birthday, and I think that kind of jewelry would be perfect for how he styles himself. Reply
ELEni says 08/02/2022 at 21:25 Thanks for clarifying. It has always been an issue for me to know how to determine whether the silver ring is fake or not. You helped me a lot. Keep up the good work1 Reply
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Raccioppoli Louis says 14/03/2022 at 12:37 Que signifie MBS 9,25 quelle est la signification de MBS Merci beaucoup Reply
[email protected] says 27/05/2022 at 09:50 Hi Raccioppoli, What is MBS stand for? For silver jewelry, the 925 is called sterling silver. It contained 92.5% of pure silver and 7.5% alloy. I hope this further information helps you and answered your question. 🙂 Reply
Sonni Quick says 09/06/2022 at 08:11 I have been battling with online sellers selling S925 jewelry claiming it is sterling. I learned the hard way 20 years. Big numbers of 925 stamped in the wrong places is plated. Online selling sites allow hundreds of sellers to dupe buyers because they make so much money from the seller fees so places like EBay and Mercado allow it to continue. Buyers don’t know what they are buying and often get sent something different than the photo. I confront the sellers. They get so angry. I’ve been selling jewelry for a long time. I can often tell just by looking at the photo. I put info on my own site warning people. If they even read the negative feedback it would keep them from trusting these sellers. I think I will use this blog post to refer people to. Most think that just having 925 on a piece of jewelry makes it authentic. Sellers tell me the S in S925 means sterling when it is really the country code for China. Reply
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