Tap your magnet to each piece of jewelry. If the section attracts the magnet or pulls towards it, then it's not real gold or silver. Though, keep in mind, many pieces have clasps or springs, so be careful to touch the magnet to the precious metal parts to not get a false test.
Apply a few drops of white vinegar to your gold jewelry. Real gold will not change color, but vinegar can cause fake gold items to react and change color.
Marks and markings are the easiest way to tell if a piece is fake, phony, or fraudulent. A rule of thumb for most pieces of costume jewelry is that authentically marked pieces are commonly die-stamped into the metal on a piece of costume jewelry. A cast mark, commonly used on fake pieces, are not sharp.
Place your jewelry on a table or hold it in your hand, pour some white vinegar on the metal directly (a dropper can also be used) if the metal of the jewelry changes its color, it is not pure gold and if it keeps shining then you have real gold in your hand.
What to do: Hold the magnet up to the gold. If it's real gold it will not stick to the magnet. (Fun fact: Real gold is not magnetic.) Fake gold, on the other hand, will stick to the magnet.
An acid test can reveal the karat of solid gold jewelry, but it can also show whether jewelry is solid gold or gold-plated. With an acid test, a small sample of the jewelry is removed and exposed to acid to induce a color change. The resulting colors indicate which type of metal the jewelry is made of.
Using a magnet is a good way of identifying whether your jewelry is authentic or not. If your jewelry sticks to the magnet, it may be fake or not pure gold — this is because real gold is not magnetic at all, and even with a strong magnet it will not be attracted.
One of the simplest ways to test gold at home is the Float Test. All you need is a cup (or bowl) of water and your gold item. Place your gold piece into the water. If it's genuine gold, then it will immediately sink to the bottom of the cup.
Markings There are several markings that indicate the gold quality of a chain. K, KP, KT markings will often include a number, such as 14K which indicates the chain's gold content. 10K is the minimum gold content to be considered a real gold chain. Other markings may include numbers like 583 or 585.
In a nitric acid test, a jeweler places a few drops of the acid on the piece and watches the reaction. With copper, the reaction usually causes the liquid to turn green, give off fumes, and sometimes bubble. This response is known as a hard cupric reaction and indicates that your piece is not real gold.
Rub your piece of jewellery on the stone and add nitric acid to the mark. The acid will dissolve any other metals other than pure gold. If the mark dissolves upon applying nitrohydrochloric acid, it confirms the gold is pure.
If the hallmark is absent, this could mean the jewelry does not contain real gold. However, there are other possible explanations. It is possible the hallmark has worn away over time, which can happen if the item is in constant contact with skin.
Be sure to use plain white toothpaste; avoid any with colored stripes or other added ingredients. Rub the toothpaste onto the gold for about 30 seconds. You should see a black streak begin to form.
In their pure, natural forms, gold, silver, aluminum, copper, brass, and lead are not magnetic. This is because they are all weak metals. Adding iron or steel to these metals can make them stronger and magnetic.
Metals such as silver, gold, titanium, platinum, palladium, stainless steel, zinc, pewter, copper, aluminum, and tungsten are not magnetic. However, iron, nickel, steel, and cobalt are magnetic.
Magnetism
Most metals are not magnetic. These include precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, titanium, tungsten, and palladium. However, other non-magnetic materials include some stainless steel, copper, aluminum, pewter, zinc, and non-metals like plastic.
It can still be a low purity solid gold alloy that contains magnetic metals. On the other hand, a piece may be gold plated, but it will not attach to a magnet because its core metal is non-magnetic.
If your gold piece turns black or green when the vinegar is on it, or if it starts to smoke or fizzle at all when the vinegar touches it, it is most likely not real gold. If your gold piece does not change colors and does not fizzle or react to the vinegar in any way, it is probably real.
Gold and silver are not magnetic. So technically, a piece that is heavy gold electroplated might not register with the magnet. That is why it's important to use this test in conjunction with other tests if you absolutely must be sure about whether or not your jewelry is solid gold.
Acid & Stone. Perhaps the most commonly used test for gold testing over the counter is the scratch test. This process allows you to visually identify if a piece, when scratched on the stone, holds utilizing the 10K, 14K, 18K and 22K acid.
A cup of water is all you need for another important test. Any size piece of genuine gold will immediately sink to the bottom of any liquid. Imitation gold floats or hovers above the bottom of the container. In addition, real gold will not rust or discolor when wet.
Buy Some Nitric Acid
Jewelers often use nitric acid to test their gold. Basically, gold won't react to nitric acid, but all other metals will turn greenish. Don't douse your jewelry in the acid—just put it in a stainless-steel dish and use a dropper to drop or Q-tip to test a tiny section.
Gold has a golden to yellow color. Most native gold is alloyed with silver, and if the silver content is high enough, the specimen will have a whitish yellow color.