How Do You Know If Your Jewelry Is Really Sterling Silver?

How do you know if your jewelry is really sterling silver? Sterling silver jewelry should come with a certificate of authentication from the manufacturer. Sterling silver is kind of hard to distinguish,...

Sterling silver is kind of hard to distinguish, because it has to come with certification from the manufacturer itself. If you don't have the certifications with it, then you are going to know. With silver, it is going to naturally oxidize. It is hard to tell if a piece is real or fake, because they are both going to tarnish. Regardless, one will tarnish a lot slower than the other. It's hard to tell unless you have that paperwork from the manufacturer.

The only way that we test silver in our store is sending it to the repair shop or an appraisal shop. Most of the time, when you buy silver jewelry you need to ask if it has any warranties on it. There are few places that you will repair simply because it's not as pliable and it's harder to fix once it is broken. You may want to check on that before you even buy from anywhere. It is not that easy to repair and it's really easier to buy another piece when one breaks than to repair it, and usually it's a lot cheaper too.

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