Hello, I am relatively new at making beaded jewelry. My focus is earrings and bracelets. It’s important to me that I only use findings, spacers and bead caps that are silver plated or gold filled at a minimum. However, when my sister visited from Hawaii, I noticed the bead caps on her earrings were devoid of silver, leaving only a dull grey metal, after only 8 months. (Note that metal tarnishes rapidly in Hawaii.) So my question is, is this likely a case of believing I had purchased silver plated, when it actually wasn’t, or are silver plated pieces short-lived, necessitating solid silver? Once I determine an acceptable type of silver, does anyone have a link to a site that is trustworthy for purchasing these items? Thanks.