Silver jewelry has a rich heritage and today it is making a big comeback. If you are after durable, elegant and versatile pieces for your jewelry collection, you can’t go wrong with this popular choice. As more consumers discover the beauty of this type of jewelry, unscrupulous jewelers have started selling fakes. If you wish to find the best sterling silver jewelry wholesale deal, you have to make sure the pieces are original. Nothing irritates as much as buying fakes only to discover when you take them for resizing, cleaning or polishing. In this article, you will learn more about silver jewelry and how to know the pieces you want to buy are real. Read on.
Sterling Jewelry in Brief
In its natural form, silver is too soft to make durable jewelry. This is where sterling silver comes in to play. This is 92.5% pure/natural silver with an added metal alloy mostly copper at 7.5%. 925 sterling silver is the result and jewelers have for a long time used it to make elegant jewelry. It is a durable metal which retains all the glory of pure silver but with added strength.
Sterling silver also makes hypoallergenic jewelry which doesn’t irritate the skin and these pieces are easy to maintain. Sterling silver boasts incredible versatility and you can get any jewelry to suit your taste. Jewelry designers love this metal as they have endless options when it comes to styling.
How to Identify Original Sterling Silver Jewelry
Now that you appreciate the outstanding qualities of sterling silver jewelry, it is time to go shopping. Of course, you have to be wary of fakes which have flooded the market. The following are some tips to help you find the real deal when it comes to this amazing jewelry:
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Look for the .925 Imprint
Jewelry makers have come up with an ingenious way of identifying original sterling silver using imprints such as “925”, “.925” or “S925”. These imprints represent the 92.5% pure silver contained in the material. When shopping for this form of jewelry, this is a good starting point when you want to identify the real thing. The .925 stamp is an industry standard on the inside of rings or the underside of a bracelet. The mark is small and you have to search for it keenly.
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Test How it Feels
You don’t have to be an expert to find sterling silver jewelry. Take the piece you wish to buy in your hands and test how it feels. Genuine sterling silver jewelry feels solid and has a decent weight. More importantly, it feels cold to the first touch and then warms up with time. Fake silver jewelry, on the other hand, feels smooth and light to your touch.
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Do the Color Test
Using a soft cloth, rub the sterling silver piece you wish to buy and check if there is a black color appearing on the surface. If there is black coloring, then you have a pure silver piece because 925 silver oxidizes when it comes into contact with air. It also explains silver jewelry tarnishing over time and should not be a cause of alarm. If it is a fake silver piece, the black coloring will not occur. The good news is that you can polish genuine silver jewelry back to its sleek original shine.
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Test for Smell
Most of the sterling silver jewelry fakes have chemicals mixed to create an impression of silver. This means if you smell your silver bracelet, for instance, you will notice a funny smell probably Sulphur or other chemicals. Genuine silver has no distinct smell and this test should help you find the best quality jewelry.
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Acid Test
A simple acid test should tell you whether the piece of sterling silver jewelry you want to buy is real or fake. A drop of acid on the genuine sterling silver piece should not cause a change in color. However, if there is a color change to bright copper-like color with a tinge of green/orange, this is a fake. Such color changes occur due to corrosion of the upper covering layer to reveal the actual cheap metal below.
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Magnetic Test
Genuine jewelry in most cases is not magnetic and this applies to sterling silver jewelry too. If you want to prove that what you want to buy is pure silver jewelry, carry a magnet or ask for one from the store.
When shopping sterling silver jewelry wholesale, make sure you inquire about the return policy in case you carry out these tests and discover you bought fakes. Always make sure you look for the 925 stamp and seek guarantees from the seller.
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