How to Tell if My Jewelry is Silver

Most silver jewelry is sterling silver and should be stamped with a hallmark of either “.925” or “sterling.” Sterling is 92.5% silver. The other 7.5% metal generally is copper.

If your jewelry is stamped “German Silver”, “E.P.N.S.(Electro Plated Nickel Silver), “Alpaca”, or “Nickel Silver” you don’t have sterling silver but rather you have an alloy of Nickel and copper with no silver. Unfortunately we don’t buy these items. If you can’t find the hallmarks on your jewelry, don’t worry. Bring it in and we will gladly test it for you at no cost.

How to Tell if Gold is Valuable

How can I tell if my items are Gold and is Valuable?

On gold pieces, look for Karat markings. Any one of these indicates that your jewelry is gold:

For 8 Karat you will see 375 – this is used primarily in items
For 10 karat you will see: , 10kt, or 417
For 14 karat you will see: , 14kt, or 585
For 18 karat you will see:  18kt, or 750
For 22 karat you will see .917