How to Buy Silver Jewelry

Silver, along with gold, palladium, and platinum, is a precious metal. These are rare metals. Silver has been used since 3000 BC and is valued for its number of uses. Silver has been a favorite metal for jewelry because of its easy pliability and beautiful color.

When most people think of silver, they think of jewelry. However, jewelry is not the only use for which silver is famed. In fact, because silver is antibacterial and an excellent conductor of electricity, it has been used in many medical and technological fields.

TYPES OF SILVER 

There are many varieties of silver on the market. Of these, sterling silver, pure silver and silver plate are the most commonly known and used.

Sterling silver

Sterling silver is an alloy composed of 92.5% of silver and 7.5% of some other metal, commonly copper or nickel. These metals bring strength, durability, and an extra luster to the silver.  This composition makes for a stronger variety of silver, which is the quality standard jewelry. This is an established silver standard, having originated in around 1300. The standard for sterling silver was popularized by Tiffany and Co in America as they used this for their jewelry.

925 mark on silver

Fine silver

Fine silver is the variety that is closet to pure silver. It is 99.9% silver and is identified by the hallmark .999. The other .1% is made up of slight trace elements that are not of significant quantity.

However, although it may seem that purer silver is better, in reality, it is much too soft to be used in jewelry. It is easily damaged and malleable, and loses shape over time. Fine silver is suitable for jewelry items such as earrings and pendants rather than items that will be exposed to rough wear.

Silver plate

If you are familiar with the gold plate, you will notice that the silver plate is the same thing. It is essentially a thin layer of silver-coated over another base metal, usually copper. As you can imagine, the silver plate has much less silver than fine silver and sterling silver. It is not valuable than those other forms and over time, the plating can discolor and flake off.

WHAT TYPE OF SILVER SHOULD I BUY?

Sterling silver is the quality standard jewelry. If you are looking for high-quality, you should buy sterling silver.

Genuine sterling silver should have a hallmark that identifies it as such. There are several versions of sterling silver hallmark. You may see .925 stamped on the silver. Alternately look for the words STER, STERLING, STG, or Sterling Silver. If the silver has the number 800 stamped on it, it could very well be of European origin.

If you are worried whether sterling silver is durable, rest easy. This is a hard metal that will last through the ages. If any surface scratches or damage occurs, sterling silver can easily be polished back to its smooth shine. In addition to that, resizing and repairs are very reasonably priced, so maintaining sterling silver jewelry is easily done.

Is sterling silver valuable?

Sterling silver is much more affordable than its precious metal counterparts, gold, palladium and platinum. This is because there is more silver mined than the other precious metals.

Regardless, it is one of the most beautiful metals with exceptional color and sheen. Because it is a very small fraction of the cost of gold or platinum, sterling silver is perfect for every budget and jewelry lover.

FINDING THE BEST SILVER JEWELRY

Whether you buy your sterling silver online or at a physical store, there are several factors to consider to ensure you don’t get ripped off.

Luckily, it is definitely possible to make sure you are choosing the best silver jewelry crafted by real artisans and designed to last you a lifetime.

1. Inspect the price of the best silver Jewelry

Sterling silver is a valuable precious metal, and this is going to be reflected in the price of the product. One of the ways that you can make sure you’re getting the best silver jewelry out there is to do a simple comparison of prices.

Start by checking out the current market price for sterling silver. This will at the very least give you a baseline to work from when assessing the prices of the jewelry you want to buy.

If this doesn’t help too much, take a look at the asking price for the piece(s) you have in mind. Shockingly cheap prices may be a good indication that the silver is not high quality, or even fake.

Be wary of massive discounts as well, or blowout sales that sell bulk sterling silver pieces.

2. Look for silver-grade specifications

Real silver jewelry will have certain markings that distinguish it as the real deal.

These hallmarks will be located in a discrete place on your jewelry and will be incredibly tiny. You’ll likely need a magnifying glass and strong lighting in order to check for them.

If you’ve already purchased your silver, this is a great way to physically inspect the product and tell if you’ve got true silver on your hands. Sterling silver will say STERLING or .925. 

Both of these markings will indicate good quality silver jewelry.

If you see EPNS, however, you may have a subpar jewelry piece on your hands. EPNS stands for “electroplated nickel silver.” This is not real silver but rather a nickel substitute made to look like silver.

Keep in mind that pure silver is very malleable, meaning that it is soft and easy to bend. High-quality silver jewelry has to have an alloy mixed in for greater durability. The best silver jewelry will be mostly silver with a tiny element of something stronger built-in, such as copper.

Don’t settle for anything less than fine or sterling silver.

Hakan

3. Perform physical tests to ensure authenticity

One of the best ways to ensure that you’ve got the best silver jewelry available is to perform several minor physical tests.

These tests won’t harm your silver, so don’t worry.

The first test is a magnet test and it’s very simple. Simply locate a magnet and see if the silver piece is magnetic. Silver is not a magnetic metal, so anything that does latch onto the magnet is likely to be nickel or another metal.

In addition to the magnet test, you can rub your silver piece with a clean white cloth. If black marks appear, then you can rest assured that you’ve made a good purchase. When exposed to air, real silver oxidizes and creates these black marks.

You can also perform a sound test. Tap your jewelry piece with a metal tool or object. If you hear a high-pitched ring and vibration that lasts a few seconds, you’ve got real silver on your hands. Duller or deeper rings may indicate copper or steel alloys.

4. Get an appraisal

If you just aren’t sure about your jewelry, you can always get an appraisal. Take your jewelry piece to an appraiser for an expert consultation.

You may have to pay for an appraisal, so this is a good tip to follow if you are serious about the piece of jewelry you’ve purchased and want to ensure it is the best quality available.

5. Be cautious when purchasing online

There are tons of online marketplaces like sultanofbazaar.com for purchasing precious jewels. If you do decide that an online shop is the best for you, make sure you exercise caution.

They will have a solid refund or exchange policy in order, customer representatives to assist with your purchase and detailed specifications about jewelry quality under each product listing.

Also, browse customer reviews and testimonials to get a sense of the store’s reputation.

FINDING THE BEST SILVER JEWELRY

We have already searched for your needs. Not only for the best quality of silver but also for the unique art. Because of these reasons listed above, we decide to only sell silver steering. Our product range is improving and you can buy safely from our store.

For all silver jeweleries

You can buy as jewelry sets, rings, earrings, and brooches.

Happy shopping.

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