No doubt, jewellery gives you a luxurious look, but the important thing is whether the piece of jewellery you are wearing is fake or real. You may see different stamps on jewellery like rings and also see 925 stamps on the ring. 925 stamp called a hallmark is actually a sign of the purity of the material of your ring. It shows that your ring having 925 hallmarks basically contains sterling silver that is non-toxic. Sterling silver is an alloy that is made of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper.
If you are worried about the cost of the ring having 925 hallmarks, then you need not worry because these are not costly as gold and silver rings. Sterling silver is inexpensive than pure gold and silver, so you can get a valuable piece of the ring at much less cost.
Why is the 925 Hallmark important?
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925 hallmark is compulsory for the identification of the real sterling silver contents. We all know that fakeness is becoming common in the market. People unintentionally buy jewellery made with fake material at the actual price, but then face a significant loss.
In the market, most people give the rings with less sterling silver by considering them real, but you should be aware of these silver imitators. So keeping you away from these cheaters and fake 925 hallmarks are stamped on the ring, so know that the ring you buy is made of actual sterling silver contents with the actual price to protect you from any regret.
What does 925 Silver mean?
We know that silver is a very shiny, tensile metal known for its durability and never go out of style. We commonly use silver in making jewellery like pendants, necklaces, bracelets and rings, but silver itself is a soft metal, so it is mixed with other metals like copper, zinc or nickel to make a perfect piece of jewellery like rings.
Silver mixed with the other metals is called sterling silver. Sterling silver contains 92.5% of silver and 7.5% other metal mixed with silver. To identify the real sterling silver content 925 marks are stamped on the rings that are called hallmark, and it shows that the ring contains 92.5% silver mixed with metals.
So, 925 silver means the same as the sterling silver that the ring or the piece of jewellery you buy is made of sterling silver. If there is no 925 hallmark on the ring, then it means that the ring doesn’t contain the sterling silver in actual amount.
How much is 925 sterling silver worth?
Sterling silver as we know is not made of pure silver but is actually a mixture of silver and other metals, so it is not expensive than actual silver. They are available at a less price than actual silver in markets. As they are available at less price, it doesn’t mean that they are less valuable and can be damaged easily.
Most of the luxury and antique items are found in the markets made of sterling silver having 925 hallmarks. If you are looking for a fascinating piece of jewellery that adds glamour to your look but cannot afford expensive rings, then you can rely on sterling silver rings because these are more inexpensive and affordable than real silver rings.
Is 925 Mark Silver a Good Choice for Rings?
If you are confused whether the 925 mark silver that is actually sterling silver is a good choice for rings or not, then you should know that it is absolutely the perfect choice you made. As pure silver is very soft and so can be damaged easily while on the other hand sterling silver is hard as compared to pure silver so you need not worry about any damage to your ring and you can easily wear the ring all the time.
Another reason for choosing the 925 silver ring as a priority is that rings with sterling silver come in many designs while the rings with pure silver do not come in different designs because the manufacturer faces difficulty in making designs with pure silver due to their softness. So, you can get a variety of designs with no fear of damage in sterling silver rings.
What does 925 gold mean?
Sometimes while buying rings you may find rings having a 925 mark gold mark on them. The first thought that might come to your mind is that the ring has a 925 gold mark that might be made of gold, but this is not true. The ring’s having 925 gold hallmark means that the piece of jewellery is actually silver that is gold plated.
No pure gold is used in making the ring having 925 gold hallmarks but simply it is a metal that is gold plated and this type of metal is called gold vermeil.
The 925 gold hallmark actually represents the purity of the underlying metal and does not represent the gold purity.
How much is 925 gold worth?
925 gold just like 925 silver is not much more expensive. As 925 gold is not pure gold but simply gold plated metal. No pure gold is used, and so it has no connection with the karats that represent the purity of gold. If you are going to buy a ring with pure gold, then it will be costly, but if you are going to buy a ring with a 925 gold hallmark, then it will be less expensive because it does not contain any pure gold. So you can buy luxury 925 gold-stamped valuable rings at a much lesser cost.
What Do Other Jewellery Stamps Mean?
