silver

[celticfalcon]

how do i tell if a peice of jewlery is silver? i just got a old bolo tie with a big peice of tourquise in it.
the mount is quite large as is the stone,and the peice is heavy.
the mount is oval,and is 2 1/2 long by 1 1/2 wide.
the stone is 1/2 the size of the mount.
im trying to decide what to do with it.
thanks.
tom

[EasyDay]

Any marking stamped on the back (or anywhere?) Many of my Navajo pieces are stamped... except for those that were made for me.
Did someone give it to you, or did you buy it?

Please post a pic, if you can. I'd like to see it... even if I can't tell you anything about it!

[celticfalcon]

no markings at all.it was in an old box of my fathers that my cousin dropped off at my place.
sry i dont have any way to post pics.
is there a way to tell if its silver?
thanks.
tom

[wr]

Silver is stamped 925 but again, if it's handmade, the craftsman may not have stamped it. You should do some research because some turquoise & silver jewelry can be quite valuable. If it has been just stored in the box, if the piece is heavily tarnished, there's a good chance it's silver.

[dlmcafee]

Get something like this a small acid test kit and you can be reasonable sure of what you have and if anything else comes along you can test it also, lasts a long time.

http://www.amazon.com/Gold-Testing-K.../dp/B000OVHWLK

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

If when you polish it with one of the jewelry polishing cloths the residue is black, you can be pretty sure its silver. Of course you could sell it to me and I can take the chance. As others have said - post a picture. Just from the detail on the Bolo you should be able to tell if it is silver. other metals are too hard to work - silver is soft enough to put a lot of detail into the working.

[celticfalcon]

i had it tested today.its not 100% silver.they said prolly put it on craigs list for $30-40.
but its still a nice looking bolo tho.
and yuccaflats,i dont have a way to post pics yet.
thanks all