You can protect yourself from buying cheap fakes by purchasing gold items exclusively from trusted jewelry stores that are ready to provide all the necessary certificates for the products, but even in this case there is a small chance of deception from unscrupulous sellers. The best option for checking the authenticity of jewelry is to order a paid examination from a jewelry workshop that is not interested in falsifying the results; however, knowing the basic physical and chemical characteristics of the materials, you can determine the material from which the product is made at home, without resorting to the services of specialists.
Properties of brass and its difference from gold. How brass is disguised as a noble metal
At a quick glance at gold and brass products, it may seem that they are made of the same metal. In fact, upon closer inspection, the difference between the materials will be visible. To do this, you need to pay attention to the main parameters, find out the composition, density, etc. Brass is an alloy of copper with zinc and several alloying components. Zinc is considered essential. The metal comes in two types: two-component and multi-component. Its physical and chemical characteristics:
- density - 8.5-8.7 kg/cm3;
- the metal is not ferromagnetic (but there are exceptions when a ferromagnetic substance is added to the composition during production);
- temperature at which the metal melts: 880-950°C;
- color - yellow with a golden tint;
- high degree of plasticity;
- untreated metal oxidizes upon contact with oxygen;
- corrosion resistance.
Brass exhibits different properties, which are determined by the content of alloying components. The type of products made from such metal depends on this. The main type of raw material for brass production is copper. In terms of strength, such a metal is inferior to many: bronze, but not gold (the latter is softer).
Due to its properties, brass is used in the manufacture of decorative items.
Two rings made of brass
When compared with gold, many differences are noted. But you can only learn about them by taking a closer look at the characteristics. Differences of gold:
- higher temperature at which the metal melts and density;
- bright shine: in comparison, brass also shines, often subdued, but this characteristic manifests itself in different ways, depending on the composition.
There are quite a lot of similar properties between metals, which explains the high risk of buying a fake, since brass can easily be disguised as gold; tricks are used for this:
- a certain number of components are used in production, thanks to them the finished product acquires external characteristics that make brass look like a noble metal;
- applying a decorative coating, for which the gilding technique is used; the brass is first polished.
Visual inspection
The main method of determination without any available means is a thorough inspection.
A good sign of quality is the mark of the manufacturer and the State Assay Service. The prints must be clear and even relative to each other, with the obligatory presence of a star or a woman in a kokoshnik. However. There is a common type of “jewelry” made of rondoli (beryllium bronze), which bears the Soviet mark of good quality.
Visually, the rondole is very difficult to distinguish from 583 gold. Fortunately, it is impossible to manufacture products with complex shapes from this material, so there are two types of such products: classic wedding rings and simple-shaped signets. Wedding rings made from copper alloys can be easily identified at home by two signs.
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Sound
All you have to do is throw your wedding ring and the supposed fake onto a hard surface. The sound of gold is ringing, the sound of rondoli is dull. This method can be used at home for simple-shaped products made of any material.
Hardness
The hardness of the randoli is much higher. Upon careful inspection, the surface will be smooth; on softer gold, a large number of small scratches and abrasions will be noticeable. Signets made of rondoli, brass or bronze in most cases have a solid shape inside, without any embossing.
When purchasing chains or woven bracelets, special attention should be paid to such details.
The connecting ring between the lock and the chain must be sealed (solid). All chain links must also be soldered.
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You should also carefully examine the joints of the links for the presence of abrasions. In these places, the metal should not differ in color from other areas. The presence of spots of a different color is a sign of counterfeit on all products, not just on chains.
When choosing jewelry with stones, you need to carefully study their setting. Crooked inserts should raise suspicion. High-quality setting is a good sign of originality, since this operation requires a high level of skill. Also, during inspection, such an important factor as the quality of processing should not raise suspicion.
Quite often there are attempts to sell gold-plated products as gold. In jewelry production, gilding is applied to silver, and the hallmark is stamped according to the silver standard - 830, 875, 925, while on gold the numbers are different - 375, 583, 585, 750. The stamps also differ in shape. If there is no impression, the presence of the coating can be checked using such a basic tool as a nail file. Any coating is easy to damage. If you find metal of a different color on a cut, you can confidently say that the quality is poor.