While choosing or buying a ring, you may also find different stamps on different rings. The different stamps on the rings may give information about the material used in making the ring, the manufacturer of the ring, the location where the ring you choose is made.
Different stamps represent different materials used in making the rings. Some other stamps include:- 10k – Also: 16, 417, 10KP* | 41.6% pure gold (10 parts out of 24) | Usually silver, copper, zinc, and nickel.
- 14k – Also: 583, 585, 14KP* | 58.3% pure gold (14 parts out of 24) | Usually silver, copper, zinc, and nickel.
- 18k – Also: 750, 18KP* | 75% pure gold (18 parts out of 24) | Usually silver, copper, nickel, and palladium (for white gold).
- 22k – Also: 916, 917* | 91.6% pure gold (22 parts out of 24) | Usually silver and copper.
- 24k – Also: 999* | 100% pure gold (24 parts out of 24) | None.
- 900 Platinum – Also: 900 Plat, Plat 900, Pt900, 900Pt* | 90% pure platinum (900 parts out of 1,000) | Ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, and other platinum group metals.
- 950 Platinum – Also: PLAT, PT, 950 Plat, Plat 950, Pt950, 950Pt* | 95% pure platinum (950 parts out of 1,000) | Ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, and other platinum group metals.
- GE – GE means the ring is gold electroplated.
- IP – IP means Ion plating.
All these stamps and hallmarks represent the purity of the metal used in manufacturing the rings.
The History of Stamping Different Metals
Stamping of metals is not a modern method but is also used in ancient times to indicate the purity of the metals. In Europe, the assaying process was used to prevent the consumers and buyers from any frauds and from getting the fake material. Similarly, the method of stamping metals in British was totally different.
In British, the purity of material or metals was confirmed by the stamp from their assay offices located in different towns having their owns stamps. These assay offices along with the stamp use the date mark and the assayer’s mark to confirm the purity of the metal.
For further purity confirmation, the maker’s own stamp was also used. Until the 1860s, the United States didn’t use any stamp or standard to show the purity of the metal and have no assay offices, but in the 1860s they adopt a 925 stamp mark for their coins showing the purity of the material.
Why Stamp Gold Jewelry with a 925 Silver Mark?
Commonly we see that the gold jewellery is stamped with a 925 silver hallmark. It makes anyone curious to see gold jewellery with a silver stamp, but the reason behind it is that the gold jewellery you might thinking made of gold is actually not pure gold but is gold plated rings.
Pieces of jewellery are made of pure metal and are gold plated and stamped with 925 silver. 925 silver is marked to indicate the purity of the metal underlying the gold and doesn’t indicate the purity of the gold. This hallmark shows that under the gold plating lies the pure metal. It shows that the piece of jewellery you buy is made of silver with a thin layer of gold.
925 Silver and Gold Testing
Different tests are used for the confirmation of the purity of the metals used in the jewellery. If you find no stamp on your jewellery, then its means it contains fake metals so your piece of jewelry needs to be tested.
For the confirmation of the pure silver, a nitric acid test is commonly used. The jewellers applied a few drops of nitric acid to a small part of the product being tested. If the item contains pure silver or sterling, then the is where nitric acid is applied turns to creamy white which confirms that the jewelry is made of pure metal but if it is silver-plated and not made of pure silver, then it will turn to green.
In the same way, the acids are used to predict whether the jewellery is made of gold or gold plated.
CONCLUSION
In the markets like all other material, the jewellery may come that may be made of impure metals. To prevent such frauds, the jewellery is often stamped. Usually, a 925 silver stamp is used, which means that the jewellery you buy is made of pure silver and is free from impure metals. This stamped jewellery having hallmarks means that it is not only made of sterling silver but also found at a much cheaper rate than pure silver.
Many other different stamps are also used that indicate the presence of relevant metals present in the jewellery. So, you can find eye-catching designs of rings or jewellery at much lesser rates with proper authentication.
925 silver or gold stamps called hallmarks found on the jewellery or rings indicate the presence of pure sterling silver and found at a cheaper rate than jewellery made of pure silver or gold. Different stamps indicate the purity of different metals. Different acid tests are used to determine the purity of the metal used to make a piece of jewellery.
