Spotting Silver Online...How To?

I've been scrounging around eBay looking at brooches and I've found a few pieces in lots that look a lot like silver to me. Most of them are unmarked and listed as such, but at 15-25 per lot, I don't want to be wrong!

Do these examples look like silver, and any tips on how to spot it through funky and fuzzy photos?

Looks more like metal, but maybe?


With the Ermine, I'm feeling like this is a Pierre Toulhoat ring? If it is it'll be 925.


The bar is listed as silver, but that flower..?

And the rest:

I can't see a mark on the clasp, but looks like an 800 silver brooch I have.


I'm looking to get my 10e off eBay offer before it expires tomorrow, so I'm on the hunt!
TYSM!​

 

Take a good read through @MrNate 's post history

 

Oh that's an excellent idea, thanks!

 

Without marks there is no way to positively tell from photos. You pays your money and takes your chance!

 

I learn a lot from photos of the backs of pieces, how they are constructed. Base metal work tends to be 'clunky' to my eye, more metal than really needs to be there. Precious metal is used more sparingly. On the other hand, when I look at the findings, I want to see sturdy manufacture.

 

That said, most of the rings in the one picture look good to me. The goldtone one looks like Avon, but I have to wonder if the narrow wedding band isn't even better. I've found those in 18k before.

 

Great question Rachel.I wanted to genuinely thank you-but also bookmark this thread to educate myself !

 

Those souvenir older brooches are often silver, even if lower grade and the bar looks if too. The flower looks pot metal. As bronwen said, it’s clunky and the colour is also wrong.

it’s less common to see Victorian and Edwardian white metal jewellery which is base, it’s more often silver. Unlike gold, the stimulants weren’t there, as it were, other than pewter say. So you get pinchbeck or brass or gilded brass, but not so many silver lookalikes.

 

It's very tough, and especially with a lot of photography that is taken in bad lighting. I recently bought a brooch listed as "silver tone", thinking it may be sterling and upon arrival it is very much "brass tone" and the seller needs an eye exam. However I will keep it anyway, just commenting on how tough it is. This looks like a very nice lot of jewelry though, if the price is right I would buy it and take my chances.

I always say, it's better then a scratch off lotto ticket!

Sorry, just noticed these are separate lots? The rings is probably the one I would go for but what do I know.

 

I'd buy the pins too; the one with the safety pin clasp has a Victorian iris rhinestone. The setting almost has to be silver.

 

Simulants!

sodding auto correct.

 

Go*%# auto-correct-couldn't agree more.It comes up w/ the most absurd suggestions.

 

Rachel-Your statement 'but at 15-25 per lot-don't want to be wrong!' sure takes me back.
I remember every single item I was too broke to buy in my 20's-30's,historic deals in an age before Roadshow or Ebay.
The cash had to go to the $250 rent & $15 month power bill.

 

I turned it off on all my devices

 

Auto-incorrect is what I call it.

 

Like Bronwen, I go off construction, but even that's not always perfect. I've been surprised on pieces I thought must certainly be base.

 

Thank you very much! An excellent point, I'll be sure to look out for those.

Its currently at 17 euros with an hour or two left. The narrow one below the silver? I saw that too, but only because it looks a lot like my new FIX brooch. The rest of the lot looks like costume, but there's two or three others that either look like they might have a stamp or could use some testing with my newly arrived acid!

Thanks really good to know thank you OBB! <3

oh dear I'm sorry to hear that about your brooch. Yes its several lots, about 5 I think. I won't go for all of them, I think the souvenir brooches are a no go. I might try to make an offer for the bar lot, as Evelyb said that stone is interesting. They want 25 starting bid and that's getting into the uncomfortable range

Goodness yes! I'm very fortunate that since I live at home rent is only 100 and paying for my own food items that only I want, but when I get my own place that certainly will change.

 

I'd actually have a go at the rings first. The one we can only half see looks like costume, as does the gold-toned one with the blue stone. The one at the lower right almost has to be silver, possibly Israeli - a stylized Chai maybe? The more I look at the gold-colored one at the lower left, the more it looks like either gold or a high grade of Victorian gold-filled. Since I don't see brass edges on the band I'd almost bet on actual gold. Even the Victorian stuff wore through eventually.

 

With this in mind I'm happy to report I won the lot! I'm hoping to have it over the weekend and I can have a good rummage through. I'll show them when I get them!