They can help to test your item and even value them, so you get the best payout if you’re looking to sell. If you’re at all in doubt about your gold or silver items, consider consulting a precious metals refinery like Manhattan Gold and Silver. It’s also nondestructive, which means your precious metal sample won’t be damaged or lost during the testing process. The biggest benefits of XRF are that it is quick, with results available in minutes. By measuring this unique energy level, the XRF machine can then analyze the purity of your sample within five parts-per-thousand. fluorescence) at an energy level specific to its atomic structure. X-Ray Testing: This test works by bathing your precious metal sample in x-rays.This is the most reliable testing method because it is the most accurate way to determine the amount and purity of precious metals. In this process, the metal is melted down, then the sample is chemically separated from other metals. Fire Assay or Melt Tests: Fire assays are the standard for verifying and valuing gold and silver at major mining companies and refineries.By applying specific strengths of nitric acid to this mark and measuring its reaction, you can then accurately measure the purity of your precious metal. Gold Acid Tests: With gold acid tests, a piece of your metal is scratched against a basalt stone.So, if the magnet test isn’t necessarily a bulletproof method to test for real gold or silver, how can we verify authenticity? Precious Metal Testing MethodsĪ few tests exist that work to verify the authenticity of your silver and gold, including: Some metals look like silver but are not magnetic like aluminum, pewter, and zinc. Plenty of items like watches or pieces of jewelry could be made with non-magnetic material like copper or plastic. Nonmagnetic MetalsĪlthough silver and gold are not magnetic, this doesn’t mean nonmagnetic items are always real precious metals. This is because though the item’s surface would be plated in gold or silver, the metals underneath could cause the magnet to stick. Having this in mind, it is clear that gold will not be attracted by a magnet, and neither can it turn into a magnet by applying an electrical current to it. This scenario can be demonstrated under sensitive laboratory conditions. However, if a magnet sticks to a gold bar. When gold is placed in a magnetic field, it will feebly repel the magnet. Magnets therefore definitely cannot adhere to gold or silver. The only time an item containing gold or silver could stick to magnets is if it was silver or gold plated. This means that they are weakly repelled by magnets. Metals you may encounter less often but are magnetic include neodymium, samarium, and gadolinium.
A few you may know include iron, nickel and cobalt. Magnetic Metalsįew metals we encounter daily are magnetic. Knowing this, is it a good idea to verify whether you have real gold and silver by using a magnet test? To help answer this question, we’ve compiled a short guide that will explain what types of metals are magnetic and whether you should trust the magnet test to tell if you have real gold or silver.
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