How do you tell if your silver is solid? What is sterling silver? It can be hard to know whether your silver jewellery is genuine, but we're here to help.
Normally, you should look for a '.925' stamp which indicates a silver purity of 92.5% or 'sterling'. But this doesn't guarantee that whoever made your piece is telling the truth...
Here's our guide to legit checking your silver jewellery:
Check for hallmarks-
The most certain indicator of genuine silver is a full hallmark by the Assay Office.
A lion mark will tell you the piece has silver content, alongside other marks including the 925 purity (92.5% silver), the maker's mark, the letter mark relating to the year it was hallmarked, and the location (in this case the leopard head indicates hallmarking in the London Assay Office.
Some items under 7.8g may just have a 925 stamp, but make sure you trust the jeweller as this can be done by anyone. Rest assured that all silver items we sell are of minimum 925 purity, whether hallmarked and above 7.8g, or stamped 925 for lightweight pieces🤝
Silver testing kits-
These can be useful and will show a certain colour to indicate if the item is silver but watch out- these can test positive for silver-plated pieces which still have a base layer which isn't silver! Make sure to scratch the piece and test under the surface if you want to be totally sure ✅
Finally, price!
If a piece is advertised as sterling silver but the price seems to good to be true, be aware! A good guide is over £1 for every gram the jewellery weighs, if it's much cheaper than this steer clear 💀 it's probably silver plated, and if they're falsely advertising we wouldn't bet on the quality of the product ✖️
💰 Want money for your silver or gold? We can give you a price or even trade, just send us an email with pictures of what you have! silverhollowjewellery@silverhollowjewellery.com