Difference between Silver Plated and Sterling Silver
Introduction:
In the world, there is a concept of original and fake in every product we buy. It is common, especially in jewelry items. For inexperienced people, it is hard to judge the difference between fake and real. Shopkeepers take advantage of the inexperienced nature of the customer, charge the price for the original product and sell a fake cheap product.
This is the same case with silver plated and sterling silver. Females often get fooled because of not knowing the difference between silver plated and sterling silver products. For this purpose, we are presenting this article to the readers so that they can identify the fake and real silver products.
Basic information:
Silver-plated items are produced by coating thing layer silver or sterling silver to other metals like copper, nickel, brass, and white metal. It is a chemical process that requires charging the item first to see whether it will attract silver particles or not. After the coating is done, the product looks like flawless, shiny and fine silver jewelry.
Pure silver is used in the composition of silver jewelry, silverware, and accessories. It contains 92.5% of pure silver along with 7.5% other metals. These could be nickel, copper, and other combination of metals. 7.5% other metals are added with pure silver to make the product durable and resistant. It avoids discoloration and oxidation of the sterling silver product.
Method of Recognition:
Although it is hard for the untrained eye to identify the difference between silver plated and sterling silver by just looking at it. As the appearance is very much alike. But the manufacturers have made it by putting the label on the product. If one knows the meaning of the label then there won’t be any difficulty left in recognizing the item.
On the sterling silver, one will find a 925 label. It is the quantity of silver in the product. As told earlier, sterling silver has 92.5% silver in it. In the era of the 1850s in the USA, it was also seen that manufacturers mark .925 or sterling on the sterling silver product.
In England, there were different hallmarks used for the identification of sterling silver. These were a leopard head, an anchor, or a letter. These markings had different meanings of their own.
In the case of silver-plated items, manufacturers are not allowed to label the product as sterling silver. Hence, such a label was never developed. In silver-plated products, you will notice a label of ESPN, EP, or simply silver on copper.
Look and Feel:
Silver-plated items have the same shine and appearance as a pure silver items. The color of the sterling silver item is darker than silver-plated products. If we compare the weight of both of the products we will find sterling silver items much lighter than a silver-plated product.
The difference in size can be seen even if the same amount of raw material is used in the composition. The reason for the difference in weight is that the metals used for the manufacturing of silver-plated items are heavier by nature as compared to pure silver.
Worth and Price:
Sterling silver being a pure form of silver is expensive as compared to silver-plated items. It does not change its state after being used for many years. The value of sterling silver also remains the same over time. If one requires to create a new item by melting the previous silver item then it can be done easily.
The silver-plated item on the other changes its color after some time. It is due to the thin layer of silver that washes away with time. Once the layer starts coming off the inner metal will be exposed. The cost of a silver-plated item is much less than pure silver. The worth of it does not have any value in front of pure silver. If one considers reselling the item then it won’t be possible as it does not retain its original state forever.
The core difference between silver plated and sterling silver:
Here, you will main key points that will elaborate on the difference between the two items made up of pure or impure silver.
|
Features |
Silver Plating |
Sterling Silver |
|
Durability |
It is less long-lasting as the layer of the silver come off after some time |
It is more long-lasting as compared to silver plating. It retains its original state forever. |
|
Cost |
It is must cheaper than sterling silver. |
It is very expensive as it is made of pure silver. |
|
Color |
It has lighter color. |
It has darker color as compared to silver plating items. |
|
Label |
The labels used for it are EP, ESPN, and silver on copper. |
The label used for it is 925, .925, or hallmarks like leopard head, anchor, and a letter. |
|
worth |
It does not have a large silver quantity that is why its resale value is near to nothing. |
It is made of 92.5% of silver. It has worth in the market and its resale value is also considerable. |
Conclusion:
In this article, we have seen the major difference between silver-plated and sterling silver. After reading this article it would be much easier for people to differentiate between the products made up of these two elements. The knowledge related to silver plated and sterling silver products would not let anyone get fooled in front of shopkeepers. If the main differences are known, anyone can buy genuine products.
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