Gyrogami Products

Metal Flowers
Kinetic Ornaments
Metal Origami
Last Rites List
Other

Gyrogami Blog - Precious Metals, Jewelry, Artwork

Silverplated or Sterling - Part 1

Blog Entry Index

Categories: Instruction and information

Word count/read time: 374 words; 1-1/2 minutes

Sometimes it's best to assume the (mostly silver but sometimes gold) you are buying is fake for one reason or another. Sellers make many mistakes like "testing it" positive for sterling silver when there is a silverplate mark.

This is a primer for Silver 101. An informed buyer can prevent many of the shenanigans.

Sterling silver is easy to identify. Aside from blatant fraud it's because the seller neglected to do any research regarding their item. The number of supposed professionals (antique dealers, jewelers, coin stores, and pawn shops) who misidentify silver is much higher than it should be.

Most countries use unique hallmarks. Each country has a silver standard that may be different than 0.925. British silver was 0.958 for a while, some countries use 0.835, others 0.900, a few dabble with 0.935, and on and on. There are thousands of different symbols for purity, location, date, and more. Most of the stuff in the USA will have markings with STERLING, STERLING SILVER, 925/1000, and 925 SILVER.

Sterling silver has a legal definition which precludes ANY silverplated item from being called sterling ANYTHING. Any silver item with 70% or more silver content is generically referred to as sterling though it's usually called 830 sterling (for 83.0% silver content), 950 sterling (a higher purity alloy with 95.0% silver), etc. In the USA it's 92.5% silver minimum so even a piece of 0.999+ fine silver bullion can legally be called sterling.

Copper is usually the remainder but there may be nickel, zinc, tin, and germanium. Older or suspect silver may have cadmium and/or other toxic metals, mainly in the solder.

Silverplated items can have many different symbols. It looks fancy with five or six different hallmarks. Certainly it must be sterling silver...right? I suspect these were designed to fool people into thinking their base metal is the real deal. Sometimes it isn't even marked, leaving the metal composition up to the imagination of the newest owner.

If someone tries to sell you anything fake or misrepresented, get away. They are trying to rip you off, obviously. On-line auction sites are littered with them but they hide in plain sight at the local flea market and traveling or seasonal craft fairs.

Part 2 is next.

Posted by M: July 22, 2014

Please email any thoughts or comments regarding this post.

Previous Entry . . . . Next Entry

Comment Section

NOTE: Your comments will be included in this section as long as they aren't illegal. This section is censor-free so show me your intelligence or ignorance and everything in between!

2024

Update Those Displays

Fly on the Wall

Greed Won Out

German Silver

Save It for Desert

Toeing the Line

Time for a Redo

USPS Is Broken

Not Enough Space

Jump Ring Stretcher

Nope! That's Not Green

2023

Mandrels

Twistin' the Night Away

A New Batch of Lazy

Industrial Origami

Just a Jig-olo

Seeing Stars

How Much Do I Know?

I'll Believe in AI When...

Making Chain Link Jewelry

I Used the Mother Excuse

I Can't Read

My 200

Jeweler I Am Not

Cuts Like a Knife

Rolling on a...Roller

A Matter of Perspective

Making an Earring

Laser Focused

"Made in the USA"

The Earth Is Flat

Review: Microfold Brake

Mining, Whining, and Pining

Toolbox Upgrade

Jewelry Lies

Spring Back or Jump Ring Ahead

Steel...in Pure Silver?

Food for Thought

Cloudy, Chance of Buttercream

Step It Up

Artist? It's Relative

Chemical Dependency

2022

Free Energy

Nose, Septum, and Cartilage Rings

Price Gouging

The Lottery Bite

Forgiveness

I've Been Served

Criticism Welcome

Improved Driver's License

Pinch-Cut Ring Excuses

Mind Your Own Business

Look What You Bought

Review: Rustoleum Floor Coating

Cleaning the Floor

Five-Star Reviews

Artist Collaborative

Not So Believable

Monopoly: A Bored Game

Responsible Jewelry

A Difficult Customer

Viking Knit Chains

Too Many Choices

Made in America

Are You Qualified?

Hallmarking and Selling

Just an Earwire

Apostrophe 'S'

Handmade Lie Revisited

My Private Idaho

Display Booth

Parameters

Synners, All of You!

Death of a Prototype

Get Jiggy With It

Doping Ain't Bad

Manufacturing Time

Toxic Jewelry

I'm Stumped

Elegant Impressions

Experience Matters...Sometimes

2021

The Other Seventeen Fifty

What Is Your Superpower?

Repurpose Your Heirlooms

It's All About Price

That's a World Record?!

Welded the Proper Way

Honesty Is a Bad Policy

Yep, It's My Fault

Don't Give Up

Sharpening a Pencil

Thanks for the Fraud

Recall Gone Crazy

Oops, Wrong Baking Soda

Four Days of Work

House It Goin'?

