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Is there a easy way to spot counterfeit sterling silver?

I'm a amateur jewelry maker and recently purchased a large quantity of sterling silver earring hooks from China. There's a 925 stamp on the hooks but some look blurry and extremely soft. They didn't stick to a magnet and is silver colored all the way through when I cut a small piece off for testing. I suspect it's silver plated over some other unknown silver color metal. Other than nitric acid testing, is there another way to know if it's real sterling silver or fake?

Cyndi Lu
hobbyist - Boston, Massachusetts
September 9, 2009

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Hi, Cyndi. You obviously can't test without testing, but there are other tests that may be practical depending on your situation. If you know someone with an XRF machine (scrap dealer, friend in a university lab), it is easy to non-destructively test. Silver is heavier than most base metals, so you could also try to determine the density with Archimedes method.

If there is a manufacturer's name clearly associated with the product, I'd guess it's real. If there is no such chain of ownership, I'd guess it's counterfeit.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
September 10, 2009

Potassium dichromate solution (acidified with few drops of H2SO4) can be used for testing silver. Try to avoid any direct contact with solution or powder! Red coloured spot if object is silver. Hope it helps and good luck!

Goran Budija
- Cerovski vrh Croatia
September 14, 2009

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November 10, 2009

One simple test is to weigh the quantity of material. The cost of silver is around .55 to .60 US per gram. Did you pay a little more than that, say .60 to .85 per gram? If yes, this would make sense, but not proof.
If you paid less than .50 per gram, either the manufacturer made an error (unlikely), or they sold you something other than silver. I just returned from China a week ago. I can tell you that most of the cheaper findings are made in copper and plated with a nickel/lead plating. It is not difficult to find even finished jewelry there with .925 stamps and packaging that are actually made of cheaper materials. Some stores will even specialize in this market and all of their product will be thus labelled and stamped. Their business ethic is is more about "what people will buy" than about authentic representation. Some of them will try to fool you when buying in person, most wholesalers will be up-front about it. I would estimate that those businesses number in the less than 5% range. Most of the cheaper metals in China contain lead. Lead is inexpensive and it improves the flow characteristics. I prefer not to have lead content in my jewelry for health concerns. The only way to get lead free is to make a special order and the price goes up. This lead content could possibly make the material heavier than silver.
If I were to try to analyze visually, I would make sure that what I was seeing was indeed silver color. Perhaps by filing down a small pile of the material and then observing the color. Or try taking a (clean,rust free) hammer to it and flatten it down, wide enough to see.

Shawn Collins
- San Francisco, California, USA