Purchasing a jewelry set is usually a wholesome and fun experience. Nevertheless, this does not negate the need for due care and caution when purchasing. Many fake, lesser quality duplicates of authentic pieces abound. Imagine the disappointment of a loved one when the jewelry set you gifted is a fake that leaves their skin irritated. That ends now.
Together, we ’ ll be looking at subtle yet apparent signs to identify fake jewelry from authentic pieces . Let ’ s begin.
Markings on Jewelry
Usually, jewelry pie ces have unique signs which show the kind of metal used in their production. They are typically placed on a tag or link for neckpieces and earrings. For a ring, the mark is placed on the inner band. It is usually marked with ‘ plat ’ or ‘ platinum ’ for platin um. A number followed by ‘ karat ’ or ‘ k ’ would be placed on the jewelry to detect a piece of authentic gold jewelry and its composition percentage. Sometimes, brands also stamp their names on the jewelry piece.
Magnet or Ceramic Test
It is often said that gold does not stick to a magnet. This is not, however, true in all situations, as there is gold-plated jewelry with metal underneath that makes the magnet stick (so long as you know you are purchasing a gold -plated item, this is acceptable). In carrying ou t a ceramic test, a non-polished piece of ceramic is placed down, and the jewelry is drawn across it. If it leaves a black mark on the surface of the ceramic, it is not gold, but where it shows a gold streak, it confirms that the jewelry piece is authentic .
Detection of Stones
Quality jewelry has genuine gemstones made of semi-precious or precious stone s . They also frequently use natural pearls or high-quality crystals. Once a metal test has been carried out and confirmed the piece as a fake, it is unlikely for that jewelry to have genuine stones.
Check for Irritations
A popular hack to easily detect fake jewelry pieces is determining whether they produce skin irritation, with adverse reactions such as a gre enish mark on the skin.
Light Test
When a jewelry piece is placed under a shiny light, a fake part usually has rhodium plating over it, making it shiny and yellow.
Chalk Test
When dealing with silver jewelry, it is advisable to place or rub the piece with chalk; if it darkens, it is an original silver jewelry piece.
Iodine Test
If a gold jewelry piece is placed in a heavily diluted iodine solution and a stain presents , it is a fake alloy with little or no gold present. Concerning platinum pieces, the more s aturated it becomes as it is being dipped into iodine, the more it confirms the piece ’ s authenticity.
Jewelry Cut and Colors
Concerning diamonds, an easy way to detect a fake one from an original is its cut and colors. Artificial diamonds are usually cut s o perfectly with close to zero flaws, and the colors in a phony diamond are too varied .
A simple way of checking out the authenticity of diamond jewelry is using a diamond tester, which detects a particular density for an authentic piece. Once a flake fal ls off from that portion, it is considered fake.