Is 925 sterling silver on Amazon real?
925 sterling silver on Amazon can be real, but a 925 in the title, or a 925 stamp, is not proof. Buy listings whose Metal Type field says sterling silver, check that a magnet does not pull the chain or band (a clasp spring may tug), and test it inside the return window. Silver-tone, silver-plated and German silver are not sterling.
What does 925 mean, and is a 925 stamp proof?
925 means sterling: at least 925 parts in 1,000 pure silver. Under the US Federal Trade Commission’s Jewelry Guides (16 CFR 23.5), calling a piece sterling, sterling silver, ster. or solid silver is misleading unless it meets that standard, and the National Stamping Act allows only a small shortfall: 4 parts per thousand, or 10 for a piece that contains solder. The same section says the word silver on its own should have a fineness number in front, such as 925 silver, and that a piece with only a surface coat of silver should say it is coated. US law also bars stamping silver-plated pieces sterling or coin (15 U.S.C. 297(a)). A stamp is still the maker’s claim, not a test. A maker or dealer who puts a silver quality mark on a piece, or imports a piece that carries one, must put its trademark or its name as close to the mark as possible, in letters at least as large (15 U.S.C. 297(b)), so a 925 with no maker’s mark beside it is worth a question. And when a piece is made of separate parts that differ in quality and one part is stamped, each other part must carry a mark of its own quality. So test the chain or band itself, not only the stamped clasp. Where the piece was made does not change any of this: the Stamping Act covers pieces imported for sale as well as pieces made in the US (15 U.S.C. 294).
Which fields on an Amazon listing show that it is sterling?
The title is written to sell; the product details are where the seller states the metal. Read four fields there. Metal Type should say sterling silver. Metal Stamp should say 925. Material should agree with both. Item Weight lets you check the price against the silver. If any of them names brass, copper, zinc alloy or stainless steel, believe the field, not the title: our jewellery metals guide describes a set of hoops titled 925 Sterling Silver whose own Material field says copper. Gold-coloured pieces need the same check. “18K gold plated 925 sterling silver” is sterling under a gold coat; “18K gold plated” with brass in the Material field is gold over brass, with no sterling in it. Then compare the price with the silver. The weight in grams times 0.925 gives the grams of pure silver, and our silver page shows what a gram of sterling is worth at today’s price. If a “sterling” chain costs less than the silver its listed weight would hold, something on the listing is wrong: the weight, the metal, or both.
Which words on a listing mean it is not sterling?
| Words on the listing | What it means | Sterling? |
|---|---|---|
| 925, S925, sterling, sterling silver | At least 925 parts in 1,000 silver (16 CFR 23.5) | Yes, if the claim is true |
| Rhodium-plated sterling, 18K gold plated 925 sterling | Sterling silver under a thin coat of another metal | Yes, underneath |
| 999, fine silver | 99.9% silver: purer than sterling, and much softer, so it scratches and dents more easily | Purer than sterling; real silver |
| Coin silver | At least 900 parts in 1,000 silver (16 CFR 23.5) | No, but real silver |
| Rhodium plated or white gold plated, with no base metal named | A bright coat that can sit on brass or copper as easily as on silver | Only if Metal Type says sterling |
| Silver plated, silver coated, silver over brass | A coat of silver over another metal. US law bars stamping it sterling or coin (15 U.S.C. 297(a)) | No |
| Silver-tone, silver colour, silver finish | A colour, not a metal. The FTC Guides say silver on its own should have a fineness number in front, such as 925 | No |
| German silver, nickel silver, alpaca silver | An alloy of copper, nickel and zinc that looks like silver but contains none | No |
| Stainless steel, titanium, brass, copper, alloy | Another metal that looks white or grey; see stainless steel | No |
Is 925 sterling silver magnetic?
No. Silver and copper, the usual metals in sterling, are both diamagnetic: their magnetism is very weak and opposes a magnet’s field instead of following it. So a strong magnet should do nothing you can feel to a sterling chain, ring or bracelet. If the links or the band jump to the magnet, there is a magnetic metal such as iron or steel inside, and the piece is not solid sterling. A slight tug at the clasp is different. The appendix to the FTC Jewelry Guides lists springs, joints, catches and necklace snap tongues among the parts exempt from the silver assay, so the spring inside a sterling clasp does not have to be silver, and a steel spring can pull a little. Test the chain or band away from the clasp. The magnet test catches only magnetic fakes, though. Copper is diamagnetic too, so silver-plated copper ignores a magnet just as real sterling does, and 304 and 316 stainless steel are generally non-magnetic unless heavily worked.