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A meticulous visual inspection is a very important psychological factor. The seller's reaction can help determine whether they are trying to deceive you or not.
TOP 10 ways to distinguish gold from brass at home
They consider different possibilities to determine what metal an object is made of:
- perform an inspection: check the external characteristics (evaluate the appearance of the product, sound upon impact, etc.);
- they use methods to determine that it is brass or gold that is being considered;
- They use available means to ensure that the choice is correct.
Brass and gold ring
Ways to check brass jewelry by eye and sound
Before purchasing, it is not always possible to test with chemicals or use another method to determine the authenticity of a gold product. In this case, you should rely on indirect signs and some characteristics that are characteristic of the precious metal.
Availability of stamp and sample
Different types of equipment are used to mark jewelry:
- hallmark: placed on the product, confirms that the metal belongs to one group or another (common options for gold: 583, 585, 750), the shape is always rectangular;
- name book - contains information about the manufacturer;
- jeweler's mark or manufacturer's logo imprint.
If you need to determine how to distinguish gold from brass, you should learn how assaying is performed. This type of mark is placed on certain areas of products:
- rings - inner surface;
- earrings - clasp or stem (stud earrings);
- bracelets, like earrings, are punched from the inside;
- decorations with an English lock - on one of the elements of the locking mechanism;
- the clock is inside, on the lid.
In addition, the precious metal is hallmarked in a special way: the mark is clear, of the correct shape, and the numbers are clearly visible. Fakes often lack these signs.
In this case, the test is performed carelessly.
Sample on a gold ring
Cost of decoration
If the seller provided a real product and an appropriate price, then you can notice a huge difference between jewelry made of precious and non-precious metal. If the external signs are the same, you can focus on the cost. If the seller tries to pass off brass items as precious, setting the same price with identical characteristics of both types of jewelry, the buyer has little chance of purchasing a quality item. It is necessary to pay attention to indirect factors.
Throw decoration on glass
When dropped onto a glass surface or into a glass, a gold ring or earring makes a unique sound. It can only be compared to the sound of crystal. Brass will sound different due to the properties of the components, structure, and density of the material. You can conduct a small experiment - throw a brass object onto a glass display case. This action should be given the appearance of an accident so as not to arouse suspicion among store personnel. By the sound you can determine which metal the ring/earring belongs to.
Important! The method of determining the quality of jewelry by sound is only suitable for small items.
Dental check
The method was often used earlier, when the gold content in products was higher. As a result, softer products were produced. They were tested “to the teeth”, and characteristic traces remained. Today, jewelry is distinguished by higher hardness. This is due to the introduction of various alloying components into the composition. Accordingly, it is, of course, possible to try objects made of precious metals, but there is no guarantee that this method will give results.
For this reason it is used as an auxiliary measure.
Gold chloride reaction test
In everyday life, you can use a special product - gold chloride. But a small bottle is quite expensive. This means that it is advisable to purchase this product if you often have to deal with precious metals.
Special product - gold chloride
When the substance is applied to brass, the components react, which leads to a change in the appearance of the product. However, the precious metal behaves differently. If you apply gold chloride to such jewelry, there will be no changes in the appearance and properties of the item.
Product shades
From the hue you can only get a vague idea of the properties of the metal, since the color of gold is always different: it changes from light yellow to rich, almost red. It depends on the composition - the type of components. But still, there is always a bright shine on gold products. It does not always appear on brass jewelry. The combination of these two factors allows us to assess the quality of the item during external inspection.
Radical testing methods at home
If you are not sure whether the purchased product is truly gold, it is suggested that you consider more complex technologies. But not all of them are safe for the product being tested; there is a risk of damaging the item. In addition, they are used primarily in production areas and laboratories. There are no necessary equipment at home.
To distinguish between brass and gold, methods of remelting, exposure to aggressive environments, etc. are considered.
