how to read acid tests

[jerseyben]

OLD thread but still great conclusion info. Thanks!

 

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Treasure of Victoria Peak - Grab it through Amazon!

[diggummup]

OLD thread but still great conclusion info. Thanks!

Lol. Even I missed the date on this one. I was just glad to see you on here again.

 

[mwalsh5757]

Jersey - it's not the acid - it's the stone. Those glass stones are terrible and always give that floater effect. Invest in a good natural stone and testing will be a breeze. With the glass, the streak does not adhere to the surface and easily floats off. With the natural stone it sticks and stays stuck unless eaten away.

Sorry for bouncing an old thread as my first post, but I'm seeing the same issue - I scratch a nice thick line and where I apply the acid it just lifts off the stone and floats, almost like a piece of gold leaf! My stone is the one found in the PuriTest kits found on Amazon. I also have a known fake "Italy 14k" piece where the scratch just disappears right away, even with the 10k acid, so I know what a good result for a fake should look like.

Question 1 - is it a safe bet that the material left suspended in the acid is probably gold?
Question 2 - where do I get a fool proof stone from?

Thanks in advance!

 

[MCS Picker]

I have seen many, many, pieces that are marked "925" or "Sterling" that would hit on a magnet. If the whole chain hits on a magnet, then there is zero chance it is gold or silver. I don't know how these outlaws get away with this garbage.

actually, while i agree that there are quite a few fakes out there, a good many of the (lightly) magnetic sterling silver items can still be solid sterling silver. however, they MUST also be rhodium plated. the rhodium sticks better to nickel, than to sterling, so the sterling is first nickel plated, and then rhodium plated. it's that nickel that the magnet is picking up on (but only with a very strong magnet (like a rare-earth magnet)).

 

[buzzhead]

I actually have a scrap buyer paying $1 back of Sterling price for magnetic that tests as silver