Hunting Flies

It's Only a Hole

Beauty Is a Story

Invasion of the Bugs

Changes Ahead

How Campy

Me the Not Gourmet

Aftermath

Scared Shitless

A Riveting Experience

With

Review: Disc Cutter

Let's Get High!

Movin' on Up

Clothesing Time

Lemonade

Closing Jump Rings: Fixes

Closing Jump Rings: Action

Closing Jump Rings: Primer

But Is It Edible?

A Short Pencil...

Stamp of Approval

Storm the Capitol

Wire Drawing Machine No. 2

2020

Man Versus Machine

Review: Durston Rolling Mill

How Much Wire?

This Holiday Season

Loop-in-Loop Chains

Byzantine Graduated Necklace

4:33pm Saturday

My Personal Jewelry

Chainmaille Finger Rings

Leather-n-Lace

Show Booth

A Most Difficult Bracelet

Location, Location, Location

It's a Win/Win But I Lost

Follow Me - I'll Bribe You!

Wire Drawing Machine

Unique, One-of-a-Kind, Custom

Clasps Everywhere

Reward Yourself with Jewelry

It's the Tumbler's Fault!

Riveted Cuff Bracelets

Boycott Power

Review: Tronex Carbide Cutters

Pricing Items - Labor

Pricing Items - Materials

Pricing Items - Your Market

Micromaille Challenges

New Earwires Are Here

Some Are Dreamers; Others, Weavers

Jewelry from the Stars

Barter: The Permanent Currency

Gerbil Exercise Balls

Solid Gold Chain, V6

Solid Gold Chain, V4 & V5

Your Privacy Is Yours

Solid Gold Chain, V3

Hypo-allergenic? Maybe, Maybe Not

2019

Solid Gold Chain Updated, V2

Review: PEPE Superior Ring Bender

Does Handmade Matter?

Quality Is Important!

Sustainably Harvested

Another Paper Cutter?!

Solid Gold Chain Updated

Eco-UNconscious Recycled Packaging

Celebrate Your Hobby

Internet Selling Venues

Review: Ringinator

Spoon Rings and Utensil Jewelry

Make It Stick

Aspect Ratio

Road Trip

Those Damn Findings!

Weld, Solder, and Braze

Ironing the Shower Curtain

Townies to the Rescue

A Lesson Learned

Let's Get Ready to Tumble!

Hardhat? For Real!?

Coil Winding Machine

Coiling Wire on a Mandrel

Which Mesh Purse?

Pre-ruined Jump Rings

Anatomy of a Bad Closure

What Picture?

The Lowly Jump Ring

Jewelry Has Meaning

Drawing and Making Wire

A Tactile Element

2018

Shop Local

Schwag Conundrum

Sterling Silver Plated

Custom Pumpkin

The Crucible

Energy Jewelry

Theory of Art

Assets Beware

It Sing Lush

Be a Better Liar

Cutting Jump Rings

It's Hammer Time

Building a Chain

Solid Gold Chain

Customer Service

An Unexpected Deal

Refining Process

Panning for Gold

Shipping

F*#k This

The Scrap Pile

Imperfections Everywhere!

2017

Craft Fairs

Corrosion Proof...NOT!

Conflict Materials Revisited

Ethics, Please!

Bigger Isn't Always Better

Value and Price

Handmade Jewelry

Gold What?

More Chinese Fake Silver

New Digs

Silver Is Special

2016

Chainmail Buyer's Guide, Part 6

Chainmail Buyer's Guide, Part 5

Chainmail Buyer's Guide, Part 4

Chainmail Buyer's Guide, Part 3

Chainmail Buyer's Guide, Part 2

Chainmail Buyer's Guide, Part 1

Things That Don't Exist

Chainmaille Not Welcome

Intellectual Property Theft

Know What You're Selling

Blinding Stupidity

Call a Medic!

Recent Commission

Bracelet Sizing

Extreme Jump Rings

2015

Holy Micromaille!

What Business Name?

Collectibles: Trash or Treasure?

Weights of Common Sterling Items

The Quest for Tools

Reporting Fraud

Jewelry Myths

Counterfeit Precious Metals

Conflict Metals, Minerals, and Gems

Softness of Silver and Gold

2014

Troy Weight Measurements

These Metals Are Not Silver Either

Testing for Silver, Conclusion

Testing for Silver, Part 2

Testing for Silver, Part 1

Identifying Silver Alloys

Silverplated or Sterling, Part 2

Silverplated or Sterling, Part 1

How Thin Is a Mil or Mill?

What Is Silver?

What Are Precious Metals?

divider

(c) 2024 Metals by Mark, all rights reserved