Is it real.......

[Duronaron]

Hi,

I have just received 40 chains from China. I bought them on the understanding that they were 925 silver, but I now have my doubts.
To me it looks like a small disk has been added to each chain with states that it is 925, so I am now wondering if only the disk is 925 not the whole chain.

Is there a way of testing it in the home to see if the chain is also 925?

Many thanks

K

[Emerald]

Hi K

I have been done before although very good imitation as the silver plate is only just wearing off after a year lol, if you taste them you can taste the base metal it has got a tang to it like putting you tongue on a battery but not quite so bad lol or if there is a link you could file slightly, more often than not it is copper underneath so it will show up against the silver but you could try taking to a local jeweller they can test it for you and they probably wont charge. Hope this helps

Emerald

[Duronaron]

No tang when tasted..........but a friend of a friend work in a high street jewelers, maybe I will give here one of each to test.

Thanks

K

[mizgeorge]

A lot of the stuff coming out of China, sadly, is fake. Adding a 925 tag or stamp means nothing - anyone can do that to anything.

I would sacrifice one to testing (though I've yet to hear of any jeweller that will test for free!). You can buy your own testing acids. I've tested numerous chains for friends (usually bought on ebay), often purporting to be Links of London or Tiffany, and only one of these has been real silver.

First, though, try running a magnet over the chain. Not on the clasp obviously as if it has a spring it will be steel, but no other part should pick up. Then file off a section - if you can see copper, then it's pretty obvious, but many are made of base metals, often including lead, nickel, steel, and all sorts of other things. If you then rub it between your fingers and smell them, you may notice a 'money' smell, which is another giveaway.

It's also worth remembering that a lot of cheap chains and findings are silver plated over silver. They're not fake, though the plating can eventually chip or wear away. Mass produced stuff is often plated in this way as it's cheaper than pickling and polishing.

Hope you're lucky.

[Matp85]

acid tests is the method i would use or if you dont have any file a little bit in a discreet area to check for plating etc.

ps george dont know how many times over the years i have had to polish and plate fake tiffany and co bracelets.

also i hate people who rhodium plate silver a nightmare to polish off in areas of jewellery but most of all silver is meant to be silver not white!

[Di Sandland]

acid tests is the method i would use or if you dont have any file a little bit in a discreet area to check for plating etc.

ps george dont know how many times over the years i have had to polish and plate fake tiffany and co bracelets.

also i hate people who rhodium plate silver a nightmare to polish off in areas of jewellery but most of all silver is meant to be silver not white!

Mat, you've just reminded me of a question that was burning me a few months ago - I wrote for a diamond site and all the rings were rhodium plated. Why - what is the reason for this?

[mizgeorge]

White gold usually seems to be Rhodium plated to make it, er, whiter! Again, I think it also saves some polishing.

[Di Sandland]

White gold usually seems to be Rhodium plated to make it, er, whiter! Again, I think it also saves some polishing.

That'll be it then George, these were mostly white gold wedding and engagement rings - some tasty indie designer stuff well out of my price bracket

[caroleallen]

I got caught out with these chains too. I filed a bit off the clasp and it's a dark metal underneath.

[Matp85]

rhodium plating should be used on white metals (not silver) to give it a greater color of white. As you know yellow gold is mixed with other alloys to make it white so being unnatural in color it can fade or blend in with the yellow over time. Since palladium has come on the market and is relatively cheap but a natural white alloy it is now added to yellow gold to give it a better stronger color of white, also palladium can also be used to plate metals which gives it a stronger more true color of white and when i have used it, it looks very good!

Many companies rhodium plate there silver stock so that they dont tarnish. Imagine the cost of having thousands of rings which naturally tarnish over time and keep having to have them cleaned or they can clean them once and rhodium plating and never need to again!