Crucible method
Containers are used for melting metal products. They are used for the purposes of combustion, weighing, homogenization, among others. Crucibles come in a variety of shapes and are made of refractory materials. Such containers are an integral part of laboratory equipment.
Crucible melting produces liquid metal, which is used to make other items.
In this case, the determining factors are the physicochemical properties of the material, in particular, the temperature at which the metal melts. This parameter determines the type of product: for gold this indicator is higher than for brass.
Crucibles for melting gold
Needle trick
The method is used to determine the sample of metal: it is necessary to draw stripes with needles of different samples (2 samples are enough), and a touchstone is placed between them. Acid is then applied to these areas. They are carried out with pass-through paper, which helps to change the color of the materials. In this way, the sample belongs to one of the metals.
If the item is fake (made of brass), then there will be no result or it will be significantly different from the expected one, which will confirm the assumption of a fake.
There is another method based on the use of a needle. It is used for small gold. Lines are drawn on the touchstone using samples. They will be of different colors: pale, brighter. This depends on the properties of the particles of gold or other metal left by the samples. By appearance, they determine whether the product belongs to a particular type of metal. This method makes it possible to find out the approximate content of alloying components, since the color of the finished item depends on the composition.
Nitric acid
A drop of nitric acid is applied to different products. If the metal does not change appearance upon contact, we can say that it is gold. Brass takes on a green tint when acid is applied.
Nitric acid (HNO3)
Tools at hand for testing
Simpler methods are also used to verify the authenticity of jewelry, but they can only act as auxiliary ones. The reason is the use of improvised means that act as reagents and catalysts.
Ceramic tile
It is necessary to find a sample of unglazed facing material. The secret is that when a gold piece is passed over ceramics without additives, it will leave a stripe of the same color as the metal.
Experiment with foundation
The method is based on the reaction of a cosmetic product with gold. You must first apply foundation to your skin. Then a product that raises doubts is passed over this area. Gold leaves a gray streak under these conditions. Brass leaves no marks.
Iodine test
When liquid products are used, it sometimes takes some time for the reaction to develop. But in the end, you can verify the authenticity of the purchased jewelry or, conversely, think about its quality: gold turns brown after contact with iodine, the external properties of brass will not change.
Iodine test
Vinegar test
Instructions:
- Prepare a container from a neutral material: ceramics, plastic.
- Add vinegar, then observe the reaction. Gold will not interact with this substance, stains will not appear on the product, and the general characteristics will be preserved. In comparison, brass can darken.
Black bread
Gold is not subject to oxidation (in its pure form), but modern metal most often contains a significant proportion of alloying components, so there is no 100% guarantee of the reliability of this method. But you can study the theory: if you put gold jewelry in bread pulp, it will retain its original color, but brass, on the contrary, can be seriously damaged (dark spots will appear).
lapis pencil
The product is sold at the pharmacy. It serves as a catalyst for reactions with components in metals. If you run it over a pre-moistened gold chain, nothing will happen; this metal will retain its original appearance.
Lapis pencil for testing gold
Magnetic reaction
The method is based on comparing products according to their magnetic properties. Brass is most often not ferromagnetic, but it can acquire the desired properties if a component with characteristic properties is introduced into the composition.
Gold does not react at all to an external magnetic field.
Sunbathing
Pay attention to the properties of metals under certain conditions. One way is to expose brass and gold to sunlight. In the first case, the intensity of the shine will be different - in the shade the metal is less bright than in the sun.
Gold, on the other hand, performs the same regardless of environmental conditions.
Archimedes' Law
The weight of metal products is taken into account. For example, gold is much heavier than brass. If you immerse a product in water, then, according to Archimedes’ law, a force equal to the weight of the water that was displaced will act on the body immersed in the liquid. When such an experiment is carried out, it will be found that gold sinks due to its weight, but brass does not. It is possible to independently perform simple calculations and determine the mass of the product.
What is Randol and what is its composition?
