Silver is not too expensive metal, especially when compared with gold, but it is faked with no less desire. And to buy a beautiful silver ring and then to find out that it is not even silver - it is quite offensive and unpleasant, because silver is still more expensive than silvered copper or other "simple" metal. In order not to get trapped, it is necessary to know some simple ways of how to independently distinguish silver from counterfeiting. But most importantly, remember that all these methods still do not give you a one hundred percent guarantee! Precisely say that, out of real silver or not, made your jewelry, you can only an expert.
How to distinguish real silver?
Thermal conductivity. Silver has a high thermal conductivity, therefore, as an experiment, you can dip your decoration in hot water literally for a second. Silver in a moment will be approximately the same as water temperature. Just do not put the silver in boiling water - from this it can blacken.
Needle. Also a convenient way of how to distinguish silver from the silvered thing is to scratch the surface of the decoration with a needle. On silver from this manipulation there will be no traces, but the silver coating, if it is thin, peels off and expels the metal.
A piece of chalk. Another method how to distinguish silver from metal is to rub it with ordinary chalk. Rub the decoration and look at the
Iodine. If you do not have chalk at home, then iodine, which for certain is in every medicine cabinet, will also be perfect. Add iodine to the decoration. If it has not changed color, then you have real silver, and if the place where iodine has fallen suddenly turns blue, then this is a surrogate.
Dark footprints. Many of us have long been accustomed to the fact that silver darkens during socks and leaves dark marks on the skin. But in general, it should not be so. If silver leaves too bright dark traces, and they quickly appear, it is only necessary to put on an ornament, then in this metal there is a very large admixture of zinc.