How do you check sterling silver before the return window closes?
Check it the day it arrives. Read the stamp with a 10x loupe: 925 or sterling, with a maker’s mark beside it. Look at the wear points: the edges, the clasp and the inside of a ring. Yellow or pink metal showing through the white points to a coat over brass or copper. Try a strong magnet on the links or the band, as above. Weigh it on a scale that reads to 0.1 g and compare the result with the Item Weight on the listing; a big shortfall is worth raising with the seller. Have it tested if it matters. At the Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office in London, the vast majority of testing is done by X-ray (XRF), which does not damage the piece, though the office may need to remove the surface layer to read the alloy underneath. Touch testing rubs the piece on a stone, and other traditional methods need a small sample scraped from it, so on a piece you might send back, ask a jeweller which test they will use. Darkening on its own is not a sign of a fake: real sterling tarnishes, and a silver polish or polishing cloth removes light tarnish (see can you shower with sterling silver?). A strong green mark on your skin every time you wear it is more suspicious; see does sterling silver turn your skin green?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 925 sterling silver from China real?
It can be. Where a piece is made does not decide its metal, and the US Stamping Act covers imported pieces as well as US-made ones: a dealer who imports a piece stamped with a silver quality mark must put its trademark or name beside the mark (15 U.S.C. 297(b)). Check it like any other: Metal Type field, stamp, magnet and, for anything costly, a test.
Is 925 sterling silver magnetic?
No. Silver and copper are diamagnetic, so a magnet does not pull a sterling chain or ring. A slight tug at the clasp can come from a steel spring, which the FTC assay rules exempt from the silver test. A piece that ignores the magnet is not proven sterling, because silver-plated copper does not stick either.
Is 925 sterling silver pawnable?
It can be, because real sterling holds real silver, but work out what that silver is worth first. The weight in grams times 0.925 gives the grams of pure silver, and our silver page shows the value per gram at today’s price. That figure, not what you paid, is the starting point, and it can be far below the price. A silver-plated piece has only a thin coat of silver.
Is gold-plated sterling silver real silver?
Yes, underneath. “18K gold plated 925 sterling silver” means a sterling piece under a gold coat, and the silver is still there when the gold wears through. Read the Metal Type field: it should say sterling silver, not brass or copper.
Sources
- 16 CFR 23.5, Misrepresentation as to silver content (FTC Jewelry Guides; sterling and solid silver at least 925/1,000ths; coin silver at least 900/1,000ths; Stamping Act tolerances; plated articles may not be stamped sterling), Cornell LII
- Appendix to 16 CFR Part 23: exemptions recognized in the assay of silver (springs, joints, catches, snap tongues), Cornell LII
- 15 U.S.C. 297: stamping plated articles; trademark or name beside a quality mark; marks on parts of different quality (National Gold and Silver Stamping Act), Cornell LII
- 15 U.S.C. 294: the Stamping Act covers articles imported for sale, mailed or shipped between states, Cornell LII
- HyperPhysics (Georgia State University): magnetic susceptibilities of paramagnetic and diamagnetic materials at 20°C (silver and copper diamagnetic)
- Australian Stainless Steel Development Association: magnetic effects of stainless steels (304 and 316 non-magnetic when annealed)
- Canadian Conservation Institute: understanding silver tarnish (sterling is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper; tarnish is silver sulphide)
- Canadian Conservation Institute: caring for silver (tarnish removed with a polish; polishing cloths for light tarnish)
- GIA 4Cs: white gold vs silver (999 silver is 99.9% pure and very soft; sterling is 92.5% silver)
- The Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office: our hallmarking methods (XRF, surface removal, touch testing, sampling)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: nickel silver (also called German silver; copper, nickel and zinc; contains no silver)
- Wikipedia: Nickel silver (also called alpaca silver; contains no silver)
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