Kovel's Newletter Discusses Chinese Silver.

[beefsteak]

CHINESE SILVER, WHAT’S IN IT?

KOVEL'S COMMENTS--April 14, 2010 Newsletter

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.

http://www.kovels.com/issues/newsflash/1_190/news_news_news/3885-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS

[JohnQPublic]

I saw some sterling silver beads at Michael's. They were a few bucks per package and look to be a few grams. Anyone bought these and weighed them? Anyone trust that they are sterling silver?

[gunDriller]

i think Rio Grande is a good source for supplies like that. they sell lots of forms of jewelry silver & gold materials.

[beefsteak]

Just read my latest Kovel's Newsletter (4/21/2010)

There is a follow-up to the OP from an unidentified (bench) jeweler:



Kovels Komments [April 21, 2010]

<snippet>
And a warning from a blogger about the Chinese silver story:
I am a jeweler and it (Chinese silver) has taken over the silver market in jewelry. They plate it in copper, then nickel and then sometimes in rhodium; it looks great at first, but when heated for repairs the copper bubbles up and the plating cracks off and looks horrible. It is hard to detect in a lot of instances.
</snippet>

[Defender]

Wouldn't these beads be measurably lighter (less dense) than sterling?

[DualCarbon]

rhodium is expensive ($2700/oz), but maybe the plating is thin.