You have likely noticed a stamp on the inside of silver jewelry at some point. These stamps are required by law and can be used to identify the purity and composition of silver pieces. If you’ve noticed a “926” stamp on silver jewelry, you might wonder what this value reveals about your jewelry.

All silver jewelry items must be stamped to indicate their purity. If a sterling silver piece of jewelry bears a “926” stamp, it means that the piece contains 92.6% pure silver, with the remaining 7.4% made up of alloyed metal. This purity stamp can authenticate silver pieces.

If you want to know more about these authentication stamps found on silver jewelry, we’ll explain everything you want to know. This is crucial information for those who are fond of silver jewelry, as it can help you tell fakes from the real deal, preventing you from purchasing fake silver items.

What Does 926 Mean On Silver?

If you’ve examined silver jewelry up close, you’ve likely noticed a stamp on the inside of the jewelry. As required by law, all silver jewelry must bear this stamp, which allows you to identify the purity and composition of the silver item.

If the purity stamp on the silver jewelry reads “926”, the item contains 92.6% pure silver, with the balance of the material comprising 7.4% of alloyed metals. However, it’s important to note that this value will vary between silver items based on their composition. “925” is another common stamp, which indicates the item is made from 92.5% pure silver.

Jewelry made from fine silver, such as earrings and necklaces that won’t be scratched or bumped, will bear a “999” stamp. Essentially, this indicates that the item contains 99.9% pure silver, with the 0.01% balance being trace amounts of impurities. This silver grade is also used to manufacture bullion bars for trading and investing in silver.

Unfortunately, silver is rather soft and malleable in its purest form. Due to this, fine silver (which is 99.9% pure) isn’t commonly used to manufacture silver items that need to retain a specific shape and will be used daily, such as silver rings. To improve the strength of silver jewelry, pure silver is alloyed with other metals.

While silver is commonly alloyed with copper to form sterling silver, other metals such as nickel may be used to alloy silver. However, copper remains the most popular choice for alloying silver. By alloying pure silver with copper, the copper increases the hardness and strength of the silver.

Ultimately, this improves the lifespan of silver jewelry, which is why sterling silver is the most popular type of silver used for jewelry purposes. Regardless of which type of silver you own, you’ll be able to determine the purity of the silver by looking for the stamp. When purchasing silver jewelry, it’s also recommended that you look for this stamp, which is a legal requirement.

However, it’s also possible for jewelry to be marked with fake stamps. Generally, real stamps are easily visible and legible to the naked eye, while fake stamps are typically smaller in size. Some fake stamps may even be marked as “S925”, which means it’s another metal with a silver coating. Luckily, there’s more than one way to tell if something is made from real silver!

How To Tell If Something Is Made From Real Silver

When purchasing silver jewelry and pieces, it’s important that consumers can tell fake silver apart from genuine silver. People often bring silver jewelry in to be polished or resized, only to be turned away because the item in question isn’t made from real silver. In this section, we’ll outline six ways you can tell real silver items apart from cheap knockoffs!

Look For The Purity Stamp

As we explained above, all silver jewelry must legally bear a stamp to identify its purity. Unfortunately, these stamps can be faked to mislead customers into buying knockoff pieces. While you should always look for a visible purity stamp, you should also use one of the other methods on this list to determine whether something is made from real silver.

Test How The Jewelry Feels

It’s always best to purchase silver jewelry in person. Not only will this help you avoid being scammed, but it allows you to ensure the jewelry fits. When trying jewelry on, you’ll be able to tell whether something is authentic silver from how it feels. Real silver feels solid with a decent weight, while fake silver is usually smooth and lightweight.

Use The Magnet Test On Silver Pieces


Most precious metals, including silver, are nonmagnetic. Silver exhibits weak magnetic effects, unlike iron, nickel, and cobalt. Due to this, you can use a magnet to test whether silver is authentic. If a piece of jewelry displays significant magnetic effects, it’s likely a fake.

Try Polishing The Silver Item

Sterling silver is known to tarnish over time. Due to this, silver needs to be frequently polished to remove the black coating that forms on the surface. This means you can use a polish test to identify real silver. This black residue will appear on the cloth if you polish an authentic silver item. However, fake silver items will not give off this black tarnish residue.

Smell The Silver Jewelry In Question

Did you know that sterling silver is odorless? Due to this, it’s possible to tell a fake silver item apart from a real one by smelling it. If you smell a piece of jewelry and find a sulfuric or metallic scent, it’s not made from sterling silver. Chances are that the item is only silver-plated or coated. This is a great way to identify real silver pieces for those with a good sense of smell!

Do The Ice Block Test

One of the many benefits of silver is that it has the highest thermal conductivity of any metal or alloy. Due to this, you can use an ice block to tell fake silver apart from genuine silver. It will melt rapidly when you place an ice cube on top of an authentic silver item. However, melting ice over a fake silver item will melt at a normal pace.

Conclusion

By law, all jewelry items made from genuine silver must be stamped to indicate the item’s purity. If an item bears a “926” stamp, it means it contains 92.6% pure silver, with the remaining 7.4% made up of alloyed metal, like copper. This purity stamp on silver pieces functions as a hallmark of authentication.

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