Page 27 - JOA 12-20

by Kary Pardy

Science and Sparkles:

Demystifying your Jewelry Collection

ow many times have you looked through a jewelry display at If there are no visible marks and you want to be more thorough in
your favorite antique shop and was just a bit unsure about the your testing, you may consider purchasing an acid test kit with a stone,
Hquality or elements of a piece you wanted to get as a gift? which costs around $15 online. The kit will come with a black stone
When you’re considering buying antique jewelry or are curious and several bottles of acid, typically 10K, 14K, 18K, and 22K gold,
about something you already own, it may seem daunting to learn more, sterling silver, and platinum. To use, you’ll need to perform a few
but information can be the difference between a real ring or a costume chemical reactions. Scratch your jewelry a few times on the black stone
one, between an heirloom or something that you might wear just for – it will leave visible streaks. Don’t worry, the scratching won’t damage
fun. The key to knowing your jewelry, and indeed most antiques, is to your jewelry. If testing gold, create several marks on the stone and place
use common sense and to think realistically. While it may be more fun one small drop from one gold solution on each mark—working first
to own a gigantic ruby, items are always fake until proven real, and if it with the lowest karat solution on upward in ascending order—and
seems too good to be true, it can be. But that doesn’t mean you can’t watch what happens. If the 10K solution dissolves your first streak, it
do a little exploring. means that the object is less than 10K or not gold at all. Move on to
your next test streak and the next highest amount of acid until you find
Marvelous Metals a solution that leaves the
Whether you are work- streak intact. For example,
ing with gold, silver, or if you tested a strip with
platinum, your first task is the 14K solution and it
to check if the jewelry is faded very slowly but real-
marked. Silver, in its ly disappeared with the
purest form, would be too 10K, you might have a
soft to make functional 12K piece. If your strip
jewelry. The ideal alloy is shows no visible sign of
92.5% silver, with the change when faced with a
remaining 7.5% being a 14K solution you know
mix of copper, zinc, and that you’re at 14K or
nickel. This mixture is higher. A test with one of
sterling silver. Sterling will the higher karat solutions
commonly be marked should help narrow it
with the word sterling, down.
abbreviations such as This diagram from H. Samuel Jewelers, UK is a helpful tool for reading your jewelry marks. When testing for plat-
“ster” or “stg”, or some inum, make a visible strip
indication of its silver content, for exam- on your stone and drop the solution on
ple, 925, 935, or 835. Early British it. If the piece is indeed platinum, it will
pieces (95.8 % silver) will feature a series remain. If it’s not, it will fade. If it takes
of marks, typically including a purity a long time to disappear or it turns a
mark, a city mark, a duty mark, a date rusty color, you may have white gold.
letter, and a maker’s mark. If you’d like You test silver through a similar process,
to track down your piece’s silver marks, but the results are much more colorful.
the website 925-1000.com is a fantastic The acid solution will leave your strip
resource to identify and date marks from untouched but turn red for fine silver
around the world. Chemically, silver can (.999), dark red for 925 sterling, or red-
be tested with a magnet (it’s not very dish-brown for 800 silver. Green colors
magnetic), or with an acid test, which The Fede Gimmel ring originated in 16th century Italy as a indicate the metal is a lower quality sil-
The Fede Gimmel ring originated in 16th century Italy as a
we will examine later in the article. betrothal ring. Fede Gimmel is a translation of the Italian word ver containing copper or brass, whereas a
betrothal ring. Fede Gimmel is a translation of the Italian word
Is there gold or platinum in your jew- for "soulmate". Its characteristic clasped hands are a symbol of brown or yellow reaction that dissolves
for "soulmate". Its characteristic clasped hands are a symbol of
elry box? In most cases, gold will be fidelity as they cover and protect the heart of the beloved. the strip entirely points to a base metal
fidelity as they cover and protect the heart of the beloved.
marked with its gold content, or karat that is not silver at all. If it sounds a little
(9K, 14K, 18K, 22K, 24K), or it will complicated, don’t worry. Through time
have a purity stamp which corresponds to what each of those karats and experience, you’ll get a better sense
means in terms of pure gold content. For example, 14K is 58.5% gold of what colors to look for. Play around with jewelry that is marked and
and may be marked 585, or 18K- 75%, marked 750. Platinum follows use these pieces as your baseline for what colors to expect, and be sure
a similar structure and will be marked with its platinum purity (850, to check out the wealth of videos online showcasing metals testing.
900, 950, 999). To value your silver, gold, or platinum, you can easily look up the

December 2020 25