Question about silver.

[pheasantvillecollectables519]

Of course most items are marked as sterling or silverplate but sometimes they are not marked, maybe being too tiny for a mark or from an artisan piece or it was marked on the package but not on the item.  Anyhow, if you use Silvo silver polish and you get black tarnish, are you pretty safe in saying it is silver?  I know it could be just silverplate, not sterling, but I want to know that too.

[pheasantvillecollectables519]

Here are a couple of items in particular that I am wondering about:

Pearl necklace that I think are real cultured pearls - the clasp has no marking on it:

And tiny dragonflies between chunks of abalone on a stretch bracelet:

[pheasantvillecollectables519]

Is my question too stupid?  If it is, just give it to me straight.

[old.crows.nest]

Nope, there is just no way for anyone to say for certain without testing. First one is old so could be unmarked silver or low grade silver (white metal) or base metal. Second is small so might not be room for mark.

[gauntlettgems]

Not a dumb question, it can be difficult to discern between all the metals. I've been around for a while and still have problems I'm sure I still make mistakes too
Unless you file into the item and see another color come through, you can really only distinguish between plate and not by using acid on the items which can also ruin the item if you are not careful Did you try the magnet test yet? Silver "should" not magnetize There are exceptions to this also unfortunately but they are rare I am no expert Hopefully someone else will chime in As far as the pearls, did you scrape them on your teeth and get the gritty feeling? Some of the nicer glass ones can feel like real ones too Hope any of this helps

[pheasantvillecollectables519]

Re the pearls, dh and ds both tested them on their teeth and say they feel gritty.  They are also cold and heavy for the size.  I think I will take them to a jeweller for an assessment.

[gauntlettgems]

That is always the best but then again my jeweler, who has been in business 30 years, refused to test a necklace for gold content because by looking at it alone he said it was gold filled. I took it to another jeweler because I had a feeling and it was $472.00 worth of 14k gold and that is if I scrap it!!

[pheasantvillecollectables519]

Glad you got a second opinion - gut feelings can usually be counted on to be right.

[gauntlettgems]

Me three 😉

[dream*peddler]

Pheastantville, these old clasps can be tricky when deciphering metal content.  If the pearls are real it's possible the clasp is silver.  It may not be marked anywhere, the mark may have worn off or it may not be silver.  I had three necklaces with clasps of the style shown below.  I couldn't find a mark anywhere until I looked deep inside the recess and there was the sterling mark (see second pic).  Nearly impossible to see with the naked eye.  If yours has any recesses, make sure you look inside with a loop.  Nice old strand of pearls you have there!  They may have to be restrung somewhere down the road as the string looks old and pearls are heavy.  Just recently had one break on me .

[evelyb30]

I've also found karat gold and sterling clasps on fake pearls. They did some screwy things, back when.

[gauntlettgems]

I have also Even an 18k yellow gold clasp on a set of glass beads!

[pheasantvillecollectables519]

I wonder if those fancy clasps that don't seem to belong with the necklace were somebody's DIY project and they just used what they had, probably off another broken necklace.

I looked everywhere I could on that pearl necklace clasp, even up inside and along the narrowest edge, and still found nothing.

[markowitz57]

Always look in the recessed part for the sterling mark. I find peeling costume pearls with 14k clasps- DIY repair jobs.