Wednesday, April 14, 2010
CHINESE SILVER, WHAT’S IN IT?
Warning. New silver colored beads are being sold under the name Chinese silver. That name always meant solid silver made in China. The new beads are, according to the vendor, 30% silver plus copper, rhodium, and nickel no lead. Jeffrey Herman, Director of the Society of American Silversmiths says the plating will rub off and customers will complain. It may turn the public off silver entirely. Anyone with more information about this? We know the Chinese make many copies of old silver pieces so this can be a problem for collectors.
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9 comments:
The Chinese also call gold plate 10 K.
At a recent Gem and Bead show here in Costa Mesa, CA. I was looking at some Chinese pendants that looked somewhat like silver. I asked the vendor about them and casually said they look like they were made of tin cans. This vendor said that is exactly what they were made of! They were attractive and inexpensive, but
other vendors called these pieces Chinese silver!
I am a jeweler and it has taken over the silver market in jewery, they plate it in coper, then nickle and then sometimes in rhodium, it looks great at first, but when heated for repairs the coper bubbles up and the plating cracks off and looks horrible. it is hard to detect in a lot of instances.
There are many items being sold from China (especially on Ebay) as being made from "Tibetan silver" as well...My guess, it's like the
Chinese Silver that has other components in it.
Simple solution...stop trade with China!
My dentist put a "gold" crown on my tooth. It turned dark grey. I asked him where it was made and he said MOST dental crowns are now made in China. It cost me a great deal of money to have the chinese crown removed and a real gold crown from the LAST dental crown makers in the USA. We need to demand quality metal products MADE in the USA. Probably the same story with the "pretend " silver from China.
After reading about the shoddy materials coming to the US from China, I try to make a point of not buying things from there. From sheetrock to children's jewelry to pet food, the materials aren't just shoddy, they are dangerous. Anything to make a buck regardless of who suffers.
I recently was sucked into this trap. Bought a pair of earrings on ebay from China. Sold as sterling. They look great, but there is a large 925 etched into the side of the earring. You can clearly see it when they are worn! Yuck! As if this will make you believe it's real. Live and learn.
After all the recent negative things which happened with China, my daughter 18 and I deceided - NOT to buy anything MADE IN CHINA.
I think if everyone would do this, we all would be healthier and a lot of jobs would be created in our country. We are able to do this. Yes some stores could not sell it so inexpensive anymore, but we think health is more important than saving a dollar. We can live without China.
Most of these cheap imports don't last very long either - so at the end you pay more buying 2 or 3 or 4items instead of 1 good quality item for $1 or $2 more.
Plus our landfill will not grow so much!!!
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