Jewelry made from noble metal has always been highly valued not only for its beauty and brilliance, but also for its ability to maintain these properties over the centuries.
Gold jewelry has always been a symbol of luxury, wealth, and prosperity, and therefore was in great demand. High demand is a huge incentive for all kinds of scammers. The art of creating fakes developed along with the production of jewelry from precious metals and reached a fairly serious level.
The desire to buy an expensive thing for little money often only brings great disappointment. To avoid the bitterness of deception, you need to know a few simple ways to identify gold at home.
- This is useful: How to distinguish white gold from silver
Useful uses of brass in electronics
Brass is not a noble metal, but is a sought-after alloy. Parts of various mechanisms are made from it. Products made from brass:
- pipes for appliances;
- foil;
- sheets;
- bushings;
- wire;
- rods;
- tape, etc.
Brass is used in the installation of radio components, and is also used in radio instrument making (hardware, gears, and printed circuits are made). Moreover, the material is sent for re-melting, after which it can be reused.
Use of brass alloys in electronics
Randol alloy price
To understand why a gram of alloy has such a price, you need to understand what the metal is intended for. Scrap metal as part of jewelry or leftover equipment will be inexpensive, usually buyers give 40-60 rubles per gram for it, it depends on the amount of metal. When purchasing metal in the form of industrial blanks, it can cost about 400-500 rubles per 1 gram of metal. For jewelry workshops, the alloy is offered in rods, ingots, plates and granules for remelting. The price of such metal is about 700 rubles per gram. It’s easy to find out how much metal for dentistry costs - the price starts from 1000 rubles.
The price of Randol is 400-500 rubles per 1 gram of metal
The most expensive is the randol containing lead - this bronze is not only easy to machine, it is also excellent for forging. The price of such metal starts from 1,500 rubles per gram.
Unfortunately, the production of beryllium bronzes in Russia today does not meet international standards. In the country, only the Moscow Nonferrous Metal Plant produces products that meet some international standards for beryllium bronze.
Jeweler's recommendations on how not to buy a fake
Molokanov N.M.
Jeweler, 26 years of experience in jewelry production.
Ask a Question
First of all, you should pay attention to the price. If it is low, then do not consider the purchase option. When the cost remains the same regardless of the composition of the material, you can inspect it and touch it. In most cases, the properties of the product are carefully studied. Brass is lighter than gold due to its low density.
Chemical methods
There are several chemical ways to determine gold at home.
With iodine
When iodine is applied to gold, a brown stain remains. Copper alloys do not react to iodine. This method will take some time to use.
lapis pencil
You can buy a lapis pencil at a pharmacy. If you run it over a previously wetted surface, a mark will remain.
Nitric acid
If you need to test a lot of gold, then it makes sense to purchase a small amount of nitric acid. The method is very reliable. A drop of acid is applied to the product being tested using a glass or quartz rod. Gold 583, 585 will give a very weak reaction within 1 minute, leaving a light chestnut stain. A violent reaction will occur on the fake, with the formation of foam of a bluish or greenish tint, while the stain left by the acid will be almost invisible.
Main differences
It has been known since ancient times that silver fights microbes. Scientists have found that a special solution based on silver can kill E. coli and fight staphylococcus. Our ancestors, of course, had no idea about such properties, but even then they began to give newborns a small spoon made of this metal. It was also believed that drinking water and eating from silver dishes was very beneficial for health, but only rich nobles could afford such luxuries.
Which metal jewelry is best to choose?
It is believed that gold looks better on older ladies, and silver on young women. Young people consider this a prejudice and wear gold things with pleasure. What is best for a person to wear is a matter of his style and preferences.
For a man
Strict graphic patterns and laconic forms suit the stronger sex. Yellow metal looks good on the “southern” color type - men with dark skin, dark hair and eyes. For the “northern” type (pale skin, blond hair), it is better to choose white gold or silver.
For woman
Recommendations for girls and ladies are also based on color typing. If your appearance is dominated by warm colors, feel free to buy yellow and red gold, if you are “cold” - silver.
