Spratling | Irish Celtic Jewelry Mystery

Mexican Taxco Sterling

How to check your purchase Silver Quality

I was the other day and came across a charity sale of handmade jewelry by the recipients of charity themselves in order to help support the charity that you hold. Great idea, I thought, these people are learning a trade and how to run a business and earn more respect and confidence in themselves as showing that we get out of poverty. "Teaching how to fish" is one of my favorite quotes.

Of course immediately decided to support them, and checked through the jewelry store in search of some pieces to give my grandchildren. When asked if some of the pieces were made of silver, I was assured that cute silver bracelets made for children were definitely the silver and not to 'go green' on the skin. I must admit I doubted such pieces Silver was cheap quality, but buy it anyway and then gave them to my grandchildren and enjoyed the sparkle in their eyes as much as the gleam in his arms. However, when end of the day, both girls had guns "green."

Now this was a charity and it was not important that this happened, but that made me think that many people, as I take the word of the seller and find out later that this issue was not silver at all, or certainly not enough of silver to be called silver. This is fine when you buy from a charity, I would have given the money anyway, but what if you have paid a good price for something you think or were told was the money for quality?

What do you look for when buying silver?

How can you say silver sterling silver of good quality or low quality silver?

If you are looking to make sure you buy an item from Sterling Silver these are the signs to look for:

Check the end (if one) normally found in the close is a small label (you may need a magnifying glass), with the initials "SS" or numbers ".925", which indicates that this piece is sterling silver or silver. If the label says it's called Silver and .999 Fine which is 99% pure, which also means it is softer, or 900 means that the silver coin is quality, this is not sterling, being of good quality and more difficult. Beware of unscrupulous vendors who put a clip of pounds on an item of low quality, this is where you check the compatibility of colors between the closure and the item itself.

If the item has a label that contains the numbers 750 or 825 this is the silver quality remains good, however, is excellent, is it china or silverware and the fact that it is not required to pay the higher price for the item. Other possible marks are "German silver, no" Indian Silver, "" silver Omtana "Mexican Silver", "Taxco Silver," this does not necessarily mean that silver is of good quality without But a little research in the area the subject comes from the desire to give you an idea. Most Mexicans or silver of Taxco is one of the largest silver mines of world and therefore tends to be high quality silver as it is so available there.

Other names to watch are "Alpaca or alpacca" This is why general "alpaca" and often contains no silver at all but rather a mixture of nickel, copper and zinc, other Asian countries also have many grades of silver and therefore you must prove your silver before you buy.

If you are buying a title = "Rings Jewelry Gallery"> pendant or a ring or other item of silver which has no closure yet to be marked or stamped in the same way in any place on the subject in a unobstrusive. If you see the letters SP this is a sign of the silver plate and this is not sterling silver but has a silver lining has been plated in electrum. PLATING been done since ancient times and even electroplated silver pieces have been found in the pyramids.

If you can not find a mark or seal on the work and looking for silver, does not mean it is silver, many countries require that the articles are sealed in metal precious. However, there is a way to prove if you really want and I think it's worth the time and trouble to do so. Silver can be tested with nitric acid, I would advise take it to a jeweler or pawn shop to do this because involvea using an acid that can burn skin. To apply to make a small mark on the item in an inconspicuous place and apply a drop of nitric acid at the site. If the point becomes a creamy color that is high quality silver, usually sterling. If it becomes black, silver coin is the quality and if it turns green you have large amounts of copper and therefore is of low quality silver and gold color means a lot metal which means this is an issue silver.

A simpler way to test is simply using a magnet, silver itself is not magnetic all so the higher the content of other metals are likely to be of poor quality. However, many other metals are not magenetic well and this is not a test of purity alone.

At times there is a piece that is not sterling silver, but still high quality is a good price, this will only by the silversmith who designed this piece is a true craftsman and his designs are known and collected for their uniqueness as spare title = "The Gallery of Jewels"> dress art. If you are being sold a piece of this announcement to ensure that the vendor can support their claims, showing that awards or accolades that the designer has won and a certificate of authenticity that the piece was really designed for that person.

About the Author

Annie Rob is a creative web consultant who write articles, blogs and presents on topics for her growing client list. Annie has a Masters in NLP, Coaching and a Grad Dip in Education as well as being a writer, presenter and Web Business visionary.