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How to recognize the different grades of silver

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Silver jewelry can be made of an array of alloys. It is important, if you are interested in buying silver jewelry, to be able to identify the grade of the jewelry items you are presented with. Whether you are at a flea market or in an independent shop importing or making its own pieces of jewelry, being able to quickly judge the overall quality of a piece of jewelry is a skill that might serve you to make the best purchases. Indeed, as anyone you would have guessed, the purer the silver in an item, the higher the value of the item is going to be.

Before we start is it important to note that most jewelry items are stamped in the back indicating the grade of silver used in the item although appearances can sometimes be deceiving. Bracelets and necklaces are often stamped on their clasps, earrings on the back or somewhere on the hooks or in the case of rings, on the inside.

The purest form of silver that you can find on the market is in the form of silver ingots composed of pure 100% silver. This 100% silver is not suitable for making jewelry because it is too malleable, too soft and thus the pieces of jewelry would degrade too fast for everyday use.

This 100% pure silver is thus mixed with some other metals to form a harder alloy that is more wear-resistant and can be polished to a nice shine.

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There are different grades of silver jewelry on the market.

• The highest grade of silver that enters the production lines of jewelers and independent makers is 950 silver. The number 950 means that there is 95% of pure silver in the alloy.

• The most common form of sterling silver is the 925 sterling silver. 925 silver is usually an alloy composed of 92.5% of pure silver and some other metal. Most often the metal that is added is copper although there are lots of other metals that can be included to form 925 sterling silver.

• Ethnic silver. Ethnic silver is low grade of silver that is most often used to make fake silver jewelry. It is easily recognizable because items made of ethnic silver cannot be polished to a high degree and will thus stay dark because of oxidation. Ethnic silver is usually unrated meaning that you will not be able to know what percentage of pure silver there is an item. Ethnic silver can often be found in jewelry items coming from third-world countries (Africa, Middle-East or South-East Asia). Items made in ethnic silver also cannot be repaired or modified as easily as certified 925 silver because they will make a mess when atempting to solder them.

Silver is a material that can easily tarnish depending on its grade of purity. Being that most silver jewelry items you will be presented with in shops and malls will be made of 925 sterling silver, it is important to be able to recognize what kind of alloy they are made of to judge their value.

• 925 silver with lead – lead is the lowest grade of metal that can be added to pure silver to make 925 silver. Lead-based 925 silver will tarnish and oxidize the quickest as lead is a very dark metal. You will often see dark patches all over items made with lead-based silver. Those stains and patches are the most difficult to remove even after thorough cleaning with a cloth or toothbrush.

• 925 with yellow gold – the highest grade of 925 silver is yellow gold based 925 silver. Unlike lead-based silver, yellow gold based silver will not tarnish so easily. And even if it does, your items will take a gorgeous yellow hue that is characteristic of their patina. Yellow based gold will be easy to clean and return back to a nice white shine after it is cleaned with a cloth.

• 925 silver with white gold – as with yellow gold based silver, white gold based silver will be easy to clean. You can easily recognize white gold based silver because of its very white shine that will not tarnish easily.

• 925 silver with red copper – one of the most common forms of 925 silver is red copper based silver. Red copper based silver will take a beautiful reddish hue when it oxidizes. Although not as precious as gold based silvers, red copper based 925 silver is easy to clean.

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We can clearly see three things in those two photos.

• On the first photo, we can see the reddish or pinkish tarnish appearing at the edge of the silver coin which is charateristic of red copper mixed in with pure silver.

• On the second photo, there are two things to note. As we can see, the ring has taken a yellowish hue that is typical of gold mixed in with pure silver. However, we can also clearly see a giant dark patch right in the middle. That dark patch is a sign that this silver has been mixed with some lead as well. Those dark stains are the most difficult ones to clean up on silverware.

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If an item turns red all over its edges after a few washes then what you have been sold is not made of 925 sterling silver but of silver plated copper which is a low grade metal to make jewelry as it is too soft and will keep scuffs and marks all over it.

Now, if you really have a doubts about a piece of jewelry that you just bought, the only amateur way of making sure it is in fact made of sterling silver is to use an at home silver testing kit. At home silver test kits consist of a small piece of graphite stone on which you are going to scrape your silver jewelry so as to leave a thin silvery mark on it. Once you have marked the graphite, you have to apply a small drop of acid (usually included in the kit) on the mark. If the thin silvery mark on the graphite stone disappears when applying the acid, the item you bought is not in fact sterling silver as sterling silver would not dissolve as easily and the mark would stay on the graphite.

Just make sure you scrape the smallest amount possible of material out of your jewelry item when your scrape it on the graphite stone and that you do it in a place where it is invisible (for example the inside part of a bracelet) so that your do not noticeably damage the item.

In some cases you can clearly see that an item is silver plated as red spots and patches start to appear at the edge of the piece. Those spots might only show after you have bought your item and used it for a while. While most people are not allergic to copper jewelry, those items might still trigger a small cutaneous reaction and leave dark marks (black or sometimes green) on your skin.

Those jewelry items are usually low grade and not worth the money that is asked for it.

Another way to spot those silver plated items is to look at their finish and polish. Copper is softer than 925 silver and the finishes will usually be a bit messy due to the plating process.

If you want to learn to take care of sterling silver jewelry at home, read our guide on what to use to clean you silver jewelry.

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