How to tell real sterling silver

What sterling means, legally

In the United States, sterling is a legal standard rather than a description. Federal law says an article marked sterling or sterling silver must contain 925 parts per thousand of pure silver, with a tolerance of four parts per thousand. The Federal Trade Commission's jewelry guides apply the same threshold to the words sterling, sterling silver, ster. and solid silver, and set coin silver at 900.

The remaining 7.5% is there for strength — pure silver is too soft to hold a shape in jewelry — and it is usually copper. That is why 925 is the number stamped on so much silver jewelry: it is the fineness itself, written as parts per thousand.

The stamp, and the mark that belongs beside it

The quality mark is usually 925, Sterling or Ster., stamped somewhere discreet: inside a ring, on the back of a pendant, on a small tag beside a clasp. Under the National Gold and Silver Stamping Act, a maker or seller who applies a quality mark like that must also apply their name or a registered trademark beside it, in lettering at least as large. On a piece from an identifiable maker, the stamp and the maker's mark together are a good sign.

The same law forbids stamping sterling or coin on plated merchandise at all. A stamp is still not proof — stamps can be faked, and very small pieces such as delicate drops and fine chains are sometimes too small to mark. Treat the stamp as necessary evidence on anything substantial, and as one clue among several on anything tiny.

Silver-sounding words that mean something else

• Silver-tone and silver-colored. A description of the color, not the metal. Neither says anything about silver content.
• Silver plated. A thin layer of silver over a different base metal. The FTC guides say a silver claim on a coated product has to be qualified to make clear it is only coated. Plate wears through with daily wear, and it cannot be put back.
• Nickel silver and German silver. Not silver at all: an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc — the usual recipe is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc — named for its color. For anyone with a nickel allergy it is the opposite of what they want.
• Rhodium-plated sterling. Real sterling with a bright, tarnish-resistant surface layer. It is legitimate, and the FTC guides say the rhodium layer should be disclosed, so a listing that mentions it is being straight with you.
• Coin silver. A real, older standard, at 900 parts per thousand rather than 925.

Home checks, and what they can prove

The magnet test is the quick one, and it is worth doing. Silver is not magnetic, so a piece that snaps firmly to a strong magnet has a steel or iron component. What the test cannot do is prove the reverse, because copper and brass are not magnetic either. A pass rules out one kind of fake; it does not certify sterling.

Tarnish is evidence of a kind. Sterling darkens over time as it reacts with sulfur compounds in the air, and a polishing cloth brings it back. Plated jewelry fails differently: the surface wears through at edges and high points to a different-colored metal underneath, and polishing makes that worse rather than better.

Acid testing and assaying are what jewelers use to settle the question properly. If a piece matters — an heirloom, a significant purchase — that is a job for a jeweler rather than the kitchen table, and nobody should scratch-test a gift they intend to give.

What a trustworthy listing says

Most people buying handmade jewelry online never hold the piece before they pay, so the listing has to do the work the stamp would. A good one states the metal in the specifications as well as the title — 925 sterling silver, not just silver. It says which parts are sterling: the ear wires, the chain and the clasp as well as the decorative part, because a sterling drop on a base-metal hook is the classic cause of irritated ears. It discloses any plating. And it shows the stamp in a photograph where there is one.

Handmade is a claim worth checking too. The FTC's jewelry guides say a piece should only be called handmade or hand-wrought if its entire shaping and forming from raw materials — sheet, wire, casting grain and the like — and its finishing and decoration were done by hand labor and manually controlled methods. That is a stricter definition than the word gets in casual use, and it is why every card on this site prints the provenance rather than repeating a listing's adjectives. Each pick below states its metal plainly.

Sensitive ears

Nickel is the usual cause of jewelry reactions, and the American Academy of Dermatology names earrings and earring backs among the biggest culprits. Its advice for people with a nickel allergy is to wear jewelry that is nickel-free, hypoallergenic, or made from metals such as surgical-grade stainless steel, 18- to 24-karat yellow gold, pure sterling silver or platinum.

The practical point for a gift is the ear wire. Check that the part that goes through the ear is sterling, not only the charm hanging from it. The sterling silver roundup covers closures and why the leverback is the everyday choice, and handmade earrings widens the field to copper and sea glass.

Once you know it is real

Sterling asks for very little: a polishing cloth now and then, and storage in a closed bag or box, which slows tarnish more than polishing does. What it gives back is a metal that a jeweler can clean, repair and, for rings, resize for decades — which plated jewelry, once worn through, cannot offer. For a gift meant to last, that is the whole argument. The girlfriend and wife gift guides put these checks to work on specific pieces, and handmade sterling silver rings applies them to the one category where a size has to be right.